Don’t dare to eat after exercise, fearing that it will be in vain and difficult to maintain your body shape? Eat enough nutrition to maintain your body shape and sustain your energy

In recent years, sports have become increasingly popular in Taiwan. With the support of last year's Olympics, the number of people participating in ball games, triathlons, marathons, jogging, and going to the gym has continued to grow, especially among women. Many women go to the gym to exercise, simply because they want to lose weight and have a slender and sculpted body, but exercise and nutrition are often not well matched. They often over-restrict their diet or go on a diet, or over-train. We call the series of uncomfortable symptoms caused by excessive dietary restrictions and training "Relative Energy Insufficiency (Red-s)", also known as the "Female Athlete Triad". It is very likely that your health will deteriorate before you can lose weight.

What harm does excessive dietary restriction, dieting, and nutrient deficiencies do to the body?

Excessive dieting and extremely low calorie intake can lead to deficiencies in many "nutrients", including protein, calcium, vitamin D, B vitamins, iron and zinc. Some of these nutrients are related to muscle synthesis, some are related to bone health, and some are even related to physiological immune function and hormone balance.

When it is deficient, in addition to decreased immune function, susceptibility to colds, poor mental state, depression or anger, hair breakage and hair loss, girls' menstrual cycles will also be irregular, and in severe cases, they will not have their periods at all, which is called amenorrhea. This state of nutrient deficiency will lead to chronic fatigue over a long period of time, and may eventually cause osteoporosis or fatigue fractures.

How to combine nutrition before and after exercise to increase muscle and reduce fat, maintain body shape

1. What should I eat before and after exercise?

Pre-exercise diet:

Regarding the dietary principles before exercise, it is recommended to determine the diet content based on personal "gastrointestinal tolerance" and "exercise time" such as distance, etc. Simply put, the closer to training time, the simpler and more liquid our food should be.

If there is some time before exercise (3 to 4 hours before), you can eat a full meal (vegetables and meat with rice) to ensure your athletic performance and maintain it, and avoid your physical fitness declining too quickly.

You can simply supplement carbohydrates 1-2 hours before exercise, such as convenience store rice balls, white toast, bananas, and oatmeal drinks to reduce the burden on the gastrointestinal tract.

If you don’t have time 30 minutes before exercise and need a quick boost, you can choose energy drinks, coffee, soy milk whey, etc.

Post-exercise diet:

If you do high-intensity resistance training or long-term aerobic training, you can supplement simple carbohydrates + high-quality protein after exercise. The golden ratio is 3~4:1. For example: low-sugar soy milk with roasted sweet potatoes, or directly eating white rice with vegetables and meat are also good choices.

2. What is the golden time for supplementation?

A change in mindset and whether or not to eat after exercise will be the biggest key to maintaining your body shape!

Many people are afraid to eat after exercise because they are worried that their hard work will be wasted if they eat. But in fact, whether or not you eat after exercise is the key to maintaining your body shape! In a 2001 study on the timing of post-exercise supplementation, it was found that the earlier the supplementation was taken, the better the muscle absorption of nutrients, which also meant a higher synthesis utilization rate. Supplementation more than 2 hours later had a significantly reduced effect on muscle utilization of nutrients, so the nutrient metabolism window really exists! The timing of nutritious meals is also an important part of sports nutrition. After exercise, the muscles' ability to absorb nutrients and energy is enhanced. Nutritional supplements at this time will help quickly replenish glycogen and improve protein synthesis efficiency, thereby avoiding muscle breakdown.

3. Do I have to eat everything within 30 minutes after exercise?

No! Whether to replenish nutrition immediately depends on whether you are in a fasting state before exercise. For example, if someone exercises on an empty stomach in the morning, the body will fast for more than 6 to 8 hours. After training, the body will tend to be in a catabolic state, so immediate supplementation is necessary. If you have eaten a full meal or snack before training, you still need to replenish nutrition after training, but you don’t need to finish all the food within 30 minutes. The time can be extended to within 1 to 2 hours.

If you want to have a good figure or good athletic performance, you don't have to not eat. Instead, you should eat a lot and take in a lot of nutrients. This will achieve twice the result with half the effort for a healthy and good figure.

Dingdang Nutritionist FB