Eating healthy is important to everyone’s well-being, but it is especially significant when it comes to training. What you eat prior to exercise will have an impact on your results. What’s more, the number of calories you consume will also play a role on your body, so it’s important to know what you’re goals are so you can adjust your diet accordingly.
Any nutritious diet will incorporate the five major food groups, with more emphasis being on grains, fruits and vegetables, rather than meats and simple sugars. But you don’t have to stick to these guidelines at all times. For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re at the gym and you’re looking to put on muscle. You may want to eat more meats in that case because the protein will help in muscle growth. If, on the other hand, you’re a marathon runner, you may want to incorporate more wheat and grains into your diet because the carbohydrates will be of more benefit to your body by providing easy to use calories.
Another important factor to consider is the calories you consume. While there are certain rules-of-thumb to follow when determining the right caloric intake, the actual amount will differ from one person to the next depending not only on their height and weight, but also on their level of activity. So if you are at a healthy weight, you will want to consume enough calories to maintain that weight. If, on the other hand, you find that you are losing pounds, then you will want to ingest more calories than usual to try to balance things out. You can find any number of calorie calculators online to find out what is right for you including this on line calorie calculator Remember, if you’re finding it hard to remember what works for you, you can always keep a diary to log the number of calories you consume before a workout which will allow you to adjust accordingly.
What is also really important are the types of calories you take in. It is one thing to eat a healthy meal before working out; a meal, say, like a plate of pasta with chicken, but it’s quite another to stuff yourself on sweets and think that because you’re full that you’re getting the same results. Yeah, you might get an initial burst of energy to start but once the sugar-rush wears off your body will feel the crash, and as a result, you’ll find that you under-perform. You’ll find, ultimately, that you’re cheating your body out of its best possible results. Strutcture your meals around the 1-2-3 principle for snacking for most optimal results!
You know what your goals are. Just remember that physical activity alone won’t get you your best results. You’ll need to incorporate a healthy diet as well, if you’re going to reach your true potential.
Written by Stephen Colomvakos for Kew Gardens Health Group
