Preworkout nutrition is an important topic. It’s important in that what you eat and when you eat it adversely affects the quality of your exercise. Not eating correctly reduces the effectiveness of your workout and/or the potential work output your muscles can produce.

Let me start by first saying that your pre and post workout meals are distinctly different depending on whether you are performing cardio work or lifting weights. There are also subtle differences depending on your goals (e.g. to lose fat, to gain muscle, etc.).

Before discussing what to eat, let’s first discuss how different workouts utilize energy from different sources. Lifting weight uses glycogen (energy stored in the muscles) to fuel short, explosive, intense bursts of energy output. Muscle glycogen is very effective in producing strong bursts of energy for very short durations of time such as doing a set of lifts or sprinting. It’s very important to note that intense activity actually depletes the muscle’s glycogen store. Adequately resting between sets or sprints gives the body time to replenish the muscles supply of glycogen so that you may repeat the exercise.

Slow to medium paced cardiovascular exercise such as jogging, walking, or using a cross trainer first uses energy in the blood stream (glucose) and then uses energy by burning fat.

It is absolutely critical to your performance and to your workout results to understand the different methods by which the body produces energy. When planning on lifting weights you must provide your muscles with adequate glycogen to allow an intense workout. After all, the efectiveness of lifting weights is directly related to the intensity of your workout. Providing your muscles with adequate glycogen is what allows you to produce a workout worthy of results.

So let’s get to the point. How should you eat to maximize your weight lifting results? As a general guideline you should do the following…

1. Eat a meal complete with protein (chicken, fish, beef, cottage cheese, eggs, etc) and low GI complex carbohydrates (pasta, rice, oats, etc) 60 to 90 minutes before your workout. This will give your food adequate time to digest and will build up your stores of muscle glycogen (from the carbs) while at the same team releasing a slow, steady stream of energy (low GI carbs).
2. Eat a high GI carb (banana, gatorade, pineapple, etc) roughly 30 minutes prior to working out. This will give you an immediate, yet not sustainable, burst of energy.
3. Consume a fast digesting protein source within 30 minutes of completing your workout. Your muscles are starving for nutritients so the faster the digestion the better. For example, liquids digest faster than solids so a fast digesting protein shake (e.g. whey protein) is the best way to go.

When performing low intensity cardiovascular exercise you should practice the following eating habits…

1. Try to avoid eating anything within a few hours of your workout. Low intensity cardio will burn the energy that’s most readily available: blood glucose and then fat and then muscle. If you haven’t eaten anything for several hours prior to your exercise then your body will have low stores of blood glucose. Therefore, your exercise will begin burning fat sooner than if it had to burn through the available stores of blood glucose first. With that said, it is generally accepted in the fitness community that low intensity cardio is most effective if performed first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Doing so promotes the burning of fat for energy.
2. It is recommended that a meal complete with protein and carbs be eaten shortly after low intensity cardio – especially if you performed your cardio on an empty stomach. However, you may find that you don’t have much of an appetite after cardio. In which case, just listen to your body.
3. High intensity cardio should follow eating rules similar to the that listed above for weight training. You should never perform high intensity cardio on an empty stomach. Remember that high intensity cardio burns muscle glycogen as its primary source of energy (just like weight training) and not glucose or fat (like low intensity cardio).

Exercise is beneficial regardless of your diet. However, 80% of your physique is a result of what you eat and 20% is exercise. To maximize your results it is critical to eat correctly to turn your body into an efficient, fat-burning machine. Working out is more enjoyable if you feel your workouts are working.

Goal Fitness & Nutrition – What have YOU got to lose?

Losing weight takes time. It can take months to achieve the results you really want. And within those months are scattered birthday parties, holidays, family get-togethers, evenings with friends, etc. So how are you supposed to stay on track and keep your motivation when you have all of those food-stuffed events looming over your head? Here are some sure-fire ways to keep you focused when everyone else is trying to blur your vision.

