Managing your diet is very important if you want to stay fit and healthy. Everyone want to stay fit these days , but i must tell you main struggle is not while working out in the gym , the real struggle is managing our daily routine outside the gym. You should be able to manage your meals throughout the day in regular intervals with well balanced macro nutrients.
Pre-workout meals is the most important meal of the day and people have the most queries regarding it. If you ask me , people have a great misconception about pre-workout meals and they don't know the actual truth behind it. In this article i will tell you how pre-workout meals affect our workout. But before that i want to tell you how our body absorbs the food we eat.
MISCONCEPTION ABOUT PRE-WORKOUTS
If you search through the internet about the pre-workout meals , most of the articles / videos are not authentic. By saying so i mean , many people have this misconception that if they don't eat anything before a workout , they will lose their muscle mass. NO! IT IS ABSOLUTELY UNTRUE. I will tell you why.
So , the meal you eat as pre-workout before your workout session is not responsible for your workout , because it has probably not even started it digestion process. Therefore , by not eating a pre-workout meal WILL NOT AFFECT YOUR WORKOUT or YOU WILL NOT LOSE YOUR GAINS.
WHY YOU FEEL ENERGISED AFTER A PRE-WORKOUT MEAL:
We usually take carbohydrates in our pre-workout meal , and after we consume carbs , they raise our body's blood sugar level and it enters our blood stream so glucose , and glucose is a fuel source for the brain. That means , you brain feels good after eating carbohydrates because of that glucose and you will feel to lift more and workout more. But generally it is not necessary that you will feel energised and lift more. Because we get our energy from the stored glycogen in the muscles.
In my initial days in fitness , i too had this misconception about pre-workout meals , but later sometimes due to my hectic schedule i was not able to manage my pre-workout meal as i was working out in the morning sometimes , so i went for my workout without eating any carbs in my pre-workout , and my energy level was not different in the gym. I lifted with my full energy as i used to do after eating carbs in my pre-workout. Then i understood that our pre-workout carbs does not provide us with the energy we have during our workout.
SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT MEALS:
My answer for this would we YES! Since i told you that pre-workout meals are not the direct energy source for our body , but that doesn't mean that you workout by not eating anything at all. You should eat if you are feeling hungry or if it time for your next meal. It is better to eat something before your workout.
WHEN AND WHAT TO EAT IN PRE-WORKOUTS
I suggest you should have a pre-workout meal for two reasons.
1) Your body needs nutrients every 3 - 4 hours , that is why it is suggested to have your calorie intake in 5 - 6 meals throughout the day. And therefore , you should have your pre-workout meal in its time only and not skip the meal just because it told you that it is not responsible for your energy while exercising.
2) You should not workout on empty stomach , if you are hungry and you have skipped your one or two meals of the day you will feel a little low during your workout.
I have seen many people faint during their workouts just because they thought working out without eating anything at all will help them lose weight fast. So you should eat something before your workout.
FOR MUSCLE GAINING:
Try to consume a protein source in your pre-workout meal along with a light source of complex carbohydrates. Neglect fats in this meal as it slows the digestion of the meal in the body. A great example of such meal is:
* A smoothie which you can make with 1/4th cup of oats , 200 ml milk , 1 scoop of whey (if you consume it , else you can have egg whites also) , one spoon peanut butter and some water blend together.
* 1 banana , 5 egg whites.
* 3 egg whites , 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas / kidney beans / sprouts with onion , cucumber and capsicum sprinkled on it. (You can add little salt , and spices for taste)
FOR FAT LOSS:
For fat loss you can focus on some fast digesting carbs from fruits and some protein (if your goal is muscle building , for people who want only weight loss can neglect protein too). Great examples of such meal is:
* 1 apple and papaya.
* 40 grams of natural oats cooked in 250 - 300 ml of warm milk.
* 1 cup of cooked chickpeas / kidney beans / sprouts , with onion , cucumber and capsicum sprinkled on it. (You can add little salt , and spices for taste)
These are all sources of quick meals which if you consume about 45-60 minutes before your workout will not give you the feeling of bloating and will not keep you hungry as well.
THE BOTTOM LINE
I hope this detailed information about pre-workouts is helpful for you and apart from managing our pre-workout meals , another important thing to boost your workout is REST.
Try to have proper rest before your workout. Our nails , hair , height , muscles , everything grows when we sleep , so taking proper sleep of 7 - 8 hours daily is really necessary for proper recovery of our body from the workout. Having proper sleep helps to improve testosterone levels in the body.
Do follow my blogs for upcoming future updates , and post you fitness related queries and thoughts about this article in the comment section below.
Cool post
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