What, when and How Much to Eat Before Exercising

It is important to eat before exercising, when, what and how much you eat is also very important. What you eat before should be able to be easily digested, meaning that what you eat will need to be low in fat, otherwise the high fat will slow down your digestion processes.

You should also eat a combination of proteins and carbohydrates, in order to provide you with sustained energy for exercising.

When you should eat - Anything you eat before exercising should be eaten 30 - 50 minutes before,, this will give your body enough time to process the food you have eaten. If you exercise too quickly after eating your body will still be processing your food which could affect the results of exercising.

What you should eat - As I've said already you need to ea some that is low in fat, which also has a combination of carbs and protein, however this shouldn't be simple carbs like white bread, white potatoes, as this will leave you feeling tired before exercising. These simple carbs also promote the storage of fat, which is not what you want. Some of the foods that you can eat include fruit, oatmeal snacks, protein shakes etc

How much you should eat- The number of calories that you should consumer before exercising will depend upon the intensity of your exercise as well as your individual body size. However you should eat enough calories to supply the body with 150 - 250 calories but remember larger people should eat on the higher end of the scale, with snacks containing about 250 calories, while smaller people should consumer less calories.

Drinking water before and during exercise is very important in keeping your body hydrated, you should try and drink about 16 ounces or half a litre of water at least 45 minutes before exercising, as this will ensure that the water has left your body before you exercise while still keeping you hydrated throughout your exercise. You should also make sure that you have a bottle of water with you when exercising, so that you can take sips throughout exercising.

If you eat the correct food before you exercise it will help to ensure that you reach your fitness or weight loss goals, as the food you eat is very important.