There has been a lot of debate going on regarding whether or not it’s ok to eat before heading to the gym. There is a school of thought that believes you will achieve improved results when you eat after you are done working out as opposed to before. Eating before training is a double edged sword. This is because it rewards you and deprives you off some benefits at the same time. After all is said and done, it all boils down to what you want to achieve from your workout plan. Below is a list of pros and cons that are experienced by those who don’t exercise on an empty stomach.
- Increased Endurance
Hitting the gym on an empty stomach is like trying to drive a car that has less gas. Although it will initially start, it will eventually come to a halt before you reach your destination due to lack of fuel. Similarly, your body needs adequate supply of energy to be able to carry out the metabolic processes. When you eat before training or especially if you take the best pre-workout for women, you provide enough fuel in the body to sustain you throughout the workout session. Besides that, exercising after a meal helps in boosting the digestion of food. This is because the body has to break down the food substance to get the energy that it needs.
In the long run, you are able to continue working out for an extended period of time. The downside of this kind of plan is that it slows down the process of burning excess fats in the body. This is because the body doesn’t have to convert the stored fats into energy. The plan is therefore not suitable for someone that wants to lose weight. For more insights on this argument, please visit https://aaptiv.com/magazine/eat-cardio-workout.
- Helps Repair Worn Out Tissues
When you workout aggressively, your muscles and other body tissues become vulnerable to inflammations and other damages that result from overstretching. You can’t actually train when your muscles are still aching. Eating a balanced diet is the best remedy for worn out muscles. Proteins in particular are highly recommended because they are the building blocks of the muscles. As a matter of fact, professional athletes take protein shakes before they start working out. The shortcoming of eating before a training session is that you might be tempted to eat more and end up consuming more calories, forcing you to double your workout effort. Besides that, your body adapts to being replenished every now and then. This can work against you because you will have to eat something after every few minutes to reduce instances of fatigue.
- Promotes Growth of Muscles
You can’t go wrong with a balanced diet. Since such a diet contains carbs, proteins and vegetables, it’s quite beneficial to your body. If you are involved in strength training, you should eat a meal that has equal servings of carbs and proteins. Proteins are needed for providing the energy that fuels the body while the proteins are needed for the development of muscle tissues. If you consult professional weight lifters, they will tell you that they consume lots of carbs and proteins. However, if you consume too much of carbs, the body will only use exactly the calories it needs and store the rest as fats.
Reference:
https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/features/what-should-i-eat-before-exercising
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-workout
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/fitness/in-depth/exercise/art-20045506
https://www.fitnessverve.com/6-tips-better-treadmill-workout/
