Should I Eat Before Or After Exercising? What Are The Best Practices?

Eating before exercising has several benefits. However, eating too much can have negative effects on your physical performance, as well as on your results if you want to lose weight (fat mass).

If your nutrition is properly controlled, eating well before exercising will help you gain muscle mass more easily, particularly through the consumption of protein-rich foods. A high (but controlled) intake of protein allows you to:

• Limit the destruction of muscle fibers
• It promotes mass gain.

Eating before your workout also refuels you, allowing you to maintain physical exertion for longer. It is generally recommended to supplement with energy when performing workouts lasting more than 45 minutes.

A rule that is not always respected, especially by those who exercise early in the morning and often skip breakfast.  

Eating before exercising is also essential if you’re about to do an intense workout. Cardio or strenuous exercise can quickly lead to hypoglycemia. By eating before you start exercising, you’re giving your body all the energy it needs to perform in the best possible conditions.

Be careful, though: eating before exercising isn’t right for everyone. While providing the fuel our bodies need is a benefit, there are also drawbacks and contraindications.

First of all, a snack is more than enough before a workout. The idea is to give your body a little boost. If it finds itself in a state of hyper-calories, then your entire body risks slowing down, because it will have to provide a significant amount of energy to process everything you have eaten (this is the digestive mechanism).  

Finally, if you’re exercising to lose weight, be aware that anything you eat before your workout will be consumed before your body starts burning fat.

As part of weight loss, you will therefore need:

• Perform longer workout sessions (to use up all your energy substrates and “attack the fat”)
• Do a few sessions on an empty stomach, for example, first thing in the morning, to the extent that your body can provide (see the penultimate part of this article)

It’s a fact. After sport:

• Your muscles continue to be active for about another 30 minutes.
• Your body absorbs proteins and carbohydrates very efficiently for about 4 hours (peaking at 30 minutes): this is the “ metabolic window.”

This period is therefore ideal for athletes who wish to strengthen their muscles and optimize their muscle recovery: it is interesting, during this time window, to consume proteins to effectively replenish the nutrient reserves that have just been expended.

The body has suffered heavy losses and must therefore recharge (in proteins, glycogen, but also in vitamins and minerals).

It may therefore also be wise to consume raw fats (olive oil, avocados, peanuts), which are very rich in omega-3: this allows for better assimilation of the new incoming vitamins while promoting muscle repair and maintenance.

Again, eating after exercise helps promote recovery, but it should be a snack and not a full meal.

The idea is to replenish our body’s energy so that our muscles can continue to work in optimal conditions, even after the session. Furthermore, when training is focused on weight loss, consuming too many calories can quickly cause you to lose all the results you achieved during your workout: it’s all a question of dosage.

Eating after sport is therefore more suitable for athletes who wish to optimize their recovery after an intense workout in order to strengthen muscle development by ingesting the right nutrients, particularly proteins, which are essential for muscle development.

For a complete meal, it is recommended to wait at least one hour after the end of the sports session to limit excess calorie consumption while allowing your body to recover and return to a state of rest.

If you want to do a workout without eating, you need to know your body perfectly so as not to push your limits.

Moderate exercise is sufficient; otherwise, you risk hypoglycemia. Exercise on an empty stomach should not exceed 45 minutes, and a certain level of vigilance is required to avoid accidents, especially upon waking after several hours without eating or drinking.

It is also essential to adapt your diet to the activity you are doing. Cardio activities are excellent for promoting weight loss and strengthening cardiovascular capacity. Therefore, your diet must be controlled so that the calories you burn during the day remain higher than those you consume during meals and snacks.

For strength training, muscle mass gain is usually the target. To achieve your goal, you’ll need to increase your protein intake and eat more protein than you normally consume throughout the day to build muscle.

Finally, maintenance sports activities such as yoga or bodyweight exercises require a complete dietary balance between carbohydrates and proteins in order to maintain body structure and limit the risk of injury.

While snacks are an ideal source of vitamins and nutrients to take just before exercise, the same cannot be said for meals.

If you have just eaten a snack, it is advisable to wait at least 1 hour before practicing a sport to allow your body to digest properly.

For complete meals, allow around 3 hours to allow for complete digestion which will not hinder your training and therefore your performance.  

If mealtime is approaching, it’s best to do your workout beforehand to avoid having to wait too long afterward. This will help you avoid being slowed down by the digestive process, which consumes a lot of energy in a short period of time.

As you can see, it’s possible to eat both before and after your workout. What will differ is the type of food and the quantities you eat.

The closer you get to the time of a session, the smaller the intakes should be.  

Large meals that will keep you going throughout the day should be spaced at least 3 hours before the session. This is another factor that will change the type of food you eat and your goal.  

For targeted weight loss, choose foods low in calories and fat to cause your body to over-consume calories and burn fat.  

To gain muscle mass, prioritize meat and significant sources of protein, and don’t hesitate to increase your calorie intake without overdoing it to promote healthy muscle development. This way, you can combine nutrition with exercise to give your workouts more impact and achieve better results.

To control your intake, it is essential:

• To make a personalized assessment (depending on your objectives: mass gain, drying out, etc.)
• To obtain an action plan (from a dietitian, nutritionist, and/or sports coach)

If you’d like support and a detailed plan from a healthcare professional, consider a teleconsultation! Explain your situation (practice, intensity, experience, etc.), your goals, and benefit from personalized support from a sports coach or dietitian.

We draw your attention to the fact that controlling a diet should never turn into an eating disorder (ED). If you think you may be suffering from an eating disorder, talk to a healthcare professional immediately, who will guide and advise you. You can definitely start by talking about it via video teleconsultation with a psychologist, sports coach, or dietitian.