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| Mini-Marathon Preparation - Week 8 |
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Eating for Training
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What you eat before, during and after training will dictate how much you get out of your exercise session.
If you’re skipping meals or snacks, you may find yourself struggling long before you should be, and tiring easily. |
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Eating Before Training
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Your pre-exercise meal will help to stabilise your blood sugar levels and prevent you feeling tired and weak during your training session. Ideally you should aim to eat 2-4 hours before working out. This will leave enough time for you to digest the food so you won’t feel uncomfortable when training. More importantly it will give you enough fuel to push yourself and your fitness level.
Many people believe that not eating before exercise will help them to lose weight more quickly, but by eating something, you will be able to exercise harder and for longer. If you attempt to train on an empty fuel tank, you can’t perform at your best.
Low GI foods are best for before a workout as they will help to avoid low blood sugar levels and keep you going for longer.
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| Pre-exercise meals (eat 2 – 4 hours before exercise) |
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 | Porridge or wholegrain cereal topped with dried fruit, seeds and low fat milk or yoghurt |
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| Sandwich or bagel or wrap filled with chicken, fish, low fat cheese, egg |
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| Jacket potato topped with beans, tuna or chicken |
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| Pasta with tomato-based pasta sauce, chicken pieces and chopped vegetables |
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| Rice or other grains with chicken or fish and vegetables. |
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| Peas, beans and lentils |
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| Root vegetables |
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Pre-exercise snacks (eat up to 1 hour before exercise)
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| 1-2 portions of fruit |
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| Handful of dried fruit |
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| Glass of smoothie |
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| Pot of low-fat probiotic fruit yoghurt |
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| Oat-based cereal bar |
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| When training for longer than 60 minutes |
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You might like to keep your energy levels up by eating one of the following snacks. Drink plenty of water too.
Dried mango or other dried fruit
Fresh fruit eg banana
Granola or breakfast bar (without hydrogenated fat or too much saturated fat)
Energy gels
Sports drinks, diluted juice and high-juice squash are often a better choice than plain water when you are working out continually for longer than 60 minutes. The sugars they contain not only provide fuel for your exercising muscles but they also speed up the absorption of water into your bloodstream.
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| Remember however that if you are aiming to lose body fat, you might be better to drink plain water during your workout. Sports drinks add extra calories and, in some cases, may even supply as many - or more – calories as you are burning off! |
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| After Exercise |
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This is the time when your body recovers and gets stronger and fitter.
Your post-exercise drink or snack should, ideally, include protein as well as carbohydrate. A mixture of carbohydrate and protein speeds glycogen recovery, faster than eating carbohydrate alone. A little protein helps promotes faster muscle repair too.
A build up of free radicals, which are normally generated during exercise, can leave your muscles very sore and tired. Although regular training improves your body’s defences against free radicals, you can also boost them further by eating anti-oxidant rich fruits, vegetables, whole grains and pulses.
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Refuelling Snacks (Eat within 2 hours after exercise)
A couple of pieces of fresh fruit with a drink of low fat / skimmed milk
1 or 2 cartons of low fat yoghurt
A smoothie (crushed fresh fruit whizzed in a blender with low fat yoghurt)
A homemade milkshake
A salmon, turkey or hummus and salad sandwich
A handful of dried fruit, seeds and nuts
Rice cakes / whole grain crackers with hummus
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| Next week we discuss your water and fluid requirements. |
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