To eat or not to eat… this simple question has a simple yet complex answer. Both strategies (eating before and eating after exercise) are good for performance, fitness, and health.

Nevertheless, how to eat for exercise is dependent on several factors, namely, how long you exercise, your kind of exercise, your exercise experience, and health factors that might play a role in how you process food.

Nutrition plays a key role in building fitness, that’s for sure.

We will begin with consuming before exercise. What you select to eat before you decide to exercise can make or break your workout. Food is fuel, and it’s important to eat at least something prior to a workout.

Eating before exercise serves several functions

1. fuels your muscles (both with food eaten in the days before in addition to the hour or two before)

2. helps settle your stomach and avoid hunger

3. assists prevent low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) – signs can include dizziness, nausea, and headaches

4. fortifies your mental state by knowing that your body is fueled

What and how much you eat vary from person to person and sport to sport, with no right or wrong choice. the way to learn how much and what to eat is to experiment to see what works for you.

Your food preferences may vary with the time of day, kind of exercise, and level of exercise intensity. Consider the following recommendations

• Be certain to eat a balanced diet every day so your body is fueled and ready for action.

• A balanced diet means incorporating a variety of wholesome foods into your daily options. Good nutrition means eating sources of carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins/minerals, and water.

The first three (carbs, protein, and fat) are sources of energy. Carbohydrates are a source of instant energy, proteins build and repair muscle, and fats are a source of long term energy.

Select foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grain breads, pasta, chicken, fish, and/or tofu, peanuts, etc. For more information on nutrients and food options, visit the  ADA web site.

• Maintaining healthful nutrition is important for exercise because your muscles rely heavily on the foods, and primarily the carbohydrates, you eat daily.

Your body digests carbohydrates into glucose (simple sugar), and either uses it for energy or stores it for later use. Extra glucose is stored mainly in the form of muscle glycogen (complex sugar).

When you exercise, your body uses both glucose (quick, simple sugars) and glycogen (longer lasting, complex sugars).

You will notice a big difference in the way you feel when you spend days consuming wholesome food vs. foods that are fried and/or high in saturated fat or sugar. Don’t forget, food is your fuel.

• Allow enough time to digest.

• Allow 3 to 4 hours for a big meal to digest, 2 to 3 hours for a small meal, and an hour or less for a small snack, based on your body.

• Avoid high fat proteins.

• Peanut butter, red meat, and cheese, for instance, take longer to digest and often add to feelings of fatigue.

• Make certain to eat for the duration of your workout.

• If you are going to workout for less than an hour, you’ll simply need foods that digest easily. Choose high-carb, low fat foods, such as crackers, bagels, or bread.

When you’re going to train for longer than an hour, select carbohydrates that last longer, such as yogurt or a banana.

• Drink plenty of fluids.

• Dehydration is a common source of an unpleasant workout.

Almost all individuals select not to eat before exercise because they worry that they will feel sluggish, have cramps or diarrhea, and/or experience an upset stomach.

As reported by Nancy Clark, M.S., R.D., a leading sports nutritionist, unpleasant stomach and GI (gastrointestinal) problems can occur, dependant upon a few factors

Type of sport

Runners or people who do running-type sports that jostle the body report more GI problems with pre-exercise food intake.

Training status

Unfit individuals who are beginning up an exercise regimen say they experience GI problems more than experienced athletes.

This speaks to the time it takes to teach your body how to eat and exercise.

Age

GI problems occur more in younger individuals that those who are veteran exercisers. Again, this speaks to experience and knowing what your body needs.

Gender

Women are more likely to experience GI troubles, specifically during times of menstruation.

Emotional and mental stress

An individual with stress, tension, and/or anxiety may experience either accelerated or delayed digestion.

Exercise intensity

During an intense bout of exercise, blood shifts from the digestive track to the muscles, leaving less blood to aid in the digestive process. This can cause  cramps and other types of GI problems.

Precompetition food intake

Eating too much high-fat and high-protein foods (such as bacon or a greasy cheeseburger) right before a workout can trigger GI problems.

Fiber

High fiber foods (like bran cereal or apples) can create GI problems.

Caffeine and concentrated sugar solutions

Coffee, for instance, can lead to “coffee stomach” thus of too much caffeine, creating unwanted stomach distress and/or hyperactive bowels.

Level of hydration

When you are dehydrated, you may experience GI problems during your workout.

Hormonal changes that occur during exercise

Exercise causes a change in the hormones that regulate the digestive system, creating an open door to GI problems.

Morning exercisers are specifically guilty of exercising on an empty stomach. When you hit the road without any breakfast, you’ll be running on fumes, not fuel.

It is like choosing not to put gas into your car before driving to work. A few gallons will get you farther than if your tank is on or below empty.

Now, about consuming after exercise – if you are a competitive athlete, what you eat after a workout is just as important as what you eat leading up to a workout, because your body needs to recover and replace glycogen stores in time for the next workout.

When you’re a recreational exerciser and workout 2 to 3 times each week, you need not worry as much about post-exercise foods because your body will have enough time between workouts to recover.

It’s common not to want to eat after exercise, because you might not feel hungry and/or don’t have time. Learning to eat right after a workout, though, has benefits.

Studies have shown that 15 to 60 minutes after a workout is the optimal time to eat carbohydrate rich foods and drinks (e.g., banana, bagel, orange juice) because that is when enzymes that make glycogen are most active and will most rapidly replace depleted glycogen stores in the muscles.

Protein also helps with recovery in that it repairs muscle and helps with glycogen replacement. Be certain to eat several slices of turkey on a wheat bagel, or have a big glass of protein fortified milk.

The most important nutritional strategy post workout, though, is fluid replacement. Drink water, juice, or carbohydrate rich sports drinks to replace what you sweat out.

When you are not used to consuming before or after exercise, remember that it’s a learned behavior. You can train your body to do almost anything. Teaching your body how to use food for exercise is an important part of building your fitness.

Building fitness takes time, and so does learning to eat properly. With practice and patience, you can reap the advantages of good nutrition for exercise.