Eating a small meal two to three hours before a workout is ideal. Two to three hours is how long it takes for a meal to reach your muscles, but it's not always practical. Not substituting exercise for eating is important; you can accommodate both. Keep reading to get some ideas for scheduling your meals to boost your workout productivity. And be sure to read through Chapter 23 for more specifics on when and what to eat before you exercise.
Early birds
If the only time that you can sneak in a workout is first thing in the morning, try to eat something before you start. Your body needs fuel constantly, and your carbohydrate stores have most likely been tapped out in the six to seven hours since your last meal. Without eating, you'll feel sluggish and weak. Exercise should make you feel good. It takes only 20 minutes for a piece of fruit to give you the energy that you need to make your workout work for you.
Lunch-hour or after-work crunches
Split your lunch: eat half a few hours before the workout and finish the rest when you get back to your desk. If you exercise after work, say about 5:30 p.m. or 6:00 p.m., plan a minimeal - perhaps a small bowl of cereal, a piece of whole-grain bread with just a dab of PB&J, or a cup of lowfat yogurt at 3:00 or 3:30 p.m. in the afternoon.
When you're doing extra exercise - a charity bike ride or a minimarathon fun run, or a long hike, for example - and stay at it for more than an hour, you need to refuel during the event. The human body can store only about an hour's worth of carbohydrate; it's in the muscles in the form of glycogen. (See Chapter 8 for further explanation of metabolism.) So if you want to finish the race without dragging yourself over the finish line, you need to eat or drink some form of carbohydrate. A sports drink is one option. A small energy bar works, too.
After an especially long workout, you need to refuel to restore your energy. A small high-carbohydrate, moderate-protein, and lowfat meal is best. Reach for fruit, lowfat yogurt, whole-wheat crackers, or bread.
Energy bars come in all kinds of formulations from the calorie, and sugarpacked cereal bars to the protein-dense energy bars. For a meal replacement, be sure that the bar contains at least 10 grams of protein. If you exercise for more than an hour and need a bar to refuel, carbohydrate-heavy ones are best.