Meals for Young People Before and After Exercise
There is a special relationship between fitness and diet. Food is the fuel of the body. And it acts as the fuel for any work. And daily exercise affects our performance after exercise. In the case of young people, the amount and type of food both are different. The benefits of exercise especially depend on the food eaten before and after the exercise.
There is a common misconception about exercise today. Whether it is exercising on an empty stomach or it helps to burn the most calories. But when you exercise on a completely empty stomach without actually eating any food, instead of losing calories, you start losing fat from the protein stored in the muscles. Shawkat Ara Sayeda, a chief nutritionist of Persona Health, said that the body becomes very weak due to this.
So for a healthy body, you can’t stay on an empty stomach before exercising.
Why eat before exercise
Shawkat Ara Sayeda recommends eating the necessary food 30 minutes to 2 hours before exercise. Because, if you eat food before this time, you will not get the required energy during exercise. This will cause laziness in the body during exercise. In addition, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, and mild headaches may occur. In that case, the food before exercise will give you the necessary energy.
When to eat before the start of exercise
Wait a few hours after eating a balanced meal for heavy or light exercise. 30 minutes to 4 hours before the start of exercise should be eaten pre-workout food or breakfast. Because the necessary nutrients can be found only after the digestion of food. If you want to eat heavy food it should be eaten 3-4 hours before exercise and for breakfast this time will be 30 minutes to 1 hour. If you follow this rule, you will get proper energy during exercise, said this nutritionist.
What kind of food before exercise
Sugars
Young people need to have all the necessary energy in their bodies during exercise. So you should eat some sugary foods before exercising. Because the muscles get the most energy from this. This energy is stored in the body and fulfills the energy required after exercise. But if you want to eat sugary foods, they must be unprocessed, natural, and fiber-rich sugars. These carbohydrates are mainly found in fruits, dairy foods, bread, cereals, and sugary foods. Eating low-fat fruits and dairy foods makes it easier to digest and provides energy faster. These include granola bars (which may include oats, nuts, and choco chips), a few pieces of fruit, oatmeal, dried fruit, crackers, toast, and juice.
Non-vegetarian
Young people must eat meat before exercising. Shawkat Ara Sayeda said, 10 to 30 grams of meat should be eaten before exercise. For energy in the body, you have to eat non-vegetarian food three or four times a day. Cheese, meat, peas, boiled eggs, a handful of nuts, Greek yogurt, chocolate milk, and other dairy foods are good meats.
Liquid food
Keep the body moist before and after exercise. You must drink two to three glasses of water within one hour of exercise. And if you do heavy exercise, it is mandatory to drink 1 cup of water every 10 to 20 minutes. Especially if you sweat a lot. Even after exercise, you need to get rid of dehydration by drinking water. In this case, the necessary salt and electrolyte-containing liquid can be drunk with the sweat. However, a person suffering from high blood pressure or kidney problems should consult a doctor in this case.
What to eat after exercise
After exercise, the body loses energy, which makes the muscles weak again. This short period after exercise is called the metabolism wind. At this time the rate of protein synthesis in the body increases for about 30 minutes. This is called building muscle. Protein powder can be eaten in shake form to increase protein levels. However, before eating a protein shake, you need the advice of a proper doctor.
You can eat full-fat Greek yogurt to increase protein in the body in a natural way. It will add 20 percent protein to the body and it has very little sugar.
Sugars
Glycogen acts as fuel for the body. And sugars help increase glycogen, which is reduced after exercise. Within 30 minutes of exercising, you can eat zero point five to zero point six grams of sugar depending on your weight. Sweet potato, milk, pineapple or banana in the fruit, turnip, rice, oatmeal, potato, pasta, whole grain or wheat flour bread will make up for the lack of sugar in the body.
Fat can be eaten
Many people think that fat after exercise weakens the digestive system and prevents the absorption of nutrients. Fat will weaken digestion but will not reduce the benefits of exercise. Different types of nuts, almond butter, seeds, and beneficial fats in dried fruits are not harmful to the body.
You have to drink water later
Water and electrolytes from the body are reduced during exercise. 12 hours before exercise, the body needs to fill the water deficit.
Heavy or medium the right amount and type of food is needed after all kinds of exercise. And young people have no choice. The right benefits of exercise can be found by eating the right food at the right time.