Sports Nutrition – What to Eat Before and After Training

Sports Nutrition – What to Eat Before and After Training

Foods best consumed 2 to 4 hours before or after training include pasta and jacket potatoes, while post-exercise snacks may include dried fruit and nuts.

Nutrition has long since been recognised to have a major impact upon performance within all different kinds of sports, making it important to think about which types of foods are best consumed before and after exercise/training sessions. Following a healthy, nutritious diet is essential for being able to perform to the very best of one's ability, regardless of whether one is an amateur or professional.

Sports Nutrition – What to Eat Before Training

According to research undertaken at the University of North Carolina, it is best to eat a light meal around two to four hours prior to a training or exercise session. In Sports Supplements, Bean (2007) highlights that eating the following slow-burning, low GI meals will help spare muscle glycogen and avoid blood sugar imbalance:

sandwich/bagel with chicken, fish, cheese or egg

jacket potato and tuna, beans or cheese

pasta with tomato-based sauce, cheese

chicken/fish with rice and vegetables

porridge

wholegrain cereal (weetabix, branflakes) with milk/yogurt

In addition to eating the above meals before training, there are also several different types of snacks which may be consumed between one to two hours before a training sessions. Suitable snacks may include things like dried or fresh fruit, fruit smoothies or cereal/muesli bars, with the latter being very simple to make from scratch at home, thus saving money in the long run.

Sports Nutrition – What to Eat After Exercising or Training

After finishing either an intensive exercise class or serious training session, it is important for the body to be replenished with lost electrolytes, which have been sweated out, as well as vital carbohydrates to provide fuel and help aid recovery. Bean (2007) recommends meals that are likely to be beneficial following an exercise or training session, as follows:

pasta, grilled fish, salad

jacket potato, chicken breast, vegetables

turkey, rice, steamed vegetables

lasagna (meat/veggie), salad

chili, rice, vegetables

chicken curry, rice, vegetables

It is also essential to drink the right types of liquids after an intensive training session, as the body loses vital electrolytes and fluid through sweating during exercise. There are a range of different isotonic sports drinks now available, with Lucozade Sport being able to provide necessary replenishment.

As highlighted above, sports nutritionists recognise that the supplements, foods and drinks consumed before, during and after a training session are able to have a big impact upon performance. Try to eat slow-burning low GI meals before exercise and plenty of carbohydrates afterwards. Isotonic sports drinks are also helpful as they restore electrolytes and provide much needed rehydration following training sessions.

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