Pre-Exercise or Pre-Game Meal: To keep the athlete from “Bonking” and/or getting hungry during an intense workout, it’s important to have the athlete eat about 2-3 hours prior to the event. The meal should include a small amount of fat and fiber, moderate amounts of protein and a considerably larger number of carbohydrates. Eating 200-300 grams of carbs 3-4 hours before the event is ideal, but if the athlete works out early in the morning, stick to a quick small source of carbohydrates and skip the protein. Protein ingestion should take place immediately after the workout.
Note: it’s always a good rule of thumb to stick with foods that the athlete knows will not upset their stomach.
Examples of pre-event food:
- Scrambled egg whites with toast and jam
- Isalean shake with berries and low fat skim milk
- Bagel with peanut butter
- Grilled source of protein with potato
- Protein bar
Intake during Exercise: Unless the workout lasts longer than 1 hour, the athlete shouldn’t need a sports drink during the workout. Carbohydrate consumption should be around 30-60g/hr for long duration activity. This will help spare the muscle from getting eaten up and will give the athlete the energy necessary to finish strong. If an athlete has not eaten a pre-event meal, or they wake up too early to eat, then a pre-workout drink may be in order. Choose something containing 6-8% carbohydrate.
Intake after Exercise: For the first 30 minutes following intense activity the muscles are ready for glucose and protein. Insulin levels spike during this window and they are looking to shuttle those molecules right into the muscle. Consume 24-36 g of protein along with half your body weight in grams of carbohydrate immediately following the workout. An Isalean or Isalean Pro shake or Isalean bar are great options for post workout recovery.