(CNN)Scientists have long known that what you eat before, during and after you exercise can make or break a workout and possibly affect your fitness results.
So what do nutritionists recommend to munch on? It turns out that quality carbohydrates are important pre-workout and lean proteins post-workout, experts say.
What to eat before exercise
Before you exercise, eat carbs, but not too much, said Nancy Cohen, a professor in the department of nutrition at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.
She recommended consuming 1 to 4 grams of carbohydrates per every 2.2 pounds of body weight if you are planning to exercise for longer than an hour. To put that in perspective, a medium banana has about 27 grams of total carbohydrates.
The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that if you get 2,000 calories a day, aim to consume between 225 and 325 grams of carbohydrates, according to the Mayo Clinic.
When should you eat? About an hour to four hours before working out, Cohen said.
For a small study published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition in 2010, 54 healthy runners ran an average of 26.3 kilometers, or 16.3 miles, over a 24-hour period.
Some of the runners were instructed to drink bottles of tart cherry juice twice daily for seven days prior and on the day of the run. Others were given a placebo drink. Then, the runners were asked to assess the level of pain they felt before and after the run.
The researchers, who reported no conflicts of interest in the study, found that the runners who drank the cherry juice reported a significantly smaller increase in pain after the run compared with the placebo group.
All in all, a post-workout routine should include fluids to rehydrate, carbohydrates to refuel and protein to repair, Phillips said.
“In recovery, we talk about three Rs,” he said of the post-workout routine. “Thus, I like sources that provide all three, like fluid milk or a smoothie made from milk and yogurt with berries.”
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/29/health/what-to-eat-exercise/index.html
