What To Eat Before Exercise

In the last couple of weeks I’ve had a few people asking me about what to eat before exercise. If you are training in the morning or after work this can be a bit of a quandary. 

The truth is there are many caveats depending on what type of exercise you are doing to what your desired goal is. Based on the premise most of my clients are busy people who want to look, feel and perform better here is my general guide...

You need to know there is a substantial body of evidence which states training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach leads to accelerated fat loss. This is fine if you can accept a drop in performance too. What I mean is whilst you might get faster results this might also mean the challenging workout is more challenging.

To be fair some people can actually stomach a meal before exercise and if this is the case I would actually recommend something protein based with low-starch carbohydrates. This might be a vegetable omelette, chicken salad or steak and vegetables.

However, most people can’t and so therefore a better solution for many when training in the morning is a small handful of almonds and a cup of black coffee with a teaspoon of coconut oil. This protein-based snack is easy to digest, provides a steady stream of energy and the coffee gives you a bit of mental stimulation.

If you are training in the evening or after work similarly you don’t want anything heavy to eat beforehand either. Furthermore, you will be going to bed a couple of hours after so you don’t want to buzzing your tits off on a cup of coffee either. Therefore a suitable snack might be a couple of squares of dark chocolate or almonds and a mug of green tea with a teaspoon of coconut oil. The dark chocolate and green tea is full of antioxidants, promotes vasodilation which reduces blood pressure and tastes delicious. 

Let me know if this helps.