Workout Eating

Anyone who's trying to maintain a healthy weight through exercise faces this dilemma: How do you refuel after a workout without eating all the calories you just burned off? Striking a balance between your workouts and your hunger may not be easy, but it can be done.

The key is to focus on foods that replenish the key nutrients you lose during exercise — including electrolytes such as calcium, potassium and magnesium — without eating empty or extraneous calories. Carbohydrates are also essential after a workout because they refill glycogen in your muscles. If you enjoy moderate-intensity workouts every two or three days, aim for a dose of carbs equal to about half your body weight. If you weigh 130 pounds, for example, you would need to eat around 65 grams of carbs to replenish your glycogen stores before your next workout.

What about pre-workout snacking? Many of us are tempted to forgo food before hitting the gym because we don't want to feel like we're working off what we just ate. But research shows that eating a small, healthy snack before exercise actually improves our bodies' ability to burn fat while working out. Eating before activity can also help minimize post-workout hunger and keep you from overeating afterward.

For the best pre-workout snack, avoid fruit, dairy and fats. Reach for carbs, instead. Carbs that rank low on the glycemic index are ideal before exercise because they increase blood sugar gradually, helping your body keep pace with energy demands without crashing. Foods with these workout-smart carbs include:

• lentils
• oatmeal
• peas
• sweet potato
• whole-wheat bread

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