Food before, after, and during exercise

BEFORE EXERCISE

Eat a light meal or snack of at least 100 calories an hour or so before your activity. The snack should be made of healthy carbs, proteins, and a small amount of fat.   
Good foods to eat prior to exercise include: milk, fruit, orange juice, oats, wholegrain bread, bagel, rice, yogurt, pasta, vegetables, potatoes, granola bars, nuts.
Hydrate:
1 to 2 hours before drink 8 to 16 ounces of cold water.
10 to 15 minutes before drink 8 to 12 ounces of cold water.

DURING EXERCISE

Eat a snack and drink liquids that re-energize you. Eat carbohydrates, for example: fruits, bagel with cream cheese, or a sports bar. Eat snacks or drink sports drinks to replenish electrolytes you have lost while sweating, for example G2, Nuun, coconut water, or dehydrated fruit.
Always dilute your fitness drinks with water. For every sip of a fitness drink, drink 2-3 sips of water.
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Ideally, you should be eating a snack and drinking fluids every 15-20 minutes if possible.

Hydrate: 
Every 20 minutes drink between 5 and 1o ounces of water and/or sports drink.

AFTER EXERCISE

Eat protein 30 minutes after a high intensity workout and continue throughout the day. Replenish your electrolytes by consuming salt. Salt is the electrolyte that is most lost through sweat. Keep in mind that although you need to eat lots of protein, you should also be eating carbs as well. This will keep your body fueled. 
Good foods after your workout include: milk, chicken, turkey, hummus,
​nuts/nut butters, sports beverages, pretzels, cheese, baked chips, granola bars, protein shakes, fruit smoothies, bagels, potatoes, sandwiches, pasta.
Hydrate:
Within two hours drink at least 24 ounces of water/sports drink for every pound of weight lost.

IF YOU HAVE A...

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8AM EVENT

10AM EVENT

Eat a high carbohydrate dinner and drink extra water the night before, at 6-6:30am eat a 200-400 calorie meal (yogurt, banana) and have more water.

Eat a high carbohydrate dinner, extra water, have a familiar breakfast by 7am to prevent fatigue.

2PM EVENT

8PM EVENT

Eat a high carbohydrate breakfast and a light lunch or combine them into a big brunch eaten by 10am. Be sure to have a high carbohydrate dinner the night before, drink extra water day before and up to noon on the event day.

Eat a big high carbohydrate breakfast and lunch, have dinner by 5pm or a lighter meal by 6-7pm, drink extra fluids all day.

ALL-DAY EVENT

Two days before the event, cut back exercise to rest the body, rest completely the day before, eat a high carbohydrate breakfast, lunch, and dinner the day before and drink extra fluids, eat a breakfast you can tolerate on the day of the event, snack every 1 ½ to 2 hours on carbohydrates during the day if possible, eat lunch if you can, drink fluids before you feel thirsty.

Rules of Thumb:

1. Stay hydrated
2. Go easy on fatty foods
3. Carbo-load before exercise
4. Eat protein after you exercise           
5. Replace your electrolytes​

1. Hydrate

• Stay hydrated at all times.
• Increase your water intake one week before an intense physical activity.
• Before a workout, drink a 16 oz (1 regular bottle) of water.
• Dehydration is life threatening. A five to eight percent decrease in total body water can cause fatigue and dizziness. Loss of over ten percent of total body water can cause physical and mental deterioration, accompanied by severe thirst. Death occurs at a loss of between fifteen and twenty-five percent of the body water.
• You can tell that you are hydrated by your urine. If your urine is a pale yellow or clear you are hydrated. If you are thirsty, then you are already dehydrated. 

2. Fats

• Foods with lots of fat in them leads to severe dehydration and will ultimately tire you out. You should be avoiding foods that have a lot of fat in them.

However:

• For long events your body turns to fat for energy when your carbohydrate intake is running low. Because your body does this, it is advised that you should eat lean fats. 
• Many athletes get all the fat they need by consuming foods that have unsaturated fat such as: nuts, avocados, olives, vegetable oils, salmon, and tuna. 

​3. Carbs

• Are an athlete’s main source of fuel: it fuels your speed, energy, stamina, and concentration.
• Carbo-loading is when you load up on carbs before a big event. Start carbo-loading three or four nights before an event. This gives your body enough time to properly convert the carbs into glycogen for your muscles which allows you to perform your best at high intensity activities. 
• Eat a balanced meal three to four hours before exercising it so that it gives your stomach time to digest the food and empty. 

4. Protein

• Essential for maintaining your muscles, speedy recoveries after exercise, building muscle, and reducing any muscle loss. 
• When you exercise you are tearing and breaking your muscle fibers apart, to repair these fibers you need proteins. 
• They are part of every cell of your body and help repair any internal or external damage. 
• Milk is a high-quality protein and is recommended as one of the best foods for recovery after a workout. It provides a good balance of protein and carbohydrates which is perfect for refueling your body and muscles. It also contains calcium, which is important for your bones. 
• It is necessary to eat protein after any workout. 

5. Electrolytes

• Electrolytes are chemicals in bodily fluids that are composed of a breakdown of salts. Your body needs these electrolytes to maintain proper amounts of water inside cells, control nerve conductivity, and receive appropiate cell response to outside stimuli.
• Deficiency in electrolytes can cause symptoms such as lethargy, seizures, mental confusion, and muscle cramping.    
• When you are participating in an intense activity, you primarily lose electrolytes through sweating. You can replace these electrolytes by eating snacks and drinking both water and sports drinks.
• Sports drinks not only replenish electrolytes but most also contain carbohydrates which provide additional energy. However, you should always dilute your sports drinks with water. This means that for every sip of a sports drink you take, you should also be drinking 2-3 sips of water.
• A few examples of snacks that provide electrolytes are› dates, coconut water, sunflower seed butter, frozen grapes, watermelons sprinkled with salt, dehydrated fruit, and honey.