Pre & Post Workout “Meals”

[MalJade]

I am looking for ideas for my pre and post workout “meals”? Mainly pre-workout...most of what I’ve read suggests hard boiled eggs. However, when I work out first thing in the morning just the thought of a hard boiled egg makes me want to throw up! Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! 

This is day 1 for me and so far, so good!

[ShannonM816]

Pre-WO should be protein and fat, though I know some people just do fat if that's easier for them to stomach -- you may have to try different things for a few days to see what works best for you. Leftover meat would be easy. If it's the hard boiled part that bothers you more than the egg itself, you could scramble an egg, or make some egg muffins or a frittata. A spoonful of nut butter or coconut butter or a handful of olives or some avocado/guacamole. 

 

[Nongermane]

I'm training for a marathon. I go on super long runs. My  sugar dragon, I call her call her Lyssa, she requires beer and milkshakes.  So, obviously thats not an option.

I'm thinking about getting some almond butter and a banana for a pre-snack. Post workout... I crave sugar. I'm going to look into watermelon. For replacing the amount of sodium I loose on like 12, 13, and 14 mile runs, I'm thinking about subbing in coconut water. 

I don't know. Do you have any other ideas?

[ShannonM816]

3 hours ago, Nongermane said:

I'm training for a marathon. I go on super long runs. My  sugar dragon, I call her call her Lyssa, she requires beer and milkshakes.  So, obviously thats not an option.

I'm thinking about getting some almond butter and a banana for a pre-snack. Post workout... I crave sugar. I'm going to look into watermelon. For replacing the amount of sodium I loose on like 12, 13, and 14 mile runs, I'm thinking about subbing in coconut water. 

I don't know. Do you have any other ideas?

Don't use fruit for pre or post-workout. I know traditionally people do fruit/starch pre-workout for that extra energy, but one of the goals of Whole30 is to become fat-adapted, which means your body will be able to more easily use fat as an energy source, rather than just the easily accessible energy of carbs. Continuing to give your body carbs right before a workout may keep that transition from happening. Post-workout, fruit replaces liver glycogen before muscle glycogen while starchy vegetables do the opposite -- and you want to replace what you've taken out of your muscles right after your workout. (Read more about fat adaptation here:  https://www.marksdailyapple.com/what-does-it-mean-to-be-fat-adapted/.)

Pre-workout needs to be fat and protein. The almond butter is fine if that's what works for you. Post-workout, have some protein and some starchy vegetable, so chicken and sweet potato for instance.  There's more about post-WO meals, what to have and why, here: http://whole9life.com/2015/02/eat-post-workout/. If you need something during a really long run, I know some people have used baby food packets of sweet potato because they're easy to carry. Coconut water doesn't necessarily have a lot of sodium. Be sure you salt your food at each meal, and if you still need more, you might add a little bit of salt to whatever you drink during your workout. 

If you browse through the Whole30 for Athletes part of the forum, you'll find discussion from people doing all kinds of exercise and what they use for fuel. You can also google Whole30 forum marathon and find marathon-specific discussions. 

 

[Nongermane]

Thank you so much! I’ll def start looking through that part of the forum. And good idea of the baby food- I’m making it anyway for my own baby- might as well make a small pack myself for my super long runs. I do like being more fat dependent- but I know in November when I get into 18. 19, and 20 miles I used to just carb load (it hails from

high school and our team spaghetti dinners) Carb loading has always made me feem slightly sick so I’m trying to find a way to replace this.