That's a good question! What you fuel your body with before and after a workout will determine your energy levels during your workout, how well your body recovers and rebuilds after your workout, and whether the calories you eat will be used as fuel or fat. But the size of the meal/snack and what it consist of also plays an important role in all of the above.
In my opinion (not to be confused with yours or others) I feel like a post-workout snack is a little more important than a pre-workout snack. And here's why; most of your fuel that your body uses during a workout isn't from what you just ate, it's actually from the carbohydrates (glycogen) and fat that's stored in your fat-cells, liver, and muscles. That's why if you have ever ran a marathon or long distances before, your coach will tell you to eat a lot of pasta or something else high in carbs the night before. My coach used to tell me eat a whole box of Mac & Cheese....even though that's not the HEALTHIEST way to get your carbs! You can't expect to eat a bowl of pasta for breakfast 5 hours before a run and your body to have fully digested it to be used as energy do you!? Usually your body has enough glycogen to fuel itself for 1-2 hours of a high intense workout ( Insanity, Boxing, weightlifting, high cardio, etc.) or 3-4 hours of a moderate exercise (brisk walk, yoga, light cardio, etc.). That is why EVERY meal is just as important as the other! But, this post is strictly about pre- and post- workout snacks.
Now, if you are a training athlete or you do high intense workouts everyday, I'd say a pre-workout snack is necessary. Also if you are sensitive to changes in your blood sugar, like if you have hypoglycemia or diabetes, you will definitely want to eat a snack before your workout. My Fiance is hypoglycemic and his blood sugar is ALWAYS dropping if he doesn't get enough carbs on a daily basis, much less a workout. One thing you need to know is that your pre-workout snack needs to consist of carbohydrates and protein, but more carbohydrates. Protein is NOT used to fuel your body during a workout, it is used to repair damaged muscle tissue, which is how you gain muscle. Carbohydrates is what your body uses to fuel itself during a workout (in case you didn't get that in the previous paragraph!) I will make a list of pre-workout snacks below. You will want to eat a snack 30 minutes before a workout and no sooner. Also, it's important that you hydrate yourself before any workout. Drink 16-20 oz of water about 1-2 hours prior. I have gotten headaches while working out because I didn't drink enough water and let me tell you, the pain of a headache while sweating and doing push-ups and such, is nothing compared to just sucking it up and chugging that bottle of water down before a workout! Stay away from caffeine and warm fluids because they tend to speed through the intestines. And DEFINITELY stay away from dairy and high-fat or high fiber foods because they can upset your stomach, slow down the absorption of carbohydrates and leave you feeling sluggish!Pre-Workout Snacks:
-Fruit Juice
-Fruit/yogurt smoothie
-Cottage cheese with fruit
-Peanut butter and a banana
-Peanut butter and a bagel
-Energy bars that are higher in Carbs
-Any kind of fruit
-Shakeology ( I mentioned what this is in another one of my posts)
-Cereal
On to the post-workout snacks. I feel this is the MOST important especially after a high intensity workout. No matter what workout you are doing, you are working your muscles. Every time you work your muscles, you are making them stronger, which means you are building more muscle. Protein is the building block of muscle. I've talked in a previous post about how important it is to up you protein intake if you want to insure that you build muscle. Every time you work on building muscle, whether it be weightlifting, jump roping, squats, etc, you are creating little tears in your muscle, which is why you tend to be sore the next day from an intense workout! Anyways, your body then takes the protein it is giving to repair these tears which will make them bigger and stronger. I may be explaining this horribly but what I am trying to get at is after a workout you have probably created some new muscle tears and your body is going to need protein to repair them, which is why it's important to give it what it needs! If you do NOT give your body what it needs guess what? It's going to take that protein from somewhere else in your body and use it up. And that's definitely not good! So make sure after ANY workout that works any muscle group, you eat a snack/meal no later than 30 minutes post-workout! You will especially want it to be high in protein.Post-workout Snacks:
-Hard broiled eggs
-Chocolate milk-Cheese
-Nuts
-Greek yogurt
-Shakeology ( I mentioned what this is in a previous post)
-Protein bars
-Whole grain crackers with cheese or nut butters
-Hummus and raw veggies
-Oatmeal
So, in a nutshell, before a workout eat a snack that consist of about 200 calories that is high in carbohydrates, basically any fruit and a little bit of protein. And post-workout, eat a snack or a meal (how many calories depends on if it is a snack or a meal and your your daily calorie intake) that is mainly protein, whole grain, dairy, meat, etc. The best advice I can give you is that you know your body better than anyone else. Do what YOU feel is best for YOU. If you are new to working out then it really is trial and error to see what works for you. As always, I hoped this helped you better understand this topic and if it has please comment, like, and/or subscribe. Thanks for reading! :)
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