Diet for Gym Goers

Exercise is the finest way to stay fit. The people who exercise regularly are protected from a myriad of diseases. But what you eat before and after exercise also impacts your health and wellness. Eating the right foods at the right time can have positive effects on your body and mind. Diet is so essential to this combination that often it can ruin the benefits of an otherwise good exercise regimen. A fitness program is nothing without a full fledged nutrition plan to support it.

A nutrition plan for a gym goer depends on the purpose of exercise i.e. strength training to build muscles or cardiovascular exercises to lose weight by burning fat. Its not merely about eating a lot of food to compensate the nutritional loss. It is about selecting the right combination of foods to make sure that you feed the body correctly.

Pre- and post-workout nutrition supply all the nutrition that the body needs. During the workout session, your body goes through tremendous pressure and uses its nutrients to convert them into energy. If it is short of nutrients in the first place, the chances of a person fainting are higher. That is where pre-workout nutrition comes into picture. Once the workout session is over, your body is in desperate need of nutrition. If it doesn't get it, it may result in extreme fatigue or even muscle burnout. Post workout nutrition makes sure that your body gets those nutrients when it needs it.

Each and every body is different and has different nutritional requirements depending on the type, intensity and duration of exercise. Also, age, sex, BMR (basal metabolic rate) and genetics play role to some extent. So obviously, every nutrition program needs to be customized according to one's requirement. However, there are certain things to be taken care of and these tips will remain true and useful to everyone even though they may have different bodies and different goals.

Pre Workout Nutrition

A vigorous workout not only depletes the energy reserves but also causes a lot of wear and tear on the body. It is imperative to have a good pre-workout nutrition plan before exercising to ensure that the body has enough fuel to sustain an exercise routine. The pre workout nutrition provides an opportunity to refuel muscle and liver glycogen stores. For optimal performance, load the tank before work out. Here are some tips for your pre workout nutrition:

• Meal timings are to be taken care. Consuming a large meal needs time for digestion. Therefore, it is important to have it 3-4 hours prior to exercise. If the meal is more of a snack, have it 1-2 hours before the workout.
• Carbohydrates are the best energy fuels. Carbohydrates are broken down directly to glucose which will power your workout. Consume high-carbohydrate, low-fat food, and choose complex carbs over simple carbs. Fats are slow to digest, takes longer time to absorb. Fruits (like apple, banana, grapes, strawberries etc), oatmeal, whole grain bread, whole wheat pasta are some foods you can include in your pre-workout meal.
• Your plan should also contain slow digesting proteins like eggs so that the energy supply is maintained consistently throughout the workout.
• Take adequate amount of fluids to ensure adequate hydration. Dehydration can cause headaches, fatigue and cramping. Drink about 400 to 600 ml of liquid, two to three hours before workout.
• See to it you feel comfortable during exercise, i.e. not full and not hungry.

Nutrition During Workout

The longer and more intense is your workout, the more important it is to charge your body with the right kind of fluids. Proper hydration is very important during exercise, also there may be need for carbohydrate and electrolytes (like sodium and potassium) replacement. It is practically difficult to generalize amount and type of fluid to drink as it not only depends on length and intensity of exercise, but also individual differences like rate of sweating, individuals hydration levels etc.

Consuming sports drinks can be beneficial for maintaining hydration, electrolytes and glucoses levels, thereby improving performance and safety while exercising. Sports drinks can be classified broadly into three types:

• Isotonic sports drinks immediately replace fluids and electrolyte lost by sweating and supplies a boost of carbohydrate. These drinks work well for longer exercise sessions, replenishing fluids, electrolytes and carbohydrates. Examples being Gatorade, Powerade etc.
• Hypotonic sports drinks replace only fluids and electrolyte lost by sweating, and has minimal or no carbohydrate content in it. These drinks are best used for rapid hydration and are not optimum for exclusive use during long sessions of exercise. Example: lucozade sport.
• Hypertonic sports drinks have high carbohydrate content to top up muscle glycogen stores during or after the heavy workout. These are better post-exercise drinks that offer a higher dose of energy with the fluid. If used during exercise it is recommended to use it with Isotonic drinks.

Post Workout Nutrition

Once a workout is completed, small tears in the muscle fibers and connective tissue are created. The muscles will try to adapt themselves and become stronger and better able to deal with such trauma in the future (a process called adaptation). Post workout nutrition makes sure that the muscles are refueled efficiently and they are also provided with the raw materials they need to rebuild themselves. To restore body to the pre-exercise state and to get ready for the next bout of exercise, post workout meal is crucial.

The main aim of post workout nutrition is to:

• replace muscle and liver glycogen stores
• replace fluid and electrolytes lost in sweat
• repair the damage caused by the exercise

Here are some tips for your post workout nutrition:

• With sweating there is loss of fluids and electrolyte. So, re-hydrate quickly after a long workout. Sports drinks, fruit juices, coconut water can be a solution to this.
• Carbohydrates play a main role in post exercise meal, as these foods will replace the glycogen stores depleted during the activity. Recovery will be most effective during the first few hours after the exercise.
• A comprehensive workout depletes glycogen in your body, so you need glucose sources fast. A sports drink with glucose and electrolytes is a brilliant way to start this meal.
• Providing the body with a quality protein source is the next thing on the list. A fast digesting protein like a whey milkshake supplies essential amino acids for adaptation process of the muscles. Always remember, 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight is all you require.
• The final component of a post workout meal plan is real food. A sandwich or a small pasta dish that has a natural mix of protein, carbs and fat is an ideal choice.
• Consume your post-workout nutrition meal as soon as your stomach and schedule will allow it. Ideally, you should have it within the first 30 minutes of completing your workout.

Cardio Nutrition

As in all other workout, pre- and post-workout meal is equally important when doing cardio. Inspite of your goal being losing weight by burning fat, never do your workout empty stomach as this may lead to decrease in your exercise performance and easy fatigability.

When you start with your cardio work-out, initial source of energy comes from glycogen, so carbohydrate plays a definite role. Also cardio workout last for longer duration so fluid intake should be adequate to keep your body hydrated.

Studies suggests to manipulate the pre and post workout meal depending on the type of workout. For example, for muscle building, 2:1 or 3:1 ratio of carbs:protein in  pre-workout meal, and for fat loss 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of carbs:protein. The main function of this dietary manipulation is optimizing your insulin levels to help you reach your particular goals. But lot of evidence based studies is required before anything can be generalized.

Exercises and diet goes hand in hand. Depending on your type of work-out, duration, intensity, individual and environmental variations, plan your diet accordingly to get best out of your work-out.