Eating for Exercise

Eating for your exercise is very individualized and really depends on what type of exercise you are doing and what results you are looking for. The following information is generalized recommendations adapted from SCAN’s (sports, cardiovascular, and wellness nutrition) exercise nutrition handouts.

Your workout really starts before you actually work out because you have to fuel your body in order to fuel your exercise. Before a workout you want to reach for carbohydrate-rich foods. Why? Carbohydrates are our body’s preferred energy source—it’s like putting gas into an engine instead of McDonald’s old fry oil. You also want a small amount of protein in this snack for muscle build/repair. Eating foods high in fat or complex carbs are not advised as these foods take longer to digest and will likely give you a horrible stomach ache while you’re working out. Remember, when we rest we digest—so if you’re powering through a tough work out you sure aren’t allowing your body to use any energy to help digest complex foods. If you’re a morning gym rat some options could be banana with 1 Tbsp cashew butter (less fat per serving than almond butter or peanut butter… these would also be alright choices based on your taste preference). If you’re an evening gym rat you could eat oatmeal, nuts, and a banana about 3-4 hours before your workout, or a PB&J with some chocolate milk, a turkey sandwich with an apple, or even (my guilty pleasure) cottage cheese with applesauce and crackers or tortilla chips. Everyone’s body is different meaning everyone’s digestive system is different. Figure out what works best for you and your workout to avoid cramping while staying nourished and having a maximum amount of energy going into your workout.

During your workout you really only need to eat or have a nutritional drink if you’re working out for an extended period of time. 45-minute workout? Stick to water. If you’re running a marathon, or just crazy and feel like staying at the gym for 5 hours you’ll need to replenish nutrients, energy, and electrolytes, and fluids for your body to continue on.  Easily digestible foods (bananas, sports drinks, bread, sports gels, etc.) are preferred for the same reason explained above—you don’t want to get a side cramp trying to digest complex foods. The amount of sweat you produce, the length of your activity, and the intensity of your activity will determine how much food and fluid you will need during your exercise as well as the intervals in which you will need to re-fuel.  General rule of thumb: drink fluids early and consistently to maintain adequate hydration throughout your workout, chugging water will not hydrate you as well as drinking the same amount of water in small intervals throughout your workout. If you are working out at a high intensity for over an hour a sports drink would be more helpful than plain water for the purpose of electrolyte replacement. Also, pay attention to your environment—if you’re in a really hot place (eg. Hot yoga) you will need more water than someone running outside in 40 degree weather.

After your workout you are going to be pretty hungry—trust me, I feel this way every morning after I get home from the gym. It’s a constant battle in my head: eat first or shower first. You should eat within a half-hour of completing your workout with the goals of restoring fluids, carbohydrate stores in your muscles and protein for repair and growth of your muscles. I haven’t talked about fat much in this post because it is focused on exercise nutrition, but please remember that fat is a CRUCIAL part to your overall diet and nourishment and should not be avoided entirely. So what should you eat after your workout? Smoothies are really handy because you can get everything in one cup and they’re usually pretty tasty.  A turkey sandwich… or a turkey panini if you want to get fancy. PB&J with chocolate milk (notice how this is a great option at any time in your life?), taco/burrito bowl with tortilla chips, breakfast egg sandwich on whole wheat with cheese or avocado.. tomato if you want to get crazy with that one.  Think lean protein sources, whole grains, and electrolytes.

For endurance athletes caffeine may be helpful for an extra energy boost. This can be achieved through coffee, energy drinks, or even tea. Caffeine has not been shown to aid in any weight loss during exercise, but does help the athlete prolong their activity. It is recommended that caffeine intake occur 1 hour before exercise. The amount of caffeine needed to be effective in exercise depends on the person and their caffeine tolerance. Caffeine is also an addictive substance and personally I would not recommend it… sorry Seattle.

Another think I wouldn’t fully recommend is alcohol. I’m a social drinker and totally get that having a nice glass of wine on a Friday night is a fantastic thing--  however, if you’re solely focused on physical fitness and results in the gym alcohol is not going to aid you in reaching these goals.  As alcohol is a diuretic it poses a threat on an athlete’s hydration status—so if you do want to go out for drinks, make sure you’re adequately hydrated before you go. Alcohol has many other negative effects including hindering the ability for your body to use fat as a fuel source during exercise, interrupting muscle build/repair post-exercise and interfering with carbohydrate replenishment in the muscles. Alcohol is also a caloric drink and is adding non-nutritive calories to your overall intake. Last but not least, alcohol can interfere with your sleep patterns that lower ability for recovery and leads to general grumpiness.

30-MINUTE HEALTHY CHICKEN BURRITO BOWLS-- www.simplysissom.com

PREP TIME

15 mins

COOK TIME

15 mins

TOTAL TIME

30 mins

Author: Bailey Sissom

Serves: 4 large burrito bowls

INGREDIENTS

•    1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves, stems removed and roughly chopped

•    ½ cup plain Greek yogurt

•    2 TBS fresh lime juice

•    2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

•    ¼ cup olive oil + more for cooking chicken

•    1½ tsp. white vinegar

•    ⅛ tsp salt + more for seasoning chicken

•    1 lb. chicken thighs, organic recommended

•    1 TBS taco seasoning

•    6 cups of romaine lettuce, chopped

•    2 cups quinoa or brown rice, prepared according to package directions (I use frozen)

•    2 cups frozen corn

•    1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

•    2 avocados, diced

•    2 tomatoes, diced

•    Salsa (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1   DRESSING: Puree cilantro, yogurt, lime juice, garlic, ¼ cup of olive oil, white vinegar, and ⅛ tsp of salt in a food processor or blender. Set aside.

2   CHICKEN: Place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with a thin layer of olive oil. While oil heats, pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle taco seasoning over both sides of chicken thigh. Add chicken to pan. Cook for 12-15 minutes (flipping halfway through cooking) or until chicken is no longer pink in the center. Remove chicken from skillet, dice and set aside.

3   ASSEMBLY: To each bowl add 1½ cups of romaine lettuce, ½ cup of quinoa, ½ cup of corn, ¼ can of black beans, ½ of an avocado, and ½ of a tomato. Top with ¼ of the diced chicken and drizzle with creamy cilantro lime dressing. Add salsa if desired.

HELPFUL HINTS:

1   The cilantro-lime dressing takes about 5 minutes to create, but since the theme of these bowls is simple and customizable I feel obligated to let you know.. this isn’t essential. There have been many nights that I toss some salsa on the top and call it quits. Trust me, nobody is complaining.

2   I like using chicken thighs. They are moist and have tons of flavor, buuuuuttt… chicken breasts are def the healthier option. Feel free to substitute!

I used Simple Truth frozen quinoa/brown rice blend. Even though I cook All. The. Time. I still find making perfectly cooked quinoa difficult. For this reason, I love the frozen option. It comes out perfectly every single time and is ready in 5 minutes! Make sure to check the ingredient list before purchasing a frozen blend. It should contain grains and possibly a little olive oil and salt, nothing else is really necessary.