As an avid runner and athlete, eating healthy is crucial not only to my body, but to my workouts. For proper nutrients do affect my workouts. However, it was not when I realized that some of my regular foods in my everyday diet was actually fighting against my body, not working with it.
While in a waiting room one day I was flipping through an old issue of Runner’s World and I realized how almost all the information in the magazine has repeated itself in previous and current issues. That’s the thing about training for any sport, it has been done before. Unless it is a brand new sport, there has been thousands of articles and research done on the sport. However, what interested me the most was how the image of our food has changed? Yes, a lot of that has to do with how the forever Food Pyramid changed and now it’s not even a pyramid: it’s a plate. So with our own government changing the regulations of how food should be processed in our country to how much should we really be consuming of one food group, it makes it confusing on what is really healthy for our bodies, and what is fake. So that is why I started to do my own research. According to Runner’s World, they recently (in their May 2016 issue) had a little article discussing what not to eat before you work out.
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The list includes:
Flavored yogurt
Low fat peanut butter
Bran muffins
Granola
Pre-made smoothies
A lot of these make sense if you are an athlete, but if you are not an athlete or just started to work out for fun or for health reasons I will explain why you should not eat the following foods before you work out.
1. Flavored yogurt.
Rule of thumb: any dairy product before you workout is not a good idea. The best way to explain is, if you do consume dairy before your workout make sure there is a restroom nearby. When you gotta go, you gotta go. However, regular, sugar-free yogurt is a good source of calcium The best suggestion is to consume the yogurt at least an hour before your workout.
2. Low fat peanut butter.
The point of peanut butter is for the fat. Some fat is good for your body, especially if you have been lifting a lot of weights. So why low fat? If it is low fat, just know the company has added something else. I think of it is, if they take something out they add something in.
3. Bran muffins.
Another big no no. Any fiber before working out will work against you. Fiber makes people go.
4. Granola and nuts.
Granola and nuts actually have a lot more calories than one thinks. If you buy the prepackaged granola and nuts, you will be consuming a lot of calories and a lot of sugar.
5. Pre-made smoothies.
This goes back to rule number one: no dairy before working out. If you make a non-dairy smoothie, then you will fall for a sugar trap. A lot of pre-made smoothies are full of sugar. It would be like eating a bowl of sugar before your workout. There will be a high followed by a big crash.
The rule of thumb with eating before exercising is knowing yourself. If you know that you have a sensitive stomach with things, then do not eat that item. As always, moderation is key to everything, however, stay away from dairy and fiber before exercising. Carbohydrates and water will be your best friend.
Happy Training Y’all.
