Should I Eat Before or After Exercising? Why
(May 26, 2010)
It is important to eat both before as well as after exercising. It is essential to understand why this is so important as well. When the human body exercises, it begins to burn calories, a form of energy. Energy is provided to the body by the breakdown of food, which is the fuel required to sustain the body. If there is no food, there is most likely no energy to burn when the body begins to go into a state of exercise.
This way, the body will have to tap into its reserves of energy, also known as lipids, or fats. This is not a good state for the body to be in, as then the signal that goes into the brain is one of starvation. The body will release excess sugars to cope with this, it will release adrenalin, which is the reflex that helps the body to fight or flee a situation. Basically, exercising on an empty stomach puts the body in panic mode so it uses up its reserves. This way, the next time one eats, these reserves are hoarded up twice as much. Understanding this in this most basic and simple way will help to explain why there are some people who appear rail thin, and yet have blocked arteries. When the body is hoarding fat, it does so indiscriminately – internally as well as on the surface where it would show.
Furthermore, eating a small snack just before exercising will help the body to have instant and fresh fuel to burn. This will also enable a better session of exercise and more energy generated after it. This is normally called the “high” after exercise. Once a certain amount of calories has been burnt, and some amount of energy has been expended, it is necessary to replace the loss as well. This would be a reason why one must always eat after exercising. Coming back to eating before exercise, it is imperative to understand the difference between a small snack and a large meal in this case. A large meal will not allow for the body to be able to exercise well, and it may also result in nausea and queasiness. Small snacks had about 20 minutes before will be a better option. After an exercise workout it is necessary to have a good meal. Even so, it is a good idea to wait for at least about a couple of hours before tucking in this way, your heart rate will return to normal too.
