What Foods Should You Avoid Before Your Workout?

The pre-workout window is an extremely important time of the day because this is where you can either set yourself up for a high performance workout or, detract from the intensity by making bad decisions in relation to your nutrition. Lets talk about the workout window and things you should / should not do in relation to nutrition and supplementation.

Everyone is different and as a result will respond differently to varying nutrition protocols. I do feel that there are some very common grounds to be found between people. Below I've highlighted 3 things I would recommend avoiding before training.

Red Meat

Meat such as steak, bison and buffalo are examples of things I would not want you to eat just before you train in your pre-workout meal. Usually these types of meat are too dense which means they will sit in your gut for long periods of time. As a result you may find that there's a feeling of discomfort within your abdomen as your body struggles to break the food down enough, as you train. You don't want this feeling within your gut as you train. Reserve meat like this for later in the day after you've trained or much earlier on, but never before you train.

Excess Carbs

I'm a fan of carbohydrates in the pre-workout window for most people, but you do not want to be consuming excessive amounts because ultimately you're going to feel very bloated, heavy and potentially lethargic. What is excessive for one person to the next will differ, however I would say you know what a "normal" portion is to you. Don't try and force feed carbs just before you train, really your glycogen levels need to be replenished and saturated before this point anyway.

Excess Fat

Again, you don't need to necessarily avoid fat in your pre-workout meal but if you're having a balanced meal with carbs and protein before you train you don't want to consume too much fat. In this instance it is likely that it will slow down the digestion of the whole meal too much, potentially risking it sitting in your stomach.

If you're on a very low carb diet (keto) then potentially yes you will have more fats in the pre-workout meal than someone who's having carbs at this time.

Ultimately I usually like my clients to have a balanced meal 60-90 minutes before they workout with easy digesting food sources. Things like fish, rice and a green leafy salad for instance is a good example. The main point I'm making here is that you don't want to antagonise the gut and create an environment whereby you feel bloated and too "full."

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Blog Written by Tanvir Heer Coaching

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