Eating the wrong types of food before your workout can be very harmful to your energy levels, fat loss, and mindset. Your body is a natural machine that requires the correct fuel and oil to keep things running smoothly. Without the right stuff, we are left with cramps, a mental/physical crash, and a lack of motivation to exercise at all. Let’s take a look a few foods that you might want to stay away from pre workout; if not at all times.
Foods High In Sugar
The “Sugar High”
About mid-afternoon, you’re energy levels are feeling really low from the afternoon crash, and you have been eyeing a box of donuts from across the room. You’re hoping that you’ll be able to ride out the sugar high from one or maybe two donuts right through to the end of your workout. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how it will go down. Foods with that much sugar and highly refined carbohydrates will cause a big spike in your blood sugar levels – and follow up with a big crash right in the middle of your routine. A few other examples would be items such as candy, soda pop, cookies, etc…
Fast Food Motivation
Pre-Game Fast Food Meal
This one is pretty intuitive and seems like common sense, yet we can still find ourselves hitting up the drive-through window for a quick bite. It isn’t until you’re finished that the regret kicks in. You start feeling guilty about eating the food that you know isn’t good for you, and now you want to hit the gym and burn off those calories. The trouble is, that a meal that high in fat and sodium can take up to 4 hours for your body to fully digest. Meaning that a lot of your body’s energy will be focused on digesting that meal, and leave you with very little for your workout. Not to mention how sick you will feel during your routine as well.
Nothing at All
Fasting Pre-Workout
With the exception of exercising first thing in the morning, eating nothing at all before your workout can make your workout feel that much harder. Your muscles, without the fuel they need, will tire out much more quickly and actually decrease your stamina. Even a half a piece of fruit with coupled with some yogurt can give your full body a much needed push.
Energy Drinks
High Caffeine + Sugar
As of today, research has shown time and time again that using Caffeine pre-workout can improve your results. But coupled with the high amounts of energy dropping sugar isn’t going to benefit you long term. This can leave your body feeling tired, and your mind running wild as you try to fall asleep at night. This can also start a brutal cycle in which your sleeping habits start to suffer, which then affects your energy, recovery, diet, and pretty much everything else.
The Raw Egg Smoothy
Downing Raw Egg’s Pre-Workout
In one of the best known movies of all times, the boxing champ in training begins his day by downing a big glass of raw eggs. Now protein taken pre-workout can actually be beneficial in terms of endurance and recovery, but there are much more pleasant ways of achieving this… not to mention the possibility of salmonella poisoning. The benefits of protein pre-workout can easily be gained through a on whey protein shake taken 1-2 hours before training in which ever flavor suits your desire the most.
