French biochemist shares when to actually eat before a workout
In some cases, you can skip food altogether without consequences, while in others, eating the right foods can substantially improve performance.
Any kind of workout requires energy. Everyone has their go-to pre-workout snack. But the question that often comes up is: Do you really need to eat before exercising? Turns out, what you eat before a workout depends on the intensity of the exercise. In some cases, you can skip food altogether without consequences, while in others, eating the right foods can substantially improve performance.
French biochemist and author Jessie Inchauspe shared in an Instagram post on 31 January that exercises can be broken down into three categories, explaining if and when you need to eat workout snacks. This helps adopt a more tailored, specialised approach to pre-and post-workout nutrition, which in turn, improves workout efficiency and performance.
So it is high time for every type of workout, you follow the workout snacking routine and instead focus on supporting your workout nutrition based on intensity.
Workout eating routine
The biochemist outlined three workout types and revealed when you should eat your pre-workout snack for each.
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1. Moderate-intensity workouts
The first type of exercise the biochemist sheds light on is moderate-intensity workouts, which are done at around 50% of the maximum heart rate and primarily burn fat for fuel. These include activities such as walking, jogging, light running or a low-intensity gym class. For these types of exercises, Jessi revealed that you do not necessarily need to eat before working out. A light snack can be consumed if preferred, but either option is unlikely to significantly affect performance.
2. High-intensity workouts
The second type of workout is high-intensity in nature. This includes: weight training, HIIT, sprinting, and interval classes, which push the body to about 85% of its maximum heart rate.
Jessie explained why you need to eat before these workouts, "Your body is going to be looking for glucose for fuel and is not going to be mostly burning fat, so you need to give your body that glucose. So by eating foods that contain glucose before this workout, you will help your body's performance."
The biochemist urged to go for food options that provide glucose for energy, but at the same time won't spike glucose. To achieve this, she suggested pairing carbs like rice, potatoes, bread, pasta or fruit with protein and fat.
She noted, "So by eating foods that contain glucose before this workout, you will help your body's performance. That being said, you can give your body this glucose without creating a glucose spike."
Here are some of her recommended pairings, which won't cause major spikes in glucose:
- Banana + peanut butter
- Yoghurt + unflavored whey protein + berries
- Pear + nuts + cheese
- Pitta + hummus
- Apple + cottage cheese + cinnamon
- Roast potato + sunny-side-up eggs
- Rice + chicken + broccoli
3. Long endurance workout
Lastly, if your workout lasts around two hours or more, your body requires a continuous supply of fuel to keep up. The biochemist recommended consuming glucose during the workout and pairing it with fructose to improve absorption. This helps ensure a steady flow of energy, supports endurance, and prevents mid-workout exhaustion in very long training sessions.
Post-workout eating routine
The biochemist recommended including carbs in a meal and eating them with protein, fat or fibre to prevent sharp glucose spikes. Moreover, she also reminded that protein intake over the next day is essential if you have done strength training or weightlifting. It is important to repair and rebuild muscle fibres.
When glucose spike can be normal
Not all the time are glucose spikes a matter of concern. In fact, as per the biochemist, seeing a glucose spike during an intense workout is usually normal and not always a concern. This happens because when the body needs quick energy, the liver produces glucose, releasing it into the bloodstream in order to support the working muscles used intensively in the training. During exercise, muscles absorb this glucose without the help of insulin, which is why these spikes in blood sugar are not always serious and instead are harmless in this context.
Disclaimer: This article is intended for information only and should not replace professional medical advice.
