Find out how bad it is to eat before exercise and when to take the last meal before you start exercising. To lose weight or build muscle, regular physical activity is necessary. It is pointless to argue with this fact. However, in order to achieve positive results, it is necessary to eat right and do it in accordance with a certain schedule. In this regard, the question of how long to exercise after eating seems important enough to consider.
Can I exercise after eating?
Today, you can often see recommendations on the Internet, to conduct workouts on an empty stomach. This is thought to promote active fat burning. However, many experts in the field of nutrition and sports completely disagree with this opinion. They say that even light physical activity should always be preceded by a meal.
Let's find out why classes on an empty stomach are not worth doing. It is quite obvious that you have to expend a lot of energy in training. As a result, a person experiences overstrain and decreased performance at the moment when the body's energy reserves are practically exhausted.
There is ample evidence that fasting before exercise is a major cause of fainting. At the same time, it is also impossible to convey. And this applies not only to eating before class, but also throughout the day.
If you consume heavy fatty foods before the start of the training, then the body will experience increased stress. This can lead to various undesirable consequences. Thus, it is necessary to take food before starting the lesson, but it should be done correctly.
How long does it take to play sports: diet
The diet for athletes is no less important than the quality of the food. That is why many are interested in how long to do sports after eating. The answer to this question lies in the size of your portions. For example, you eat heavily three times a day, and in this situation it is worth starting classes no earlier than a couple of hours later.
This time will be enough for the body to process all the food. People on a split meal plan eat more than three times a day, but use small portions. In this situation, training can be carried out already 60 minutes after eating.
Note that this recommendation is not universal, since the time of day when you play sports is also quite important. If your workouts are carried out in the morning, then you can start practicing within 40 minutes after breakfast. This is due to the fact that in the morning the body is highly efficient and food is processed quickly enough. However, there is one caveat here too - the food consumed is quickly digestible and easy.
If you are limited in time and cannot normally have breakfast, then you can drink a glass of tea or compote and start exercising after 30 minutes. When classes are scheduled for the afternoon, you should wait at least an hour and a half after taking a letter.
Speaking about how long to do sports after eating, do not forget about several more factors: the individual characteristics of the body, the type of physical activity, their duration and intensity. For example, a marathon runner with a body weight of 70 kilos, who overcomes long distances daily, should eat differently from a girl who trains only once a week to maintain her figure.
Very often people are interested in the question of how much food can be consumed before a lesson aimed at losing weight. Here you should remember the basic principle at which lipolysis is possible - you need to spend more energy than you receive. However, at the same time, the indicator of the energy value of your diet should be sufficient to ensure the performance of all body systems.
You must understand that if the calorie deficit is excessive, the metabolism will slow down dramatically. In this situation, there is no need to talk about any fat burning. No matter what kind of sport and how intensively they do, with slowed metabolic processes, the body will not burn fat.
What is the best drink before class?
In order to get the maximum results from sports and at the same time not harm your health, it is important to know not only how long to exercise after eating, but also what food should be eaten. The athlete's menu is just as important in comparison to the start time of the workout after meals.
If you are doing an intense exercise that aims to lose weight, then you need carbohydrates. This nutrient is able to maintain the required concentration of glucose in the blood. As you probably understand, we are talking about low to medium glycemic carbohydrates.
If you eat foods with a high glycemic index, then you will only increase the concentration of sugar in the blood, without obtaining positive results. It's another matter if you eat foods with an average glycemic index. In this case, the glucose level will be within normal limits. Sources of carbohydrates that are good for you are apples, peaches, persimmons, raspberries, strawberries, pistachios, cashews, cereals, etc.
Also, before exercising, you should provide the body with protein compounds. This nutrient will help you protect muscle tissue from breakdown. In addition, amines, which make up protein compounds, can be used as a source of energy, which in the long term will increase the efficiency of your workouts.
Fats before the start of the training should not be consumed at all. This nutrient takes a long time to be processed in the body and this can increase the load on the digestive system during training. Moreover, if you are curious to know how long it takes to exercise after eating, then after eating fat, it is not worth exercising at all.
How to eat right after class?
In the lesson, you will spend a large amount of energy and its reserves need to be restored. Do not trust those recommendations that say about the need to eat only three or even four hours after the completion of the training. As an argument for such advice, the statement is used that eating food earlier than the specified period will lead to a decrease in the effectiveness of the lesson.
After intense training, the body needs food, and you can have a snack within half an hour after the end of the session. This will activate regenerative processes, and all nutrients will be used with benefit, without turning into fats. According to the practical experience of a large number of athletes, using more than 120 minutes after the end of the session, the effectiveness of the training decreases.
This is quite obvious, because the body will strive to restore energy balance, but at this moment it does not receive food. This promotes the activation of catabolic processes. Carbohydrates are recommended by sports nutritionists. Here's a list of foods you shouldn't eat right after your workout:
- Fat - Helps slow down the delivery of carbohydrates into the bloodstream.
- Products containing caffeine - increase concentration. Insulin, thereby slowing down the synthesis of glycogen in the liver and muscle tissues.
Recommendations for the organization of proper sports nutrition
You must understand that there cannot be a universal menu, since each organism is unique. The same can be said when answering the question of how long to exercise after eating. Some people cannot eat a lot for breakfast, and a cup of tea or coffee is quite satisfying. Other people have a strong appetite upon waking up and can eat a lot of food.
If you want to get the most out of your classes, then you need to find a middle ground. The body also needs to wake up from sleep, and for this it needs energy. After that, your day will be great. If you do, say, morning runs, then remember to decrease your glycogen depot overnight.
In this case, you definitely need to have a snack so that the concentration of sugar in the blood does not fall. Over time, you yourself will understand how long to do sports after eating. As we have already said, this period of time is most often about 60 minutes. It was also already noted that before the start of the lesson, you should not eat fatty foods.
Separately, it is worth talking about the use of water. The body needs fluid and no one will argue with this. The only question is how to properly use water and this is no less important in comparison with meals. Many fitness experts recommend drinking a little water before exercising to help rid the body of toxic substances. You should also drink water during your workout to stay hydrated.
If you train for more than 60 minutes, but not in the morning, then until that moment you have time to have breakfast and also eat high-calorie foods. As mentioned above, you should pay special attention to carbohydrates. About two hours or more after eating a high-calorie meal, you can do the activity.
I would also like to remind once again about the importance of eating after training. It is advisable to have a snack within 30 minutes after the end of the lesson. After that, after about an hour, you can have your main meal. At this time, give preference to vegetables, lean meats or cereals.
In more detail about nutrition before and after training, you will learn from this video:
