To Eat or Not To Eat

Should you eat before you workout or not?  That question has probably crossed your mind in the past few weeks.  The simple answer is--it shouldn't matter.  The energy that you use when exercising comes from energy stored in your muscles, liver and fat cells; not from what you've just consumed.  As long as you eat a healthy diet on a regular basis, you should have enough stored energy to last for at least 1-2 hours of very intense exercise.  That being said, if you don't like running on an empty stomach, a light snack is not going to hurt.

Foods to avoid:  Before you workout, you should avoid eating any foods that are high in protein or fiber, which takes longer to digest.  Likewise, dairy products are not a good choice.  You'll feel that glass of milk sloshing in your stomach for miles.  This is one time you DON'T want whole wheat--the added fiber takes too long to digest.  Any kind of meat obviously falls in the protein category.  I once made the mistake of grabbing a left-over piece of breakfast bacon before I ran.  The grease from that foolish choice coated the inside of my mouth the entire way.  It was disgusting.

Foods that work:  Small, 100-200 calorie snacks work best.  Bananas, energy bars, pretzels, crackers, low fat cookies, toast with jam are all good choices.  If I'm starving before a workout, one of my go-to foods is a handful of Vanilla Wafers.  They go down easy, are reasonably low-fat, and take the edge off my hunger.

I've given you some basic guidelines, but you'll need to find what works best for you. Remember, whatever you ate the night before is going to have the biggest impact on your energy level, so if you're planning something big make sure you carbo load the night before, just like the professionals.

Choose wisely, chow down, and LACE UP!