EATING BEFORE EXERCISE
FOR MAXIMUM RESULTS

The size, timing, and content of your pre- and post-exercise meals and snacks can play an important role in 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 stored as fat. Here’s what you need to eat and drink to get the results you want!

YOUR PRE-EXERCISE FLUID NEEDS
Being well-hydrated will make your exercise easier and more effective. Try to drink 16-20 ounces of water during the 1-2 hours before starting your workout.

YOUR PRE-EXERCISE MEAL OR SNACK
News flash: Most of the fuel you use during exercise doesn’t come from the food you’ve recently eaten! It actually comes from the carbohydrates (called “glycogen”) and fat that’s stored in your muscles, liver, and fat cells. That’s enough to fuel 1-2 hours of very intense exercise or 3-4 hours of moderate intensity exercise.

This means that if your overall diet is adequate to keep your fuel tanks topped off, you may not need to eat anything before you work out. So, if eating before exercise upsets your stomach or you like to exercise first thing in the morning or at a time when eating first isn’t convenient, don’t feel like eating first is a must.

Some people do have a hard time exercising without eating first, especially if it’s been a long time since their last meal or snack. These individuals often are more sensitive to changes in their blood sugar levels, which fall during the first 15-20 minutes of workout.

If you are a moderate exerciser who tends to perform better with a pre-exercise snack, there are two ways to handle your needs:

1.
Eat a small (100- to 200-calorie) snack about 30 minutes before you work out. This snack should include fast-digesting (high glycemic index) carbohydrates and very little fat (which digests slowly), so that you digest the meal quickly and the fuel is available during your exercise session. Here are some ideas:
Fruit Juice
Fruit Smoothie
Sports Drinks
High-glycemic Fruits like pineapple, apricots, banana, mango, and watermelon
Pretzels or Bagels (but not whole grain varieties, which digest slowly)
Energy Bars (with 3-5 grams of protein, at least 15 grams of carbs, and no fat)

2.
Eat a nutritionally balanced meal 1-2 hours before your exercise. This is the best option for many people. The larger the meal, and the more fat and protein it contains, the longer you may need to wait before exercising.

Ideally, try to eat enough calories to equal about half the calories you expect to burn during your upcoming workout. So if you burn about 600 calories during your workout, aim for at least 300 calories during this meal — or a little more if your exercise is “high intensity” (over 75% of your maximum heart rate).

At least 50-60% of these calories should come from carbohydrates, which should keep your blood sugar and energy levels fairly stable during your exercise session. Include some protein to help prevent the breakdown of muscle for fuel and give your muscles a headstart on recovery after exercise. Some good food choices and combinations for this kind of meal include:

Fruit and yogurt
Nuts
Oatmeal
Cereals (with more than 3 grams of fiber) and milk
Trail mix with nuts and dried fruit
Hummus and raw veggies
Hard boiled eggs
(or egg whites)
Half a peanut butter or turkey/chicken sandwich on whole grain bread
Cottage cheese
Whole grain crackers
with nut butter or cheese
Whole grain fig (or fruit) Newton cookies
Milk (especially chocolate milk)
Tomato or vegetable juice
Yogurt smoothie (with added protein powder, if desired)
Most protein/energy bars

As a moderate exerciser, you have a lot of flexibility when it comes to timing your meals and choosing your foods. The most important things are getting to know your body and how it responds to exercise, so that you can give it what it needs to perform at its best. Eating the right foods at the right times before you work out is essential to keeping your energy up, your workout performance high, and your body in fat-burning mode.

SUMMER SLIM DOWN
SECRETS
Get Your Best Summer Body Ever!
By Dianne Villano, CPFI

F
or many people, New Year’s Resolutions have long since been forgotten. If you were motivated and focused enough to stick with your New Year’s resolution to get into shape this year – congratulations!

As the rest of you start to shed your winter wardrobes and notice lumps, bumps and jiggles in places that you would rather not mention; thoughts wander to summer and its skin revealing styles. Don’t fear. There is hope to make some serious changes to your body before summer begins and you start hitting the boats, beaches, pool parties and donning your summer wardrobes. You may not be quite in your “dream” body in a month but you can make real, dramatic changes. Starting now can not only have you looking firmer and more toned in your swimsuit at the start of the summer, but will have you 3 months closer to really strutting your stuff as the summer ends. These are the tips and tricks which we have used for years to get our clients’ bodies “summer ready.”

1.
SET REALISTIC GOALS
Enthusiasm often wanes when pounds don’t magically disappear overnight. You can not undo years (or months) of bad habits and achieve the body of your dreams in a few weeks

2.
LOOK FOR SITUATIONS TO BE ACTIVE
Park as far from the store as you can rather than looking for the closest parking spot. Use the stairs rather than the elevator. If possible, carry your bags out to your car instead of using the cart.

3.
ALWAYS EAT BREAKFAST
Studies show that those who skip the first meal end up eating more total calories throughout the day and tend to make less healthy choices. Skipping breakfast sends the message to your body that you’re starving. As a protective mechanism, your metabolism will slow down.

4.
DON’T STARVE YOURSELF
Very low calorie diets will, in the short term, help you lose weight but they’re extremely difficult to maintain. You’ll gradually become tired and irritable & lack the energy to exercise usually putting the end to your fitness program and leading to the beginning of a binge cycle.

5.
EAT FIVE TO SIX SMALL MEALS A DAY
Try to eat at least 3 meals a day. Optimally you should spread your calories throughout 5 -6 small meals per day. This will keep your metabolism roaring, your hunger in check, and your blood sugar level even.

6.
DRINK PLENTY OF WATER
Drinking water helps keep you feeling full. Many times dehydration can mask itself as hunger, so if you are feeling “snacky” try a glass of water before you eat. Water also helps keep the kidneys flushed, which helps the liver metabolize fat at full force.
7.
FOLLOW THE 90% TO 10% RULE.
If you watch what you eat 90 percent of the time, the other 10 percent is not a problem.

8.
CLOSE YOUR EYES AND VISUALIZE
When the going gets rough or when you just don’t feel like it; take a moment and visualize the slimmer, firmer, healthy more energetic person that you want to be this summer. Focus on the clothes that you want to wear and the places where you would like to be more comfortable. Create a clear mental picture and use it next time you feel like you are losing site of your fitness goal.

9.
EAT YOUR FRUITS & VEGGIES
The American Dietetic Association recommends at least 3 - 5 fruit servings per day and 3 – 7 vegetable servings. Since fruits & vegetables are nutritionally dense and full of fiber, eating plenty will keep your hunger satisfied and your body shrinking.

10.
JUST DO IT
The difference between the people strutting their stuff in the summer’s skin bearing fashions and those hiding their stuff is simply habits. Those who fit exercise and healthy eating into their lifestyles don’t have more time or less stress; they just have healthier habits. The next time that you are unable to follow through on one of your weight loss goals, identify the challenge and prepare a plan for the next time. Don’t dwell on it or make excuses for why you can’t do it.

DIANNE VILLANO, President of Custom Bodies. Custom Bodies has been serving the Bay area with the most effective weight loss & fitness programs since 1996. Miss Villano is a personal fitness instructor certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and a frequent speaker on health and fitness related topics with articles published in over 20 media outlets. For more articles or information on a “Beach Body Bootcamp” in your area please visit their website at www.mypersonalfitnesscoach .com or call the Custom Bodies office at 727-742-0816.