The topic of sports nutrition is incredibly controversial and everyone seems to have their own idea about what the “right” thing to eat before a workout is (and everyone seems to have studies to back up their conflicting ideas).
The truth is that there is no “right” thing to eat before a workout. There are just too many factors, like whether you train at 6am or 6pm and the type of training you do. Even two people who do the same training in the morning might have different pre-workout needs depending on what they ate before going to bed the night before. There are, however, some generally agreed-upon truths about what to eat before working out.
YOU NEED CARBS
Pretty much all of the research supports this one: You need to eat some carbohydrates in you in order to give your body fuel for your workout. Otherwise, you start to break down muscle tissue, which is definitely not something you want to do! The problem is deciding when to eat carbs before your workout and what kind of carbs.
For intense workouts, you are going to need a quick source of energy. This means high-glycemic carbs. For more sustained workouts, you are going to need more lasting sources of energy. This means eating low-glycemic carbs. Unless you are training for a marathon or are bodybuilding, then your workout probably falls between these categories, which is why vegan athletes like Brendan Brazier recommend mixing low-glycemic and high-glycemic carbs.
The takeaway?
You need about 15-60 grams of carbs before a workout
Consume a mix of low-glycemic and high-glycemic carbs
The best time to consume carbs is about 30-60 minutes before your workout
YOU PROBABLY NEED SOME PROTEIN TOO
Most sports nutrition experts will recommend eating carbs and proteins in a 3:1 ratio before your workout. However, this advice is usually based on the idea that you will be training early in the morning. As
Muscle for Life explains, protein can take 2 to 6+ hours to absorb. So, if you ate a sizeable amount of protein an hour before your workout, you’ve probably got a lot of amino acid in your blood. Your body is already in an anabolic state so taking more protein before your workout isn’t going to help you much. By contrast, if you haven’t eaten protein in a while, then your body probably needs a bit of protein to get in an anabolic state so muscle forms instead of breaking down.
The takeaway?
Consume carbs and proteins in a 3:1 ratio
If you ate a protein-rich meal within an hour or two of your workout, you can probably skip the protein
WHAT ABOUT FAT?
For a long time, sports nutritionists advised against eating fat before a workout because fats take a long time to digest. Eating fat before a workout could make you feel sluggish or cause cramps. However, now there is a new camp of sports nutritionists who say you should eat a small amount of fat. The reasoning is that fat helps your body deliver nutrients to where they are needed. If you do decide to include fat in your pre-workout meal, then you should probably choose one that is easy to digest. The good news for vegans is that most of our natural plant sources of fat are pretty easy to digest, such as flax oil or coconut oil.
LISTEN TO YOUR BODY!
The most important thing to do is listen to your body. You know what foods make you feel energized for your workout and which ones leave you feeling sluggish. With that said, here are some ideas on what to eat before you work out.
VEGAN PRE-WORKOUT MEAL IDEAS
Sprouted grain bread with avocado
Soy yogurt with granola, half a banana, and some peanut butter
