What to eat before and after a workout to lose weight and tone up!

What to eat before and after a workout to lose weight and tone up!

Hey guys!

Here was my transcript outline when I filmed the FOOD Bites video on pre and post workout meals. In case you didn’t catch what I said, you can read it.

Link to video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0POjup6fOY

Love ya!

Cassey

THE BASIC FACTS:

  • A workout may last an hour or two, however dieting is 24 hours a day.
  • Eat 4 or 5 meals per day. A good breakfast, lunch and dinner, with one to two snacks.
  • Don’t starve! Not giving your body the nutrients it needs is going to cause your body to start shutting down, and this will cause it to stop burning fat b/c it thinks it is in survival mode.
  • Eating before working out: settles the stomach, reduces hunger, gives your muscles the energy needed to exercise
  • Eating after exercising and drinking plenty of fluid can help to replace glycogen (energy to workout) that is lost during exercise. Glycogen is comprised of sugars that come from the protein and carbohydrates in your diet.

WHAT IS A CARB? WHAT IS A PROTEIN?

They are macronutrients! Nutrients that your body needs a lot of. This includes carbohydrates, fats, and protein. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals.

CARBS: USDA recommends that 45% – 65% of our calories should come from carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel. Carbohydrates are easily used by the body for energy. They are mainly found in starchy foods (like grain and potatoes), fruits, milk, and yogurt.

PROTEIN: USDA recommends that 10% – 35% of our calories should come from protein. Most Americans get plenty of protein, and easily meet this need by consuming a balanced diet. We need protein for growth (especially important for children, teens, and pregnant women), tissue repair, energy when carbohydrate is not available, preserving lean muscle mass. Protein is found in meats, poultry, fish, meat substitutes, cheese, milk, nuts, legumes

PRE WORKOUT MEAL:

  • Glucose is the preferred energy source for exercise, so eat something high in carbs and that’s easy to digest.
  • In general, the closer you get to your workout start time, the fewer calories you should eat. It’s important to winnow down the protein and fat content of your meal or snack as you get closer to exercise.
  • The nutrients that make up those calories should also shift. Because it takes the body: 4-6 hrs to digest fat, 3 hrs to digest protein, and 2 hrs  to digest carbohydrates.
  • You’re not going to want to eat a plate of french fries two hours before working out, because the blood is going to rush to your stomach to digest that while it’s also trying to rush to your exercising muscles.

Example Pre Workout Foods…

  • Bananas and apples. These are good choices for an energizing snack. Bananas are packed with potassium, which aids in maintaining proper nerve and muscle function aka no cramps.
  • Oatmeal. Oats are full of fiber and therefore the carbohydrates from them are released into your bloodstream gradually, keeping your energy levels constant during your workout.
  • Cereal
  • Yogurt & fruit
  • Trail mix/unsalted nuts
  • Fruit & yogurt smoothie
  • Sweet potato, yam

POST WORKOUT MEAL:

  • This meal is probably the most important meal you can eat. (And breakfast of course)
  • Your post-workout meal serves to give you the energy to recover from your workout and replace what was lost as result of training.
  • After you train your natural metabolism is burning red hot and can take much more nutrients at once and still not store it as fat.
  • The first nutritional priority after exercise is to replace any fluid lost during exercise.
  • Research is clear that eating carbs and protein within 15-60 minutes of your workout will help speed up your recovery time by replenishing glycogen stores and increasing protein synthesis (aka building lean muscle).

Example Post Workout Meal…

Chobani strawberry greek yogurt: 14 g protein, 20 g carbs. Yogurt is also EASILY DIGESTABLE so your body will soak up the nutrients immediately.

WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T EAT BEFORE AND AFTER YOU WORKOUT?

You’ll burn fat. But be very fatigued.

PRE-MEAL: If you exercise for a long time without eating, you’ll limit your ability to burn calories and maintain intensity. You won’t burn more of anything if you can’t muster the enthusiasm to master your toughest sets.

POST-MEAL: And if you don’t feed your muscles and replenish your energy stores after exercise, you won’t have the necessary building blocks for recovery.

