What to eat to fuel your fitness

Although it’s important to have the right snack before you start and a suitable meal afterwards to help your body recover and repair, it’s actually what you eat every day that plays the biggest part in your performance. Sports dietitian Caitlin Reid shares how to make sure you eat right to get the most from your workouts…

Eating for every day

The food you eat before you exercise will have little benefit on your overall performance if most of the time your diet is poor. No surprises here, but the best diet is a healthy, balanced eating plan that includes sufficient amounts of fibre-rich carbs, protein, vitamins and minerals, plus healthy fats. Include fibre-rich carbs, such as wholegrain bread, pasta or rice; have at least five portions of fruit and veg each day, and include lean protein (such as chicken, tofu or fish) and low-fat dairy products.

Before you exercise

Your body can only burn food it has already digested and absorbed, so there’s no point eating just before you exercise in the hope that it will give you more energy. In fact, it’s more likely to cause you problems. Eating a large meal immediately before exercising will make you feel sluggish and possibly cause stomach pains. Foods high in fibre, fat or protein take longer to digest, so need to be eaten long before your workout begins – especially if you’ll be running. Eat a carbohydrate-containing meal with a small amount of protein three to four hours before exercise, or a snack such as a banana or pot of low-fat yoghurt one to two hours before.

During exercise

For a workout of less than 90 minutes, if you follow the advice above, you shouldn’t need to eat during your workout. If you feel tired, it may mean your diet is unbalanced, you ate too much or too soon before exercising or that you’re dehydrated. Workouts that last 90 minutes or more, or endurance events involving a moderate to high[1]intensity exercise mean you’ll probably need to consume extra carbs, as your body doesn’t have an endless supply. You need easily digested carbs, such as sports drinks or muesli bars. Research with athletes shows 30–60g of carbohydrates (equivalent to ½–1 litre of a sports drink) need to be consumed for each hour of exercising to delay fatigue.

After exercise

How well you recover nutritionally after a workout determines your performance at your next session. For best results, follow the three Rs: refuel, repair and rehydrate. Refuel your carbohydrate (glycogen) stores by eating a low-GI, carb-containing meal within two hours. If you want to enhance your performance, though, eating within 30 minutes of working out may be more beneficial. Repair your damaged muscles by eating protein. During a workout, muscle is usually broken down, so including protein-rich foods in your post[1]workout meal can help repair the damage and promote the building of stronger muscles. To reap the most benefits, eat carbohydrate-rich foods at the same time.

THE PROTEIN MYTH: There’s a growing belief that if you exercise, you need more protein. While it’s true that top endurance athletes need more than the rest of us – 1.2-1.4g for every kilogram they weigh (that’s 84-98g protein for a 70kg person) – most of us are getting more than enough already.

Read more: 9 happy ways to get moving