•  Take pictures of your progress. It may be embarrassing at first, but after you see the pounds melt away you’ll be staring at those pictures all the time!
• Find pictures of someone whose body you admire and post them on the wall. I personally keep a photo from a magazine in my wallet… it keeps me grounded and reminds me that I can always be better.
• Set a date. If you have something to look forward to you will work harder. Plan a trip, a romantic date, etc. It’s a goal that you can really wrap your head around. When you get to that point you want to know you did it.
• Make a list of your goals. Keep that list somewhere you look often and you’ll have a constant reminder of why you are working so hard. It’s not for nothing.
• Have a cheat day. Let yourself go on Friday or Saturday night. Have fun, eat what you want, have a couple of drinks, whatever. When your inhibitions start to wobble on Wednesday night you can remember that a night of fun and release is just around the corner! A mini-goal if you will.
• Buy something. Okay, it’s not the best way to go, but it’s a start. If you have had your eye on something for awhile, let yourself have it if you’ve done really well for a couple of weeks or so. If you haven’t, you can’t have it!
• Think of your mailperson. It sounds silly, but that person logs many, many miles delivery mail. No matter what the weather is like, they are out there every day of the week (sans Sunday) trudging along. The other day it was snowy and cold where I live, but that man (who was probably in his mid-50’s) was out walking through the neighborhood delivering our junk mail. Wow.
• Get a pedometer. Some love them and some hate them. There are some really accurate devices out there, but you have to be willing to spend the money. If you use one, set a goal for the number of steps you want to take in a day. Raise the goal every day if you can. This helps those that need visual proof that they’ve worked.

The most important thing is to remember the bigger picture. Remember how long it took you to get to where you are now. Remember what your goals are. One night out here and there isn’t going to ruin everything, no matter how badly you feel about what you did. Just get back on track right away, and maybe add another 10-30 minutes on to your workout the next day. Your new jeans will thank you!

What have YOU got to lose? www.goalfitnessandnutrition.com

We all have a lot going on. Life has become filled with things we have to do. In fact, we’ve filled our lives with so many have to’s that we’ve lost perspective of what’s important– the things we really need to make first priority. Number one on everyones’ list should be their health. You will not be here to take care of your family, go to work, and do other important things if you don’t take care of yourself first. Keep that in mind. Look, my point here is not to tell you how to live your life. I simply want you to understand why you should do everything possible to get a little exercise in every day… and watch what you eat, too!

Alright, we can’t avoid doing everything just to exercise. We have to go to work, we have to take care of the kids, etc. But, there are little spaces of time between activities, or even during activities, that you could be benefiting yourself through exercise. You don’t have to go to the gym for hours on end to get a workout. If you try to incorporate some of these exercises in to your daily routine you’ll be able to stay on top of your game while losing some poundage, too!

• I’ve said it a million times: Park in the back of the lot and walk, walk, walk!
• Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator. Even take them two at a time for a better workout!
• Squeeze your abs while you are sitting. Flex them, hold for 30 seconds, then release. Repeat.
• While standing, rise up on to your toes, then bring your heels back down. Repeat. You’ll get a good calf workout.
• If you sit a lot during the day, do some bicep curls, triceps extensions, leg extensions, or shoulder presses. If you really want, you can get some light weights to keep at your desk just for this purpose.
• Walk faster than normal when traveling from one place to another.
• Don’t sit forever! Make sure you move around at least once every hour. Shoot for at least 5 minutes of walking every hour, but make sure it’s not to the vending machine!
• Use your lunch break to your advantage. If your company has a fitness center, use it! If it’s nice out go for a walk. If it’s not nice out, walk the stairs. If you are near a shopping center, go there and walk around the stores for awhile.
• Get up earlier. Look, 10 to 30 minutes isn’t going to have adverse effects on your daily functioning. In fact, the exercise you do during that time will leave you with more energy than if you woke up at the regular time. And you don’t have to do it every day. Shoot for 2-3 times a week to start.
• Go to bed later. Again these 10 to 30 minutes won’t kill you. And after exercise your body will be tired, leaving you with a better nights sleep.
• Do something while you are watching your favorite show. I don’t understand it, but some people say they have no time to exercise, then sit and watch television all night. I’ll save the cursing, but I’m pretty sure you know what I want to say… it starts with a B and ends with a T. Get off your butt while you watch. Do some squats, crunches, push-ups, etc. You won’t even realize you are doing them.
• Start a sports league at work! It’s a great way to get to know your colleagues and let out some stress over lunch. Try soccer, flag football, volleyball, basketball, etc.
• Use your chair to do tricep dips. Use your desk to do incline push-ups.
• Shadow boxing, jumping jacks, butt kicks, high knee marching, and many other small movements can get your heart rate up. And you don’t have to do them for long to feel the effects. You can start with 30 seconds and do it occasionally throughout the day. If you are too embarrassed that someone might see you (oh no, someone knows you’re trying to be healthy and change your life), try to find an empty office, storage room, or conference room to get some quick exercise done. You can even do some lunges or squats.
• If you have to bend down and pick something up, try to do a few squats. It only adds a couple of seconds on to your task and you’ll feel better at the end of the day.
• If you are a visual person, try using a pedometer. Some are accurate and some are not. It’s up to you how much you want to spend and rely on this piece of equipment. However, it may help some people push themselves a little harder. You can set a specific goal for the number of steps you’d like to take during the day. Meet that goal, but add on to it for tomorrow.
• Always try something and remember that EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