SAMPLE MEAL PLAN:

Breakfast…

  • cereal w/ nonfat plain soymilk
  • oatmeal with apple & raisins
  • veggie omelet (egg white or whole)

Pre-workout meal…

  • Sweet potato

Post workout meal…

  • Chobani greek yogurt w/ fruit

Lunch…

  • Deli sliced turkey with hummus and baby carrots
  • Chicken salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, spinach, lettuce. Rasp. vinagrette dressing

Dinner…

  • Baked salmon w/ steamed asparagus or green beans
  • Tofu with mushrooms and broccoli
  • Any veggie and a lean protein (like chicken or fish)

CITATIONS:

Macronutrients: the Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat. http://www.mckinley.illinois.edu/Handouts/macronutrients.htm

Eating to Win. http://www.womenfitness.net/eating_towin.htm

Figure Competition Diet. http://www.modelsobserver.com/training.html

Bikini Diet: http://dustinmaherfitness.com/tag/bikini-diet/

What to eat before and after workouts to lose weight? http://www.livestrong.com/article/195384-what-to-eat-before-and-after-work-outs-to-lose-weight/#ixzz1C1V7D5O1

17 thoughts on “What to eat before and after a workout to lose weight and tone up!”

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  1. Peso says:

    This article about weight loss is very elucidative, amazing

    1. Randall H Trantham says:

      yes, best I have seen, simple and easy, to the points, Thanks, I am embarking on the journey to lose belly

  2. Hey! I really enjoyed this blog but one thing I am stuck with is that I often gym then have my dinner, should I be eating a lot of food after or not as it’s close enough to 8:30pm before I get too eat.. is that too late for a large meal? I am in the process of toning up!! Would love to hear your thoughts 🙌🏼

  3. Shyrley says:

    I cannot even believe the transformation. I have tried to lose weight many times in the past. Some things were somewhat successful, but it just seemed that I kept hitting a brick wall over the last year or so. I was pretty desperate by the time I made the choice to try this program what helped me lose 21 pounds in about 6 weeks
    Watch the video on this website: http://leanbellybreakthrough1.club/lose-40pounds-fast

  4. Great information! I definitely need to start eating something before I work out to help me get through my workout. I have been doing your workouts every day this Summer instead of buying a gym membership! Thanks for all that you do!

  5. Angeline says:

    Hi! I would like to ask some question! Hopefully can get some advice here 🙂 I’m a 22 years old girl who weights 65 kg and height 170com. My most unsatisfied part of my body is my belly fat and thighs.. I would love to know what should I do? Any specific work out or food plan? I’m also interested in getting abs. currently I’m doing workout every 2 days. I eat light for breakfast,lunch, dinner usually I will be slight heavy.. Any suggestions? Really appreciate if I could get some advice here! Thank u so much!!! 🙂

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  7. Mandy says:

    Very good information thanks! Well explained too

  8. This is really interesting, You’re a very skilled blogger.
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  9. Prax says:

    Hey!
    I’m pratik before I used to do a lot of heavy workout and eat nothing after that, which has caused muscle loss in my body. I lost around 12kgs in just a month. and now m facing so many problems because of this. and I again got back to the same weight which I was before 90kg. and now I again want to lose some weight. Please suggest me a good diet. Pre-Workout and Post-Workout.

    Thank you so much!

  10. Rose says:

    Hi Cassey….I tend to workout really late at night like after 10:30 and i was wondering what to eat after workout. And i donot eat any dinner before that as i am at work..any suggestion would be helpfull.

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  12. Nicolle says:

    Hello! I do crossfit at 6 so I eat a pre workout snack at 4 and then my post workout meal is dinner. should I eat a post workout snack and then dinner or keep eating dinner as a post workout meal?
    thanks!

  13. laura says:

    HEY !
    My name is Laura and I am all the way over in Australia, I stumbled on your website, and love it.
    Im training to become a Personal Trainer, and I just love the way you are putting the FUN back in Functional training. I feel like these days people are getting so lost in the fonts when it come to being healthy and loosing weight, that they forget the DO’s!! Your site is full of them, and your workouts are fun and energetic. I hope i can work towards being as successful as you.

    THANKS for the big smile you put on my face !!
    xox laura

  14. Masron says:

    It depends on what kind of food you are einatg. If you are einatg white bread for carbs, then that’s not great. If you are getting your fat from things like advocatos, then that’s good and so on. Your question is unanswerable.