Catching up: Eating in the AM
As promised in the last post, i said i'd fill in why eating before a workout first thing in the morning is so important.
THere are a number of reasons, but one of the biggies that gets little attention is the liver:
overnight, while you're body is effectively fasting, the liver is producing the sugar/energy your body needs to thrive. So by the morning, the liver stores of sugar are largely depleted.
The body doesn't store much in the way of carbs. So any carbohydrate that's still in your system that needs to get used for fuel (broken down into sugar) first goes to replenishing your liver stores before it goes to feed your muscles. That's one. Two is if all your carb stores are going to get sugars into your liver, then what carbs are available as energy for your muscles?
So, before a work out, having some carbs in your system before you work out to help replenish your liver AND to be available for your muscles during workouts is a Really Good Thing. People who don't do this can experience less effective workouts in general or what's known as a "bonk" in the middle of their workout.
Have a piece of whole wheat toast, some peanut butter or nuts, and some fruit (better than fruit juice) 20 mins or so before you work out. After you finish working out, be sure to eat again: make sure you have both carbs and protein after your workout: your muscles need those amino acids from the protein to repair your muscles from the stress you've put on them. Think 1g of carbs per/kg of bodyweight and about .5g of protein for 1kg body weight for post work out replenishment. I like oatmeal made with apples and raisins and a shot of protein powder.
* IF YOU'RE NOT WORKING OUT FIRST THING IN THE AM, breakfast is still very important for many of the same reasons: your liver needs to be replenished, and you need those carbs for the work your body does in the am. BUT you don't need as MANY carbs, so your carb source is different.
In this case, you need to get some carbs from whole foods like veggies and NOT things like bread or pasta. Again, lots of reasons, but the simplest is that compare a serving of spinach to a piece of toast: the former is about 9cals; the latter 100.
So breakie on a day you're not working out right after eating could be an egg and an egg white and a side of spinach or broccoli. Before you gag, try this for spinach prep. Get a bag of baby spinach, take a big handful and put it in a sieve. Then pour some boiling water over the sieve just to blanch the spinach. Perfect. It's lovely next to the eggs. Perfect breakie.
If you're not an egg eater, you need to find some source of protein in the am to go with that bit of carb. Sliced turkey breast; miso soup, soy beans - anything lean.