My mom used to tell me, “Use your noggin!” Well, I offer the same advice to you. If you use a little brain power and creativity you can get exercise out of almost every daily task. Pretty soon you won’t even have to think about it… your body will just want to do it! Don’t think of it as exercise, just think of it as a different way to do things.

What have YOU got to lose? www.goalfitnessandnutrition.com

The glycemic index is a relatively simple concept that absolutely must be understood by anyone interested in losing weight, gaining muscle, improving athlectic performance, and/or improving overall health.

In order to understand the glycemic index we must first understand how carbohydrates are broken down and absorbed into your bloodstream. I’ll spare you from the boring details and simplify it by saying that carbohydrates are broken down in your body into a form of sugar called glucose. Glucose is essentially stored energy that exists in your bloodstream (as opposed to glycogen which is stored energy in your muscles).

Your body releases insulin to promote the uptake of glucose and the utilization of it for energy. A sudden, substantial increase of glucose (blood sugar) causes your body to overcompensate its insulin release (to handle the extreme glucose spike). This insulin flood will cause an immediate increase in energy (a sugar buzz). Unfortunately, since the body overcompensates the release of insulin too much glucose is removed from the bloodstream which leaves your body in a hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) state. This is evident when you experience a crash after a sugar buzz. Regular patterns of rapid spiking of glucose followed by overcompensation of insulin levels numbs the body to the effectiveness of insulin. This my friends is the beginning of Type II Diabetes. Type II Diabetes is when your body doesn’t effectively react to insulin in it’s normal release amount. Since it doesn’t react properly glucose can’t be effectively utilized by the body.

Another important detail regarding insulin is that it’s presence in your body promotes the storage of fat. When your body has adequate amounts of glucose in it’s cells the body stores excess glucose as fat.

It is important to note that different carboydrates are converted to glucose at different rates.

So, now that we understand how carboydrates are processed by the body, and I went off on a tangent about Diabetes, lets get to the the glycemic index. The glycemic index is a numeric value assigned to foods that indicates the effect they gave on blood sugar (glucose) levels. The lower the glycemic index the slower the food converts to glucose (which implies a slower, steadier release of insulin and a longer, more balanced energy supply). Foods with a high glycemic index are rapidly converted to glucose, cause an immediate, extreme release of insulin, and provide a short, rapid burst of energy followed by a state conducive to hypoglycemia. Perform a Google search for “Glycemic Index” to find the index of many common foods.

So to sum up this jumpled mess…

Excessive insulin release is BAD as it can lead to diabetes. Spikes in the body’s glucose (blood sugar) levels causes an overcompensation of insulin relase and encourages the storage of fat. The glycemic index indicates what effects certain foods have on your blood sugar levels – which directly relates to insulin release.

To promote long term health, whether it be the prevention of diabetes or the loss of weight, you should know the effects foods have on your blood sugar levels. The knowledge will make your weight loss diet more effective and also improve your health.