Exercise how long after meal

But, to be succinct, you absolutely need to eat before you exercise! Different people have different preferences on when to eat before a workout. The best rule of thumb is that the closer you get to exercise time, the simpler your choices need to be in order to help your body utilize energy more efficiently. If you can eat hours prior to exercise, a large meal with complex carbs will have time to be absorbed and processed.

Proper fueling at this time will help you feel satiated during your workout, keep the stomach cramps at bay if you choose the right food! Making sure you have enough time to eat and start the digestion process can also help ward off nausea and low blood sugar, which can make you feel faint during exercise. The general guideline for eating before a workout is that the size of the meal depends on how much time you have to digest it.

If you have a lot of time before your workout, feel free to enjoy a large meal. For example, a sandwich stacked with lean protein, veggies and avocado on multi-grain bread would be perfect. If you have hours before your workout, a small meal or healthy snack composed of carbohydrates and protein is best for most people. One tasty example: enjoy a bowl of low-fiber, whole grain healthy! There are a few common rules of thumb you should follow. Basically, the bigger the meal, the more time you should wait to work out, says Amie Rowe , a registered dietitian based in Raleigh.

Instead, Rowe recommends eating a low-fiber snack about 30 to 45 minutes before engaging in short, vigorous exercises like high-intensity interval training or weight-lifting. These easily digestible carbohydrates will break down quickly to provide fuel: bananas, nut butter on toast, yogurt and granola, or energy bars.

For high-endurance activities like running or swimming, you'll need to store up more energy longer before your workout. Rowe recommends a mix of carbohydrates and protein two to three hours before exercise, such as a whole wheat bagel with peanut butter or yogurt with fruit. Distance runners will also want to eat high-carbohydrate meals well in advance of a marathon. Some dietitians recommend carbo-loading two to three days before a race with pasta, rice, and potatoes.

With physical activities sustained over long periods of time, the body uses stored carbohydrates and fats for energy consumption, and Rowe says you'll need to load up ahead of time to stay fresh for the final miles.

Just make sure you don't show up to the race hungry — a granola bar or banana 30 minutes to one hour before you head to the starting line should do the trick. And you should probably stay away from any high-fat foods immediately before exercise.

Ultimately, it's up to you to pay attention to how different foods affect your workout performance, and you should take note of how you feel with varying lengths of time in between eating and exercising. If you are going to be working out intensely for an extended period of time over one hour , your body will likely need to be replenished to avoid getting tired.

However, most of the time just drinking water is enough to keep your body going during your workout. Exercise, though incredibly good for your health, puts stress on your body. Eating the right foods after you exercise is essential to helping your muscles recover and replace their glycogen stores for energy.

This is especially important if you work out intensely or often daily or more. You should eat carbohydrates such as a piece of fruit, raw veggies or whole-grain crackers as soon as possible after exercising, and eat some protein a hard-boiled egg, nuts, turkey, chicken, etc.

Though you may not be in the habit of paying attention to what you eat before and after your workout, doing so can help you get the most out of your exercise. You may jog in place a little, shake out your arms, do a few stretches, and some other movements to get your heart pumping and your body feeling loose before you exercise.

What you do AFTER your workout can mean the difference between sore muscles and fatigue, or stronger muscles and increased energy. But as you may suspect, establishing a proper after-workout routine is incredibly important. Taking care of your body after exercise will impact your muscles their strength and soreness , how well your exercise is received and even how much strain you put on your heart. According to the Mayo Clinic, stretching is beneficial both after your warm up and before your cool down session, but if you only have time to do it once, you should do it after your workout, before you cool down.

At this time, your muscles are warm and more elastic, and stretching increases your flexibility and maximizes the range of motion around your joints. You should stretch all the major muscles groups that you used during your workout. If it feels more comfortable to you, you can also cool down and then stretch. Some experts recommend cooling down to slow your heart rate first, and stretching after. During the cool down, your heart, lungs and blood flow slowly return to their normal states, which is essential to reduce strain on your heart and help prevent muscle strain and soreness.

It also keeps you from feeling dizzy, faint or sick after your workout.