Pre and post workout meal

[thorgirl91]

I am just starting the whole 30. I workout at least 5 days a week, but some days I just do one or 2 classes of zumba one hour each class. Do I still eat the pre and post workout meal for those just cardio days too or only for strength training/ bootcamp days?

[Tom Denham]

It depends upon how hard a workout the classes are for you. I did not eat pre- or post-workout meals when I was doing 90-minute hot yoga classes, but do when I am completing a 30-minute strength session with heavy weights. Another student might need to eat a post-workout meal after yoga. 

[Munkers]

I tend to go by hunger cues as to whether or not I have a post-WO meal. Cardio sessions tend to not cause much hunger outside of a normal 3 meal a day set-up. (Although there are exceptions.) Strength training, on the other hand, leaves me ravenous.

 

Play around with the pre-WO and post-WO meals and see how they impact your performance, recovery times, and how you feel overall. If you're finding it more difficult to get through your workouts or if your energy in general is slipping, those are both signs that you need to eat more.

[Alisonlcarver]

If I do an hour of cardio early in the morning (5am-6am), is it ok to have a small pre-WO snack (1 HB egg or a chicken drumstick, etc.) beforehand and then just have a larger-than normal M1 (instead of the post-WO meal and M1)? I am finding it hard to schedule a pre-WO meal, a post-WO meal, and breakfast. I have no problem eating something pre-WO, but feel like I am cramming the post-WO meal and breakfast into a very short amount of time, just to get them in.

Also, if I exercise in the afternoon, can I skip the pre-WO snack if I am still full from lunch?

Sorry, I know there are a ton of posts on this topic. I searched before posting this, I promise!

[Munkers]

For morning workouts, the recommendation is to have your post-WO meal immediately after you finish exercising, shower/change/do what you need to, and then sit down to your meal 1 after that. By having your meal 1 immediately after, you're going to be consuming fats which slow digestion. That's fine for regular meals, but after a workout, the goal is to quickly refuel your muscle glycogen store. This is why lean protein (chicken breast, egg white, etc.) with a starchy carb is the recommendation. The lack of fat in this combo means that your body can quickly digest the food and get it shunted off to your muscles.