One of the many things to keep in mind while you are hitting the gym is the fact that you should be well-focused on your diet. Your diet has a very important role to play whether you are gaining weight or are trying to lose some. You can carry out extensive research on diets by consulting the internet, this is where we would suggest investing in a superfast internet service such as Xfinity internet.
If you are really keen about what your diet should be, regardless of weight loss or weight gain, here are some foods that you should make sure are a part of your diet as you get busy in the gym.
Make Sure you Look at the Portions you are Eating
You need to make sure you are calculating the calories that you are consuming. This is because you need to burn most of the calories that you are consuming. Most of the burning takes place when you are in the gym and are in the middle of your workout.
You could either opt for having large meals throughout the day that would make sure you have enough nutrition throughout the day, or you could just have smaller meals throughout the day such as light snacks that would keep you going. The point is to keep your calorie count in check so that you are taking enough nutrition. However, do make sure that the small meals you are taking are taken 1 to 3 hours before exercising and the larger meals are taken 3 to 4 hours before exercising.
If you eat too close to the time you exercise, you might feel lethargic and might even have digestive issues. If you eat way too little then you won’t have enough energy to keep you going through your workout.
Make Sure your Breakfast is Power Packed
You should always make sure that your breakfast is good enough to keep you fueled through the day. If you exercise early in the morning, you should make sure that there is a significant time difference between your breakfast and your workout. When it comes to breakfast, you should have a maximum amount of carbohydrates since they have the perfect balance of energy reserves. This way you can work out for a longer time and can make sure your muscles are used to their limit.
Not taking a proper breakfast can make you feel weak when you are working out; therefore it is important to make sure that you are taking enough breakfast packed with carbs. If you intend on working out within an hour of your breakfast, then make sure your breakfast is light but power-packed, or you could just go for a sports drink such as a Gatorade instead.
If you can’t figure out what you need to have in your breakfast, you can add the following things to your daily breakfast to make sure you are taking enough nutrition:
- Low-fat Milk
- Cereals
- Bananas
- Juice
- Yogurt
- Eggs
Eat Right after your Exercises
Right after your workout, your muscles need to recover and need to regrow, therefore, it is important to eat something right after your workout so that the microfibers in your muscles are regenerated. All you have to do is to make sure that you eat within two hours after your workout and that your food is rich in carbohydrates and proteins. If you feel like you cannot have a proper meal within two hours, then just make sure that you take a snack that can help you wait until it is time for you to eat properly.
Some things that you can eat after a workout include things such as Yogurt, Fruits, Low-Fat milk with Pretzels, Turkey on bread, post-workout shakes, and smoothies with protein powder. The more you focus on muscle recovery, the more progress you are going to see with muscle growth and size since building up muscle is around 80% of your diet and 20% of the gym. Invest in a good post-workout whey protein or mass gainer so that you can see faster results.
Be sure to take Enough Snacks throughout the Day
Throughout the day and even through your workout, you need to make sure you have energy in surplus so that you could use it for your workouts. That is where snacks come in you can have them before or during your workout. Here, you have to make sure that your snack is rich in carbohydrates or a drink that gives you enough energy. Some of these snacks include a Granola bar, an energy bar, yogurt, a smoothie, fruits, peanut butter sandwiches, and sports drinks like Gatorade.
Wrapping Up
Making sure that you get a proper diet is an essential part of building mass and muscle. You need to start off by taking a heavy breakfast and snacks throughout the day, and making sure you eat after your workout too.