What you eat and drink the day before and during the several hours before your workout dictates how much energy you’ll have for training and how well you will perform. It also affects how much body fat, glycogen or even muscle tissue you burn. Get it wrong and you may find yourself struggling to complete your planned workout and performing under-par. Even worse, you could end up burning muscle rather than fat as your fuel reserves dip.

Get your pre-exercise nutrition right and you’ll have plenty of energy to train hard and perform at your best. Eating the right amount and type of carbohydrate as well as timing your pre-exercise meal correctly will help avoid common problems such as fatigue, dizziness, fainting and stitch.

Why eat before training?

The main purpose of your pre-workout meal is to stabilize your blood sugar levels during exercise. It also starves off hunger and minimizes the risk of problems such as stitch and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels).
But don’t expect your pre-workout meal to fuel your muscles. There isn’t enough time for your body to turn the food into glycogen – the muscles’ main fuel supply – so your body must rely on existing glycogen (and fat) stores. It takes 24 hours to refill muscle glycogen stores, so what you’ve consumed the previous day matters. For most regular exercisers, a daily diet providing carbohydrates of around 280–350 g for a 70 kg person will satisfy muscle glycogen levels.

When to eat before training?

Ideally, you should aim to have a meal 2–4 hours before a workout. This should leave enough time to partially digest your food although, in practice, the exact timing of your pre-workout meal may depend on your daily schedule. You should feel comfortable – neither full nor hungry.
According to a study at the University of North Carolina, United States, eating a moderately-high carbohydrate, low fat meal 3 hours before exercise allows you to exercise longer and perform better.

How much to eat before training?

The exact amount you should eat depends on your body weight (heavier people need more) and how hard and long you plan to exercise (eat more for longer, harder workouts). In general, if you plan to workout for less than 2 hours, aim to eat around 1 g carbohydrate per kg of body weight (or 70 g for a 70 kg person) or 400–600 calories. For longer workouts or endurance events eat around 2 g carbohydrates per kg of body weight (or 600–800 calories).
Don’t eat a big meal just before a workout otherwise you will feel uncomfortable, sluggish and ‘heavy’.

Post-Workout Nutrition: Click here to read the article

(ref: Food for Fitness):
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