Eating healthy fuels your workout

Health and fitness experts agree that what you eat and drink can significantly
impact health and exercise performance. You need to make sure you consume enough energy to maintain a healthy body weight for your activity level and sport. Healthy eating also reduces the risk of chronic disease. Active individuals need more carbohydrate and protein than sedentary individuals, and should not restrict fat intake too severely. Keeping well-hydrated and replacing fluids lost during exercise is also a key part of feeling good and performing at your best.

In order to remain physical active while dieting, your diet needs to provide adequate carbohydrate for glycogen replacement and enough protein for the maintenance and repair of lean tissue.

Compared to your less active counterparts, your diet requires additional fluid to cover sweat losses, energy to fuel physical activity, protein for building and repair of muscle tissue, and carbohydrate for the replacement of muscle glycogen. In some cases the need for other nutrients also increases (e.g., B-complex, antioxidant vitamins, iron). As more energy is consumed to cover the cost of exercise, your intake of these other nutrients needs to increase.

As your energy requirements increase, your goal should be to consume nutrient-dense carbohydrate-based food groups (e.g., whole grain breads and cereals, vegetables, and fruits) and lean protein sources (e.g., lean meats, fish, poultry, dairy, legumes). Your aim should be to increase energy intake to maintain weight using nutrient-dense foods that will also provide vitamins and minerals, instead of meeting additional energy needs with high-fat and sugar foods.

Timing of your meals is also important. Eating sensibly before you exercise assures that there is enough energy to fuel your workout, while eating after exercise will help refuel the body. A healthy post-exercise meal helps you replace muscle glycogen and repair muscle tissue damage.

Keep eating healthy and you'll have the energy you need to exercise and start getting in shape fast.