Work Out Snacks
 

I am just wondering what everyone's take on this is. When eating a pre or post work out snack should it be counted as part of your daily calories.

The theory being that when eating right before an intensive workout that energy is the most readily available and therefore used to help you with your energy, concentration etc. during the workout. The protein/carbs eaten after a work out are used to help rebuild muscle and stop the body from metabolizing muscle rather than fat. If you did weight bearing exercises and resistance training you should continue to burn calories at a higher rate than normal for some time.

Do you believe this theory? Do you count these calories? should I be counting them? if so what are your suggestions for low calorie pre/post work out foods. I am looking for things pre-work out with complex carbs and a little protein and post workout a lot of protein with some carbs for around 100-150 calories each.

I am currently have a real issue staying with in my calorie total while eating frequent small meals of around 150-200 calories main meal are around 300-400 calories depending on what I snacked on. I am really trying to get this whole calorie counting thing down and I am struggling. I know i will see faster results if I can get it figured out.

I count everything, regardless of exercise. Sorry that probably doesn't help you that much! As for pre/post workout foods, I don't usually do anything special but my boyfriend likes to eat bananas and such...

If it goes in my mouth and it has calories, it gets counted. Period. :)

There are people who "eat the workout" by calculating how many calories they think they've burned, then eating that amount as a snack, but to me that's fraught with problems. It's practically impossible for a machine or even a heart rate monitor to give you an accurate count of how quickly your body burns calories; we're all unique. Also, it's harder to create the necessary calorie deficit if you eat back your worked-off calories. I don't know about you, but I'd rather they just stayed gone rather than eating 'em back. :D

I definitely eat a post-workout snack, though; if I don't, I'm ravenous. It's fine to munch, but I would count the munched stuff, for sure.

How many calories are you aiming for per day? You're pretty tall, so if you're also quite active, you might be struggling because you're genuinely hungry.

I count all the calories I eat (and don't subtract for exercise since I can't really be sure how much I burn). I've always been a bit skeptical about the concept of special post-workout snacks, except maybe for serious marathoner types or professional athletes. It seems to me the whole idea took off at the same time as companies creating and starting to promote their packaged snacks and drinks. If you're as old as me you'll remember that no one was worried much about "hydrating" before water was sold in vast amounts in plastic bottles, and yet you didn't see people keeling over from dehydration right and left, even kiddies after their 40 minutes of running around the soccer field, let alone men doing heavy labor in summer heat.

[cynical old fart rant concluded.]

Short answer: I drink water (from the tap) before and after my hour of cardio exercise, sometimes coffee. If I'm actually hungry and it's not time for a regular meal yet, I eat a banana or a peanut butter cracker. And I count it.

ETA: try to look at the specific studies that are the source for that. A lot of them are done using college athletes, just because that's what tends to be handy to university researchers in exercise physiology and nutrition. Those people work out hours every day, every week of the year. They probably have very low percentage body fat, and are working at the limits of their effort and reserves a lot of the time. And yes, I get sweaty and feel like I work hard during my exercise 4-5 times a week. But I'm still just a pretty ordinary schmuck, physique-wise. I'm not going to let PepsiCo or Nestle or whoever fool me into thinking that I'm Michael Phelps, or ... some other kind of real athlete person whose name I don't know ... and eat and drink lots of calories back to make up for my couple hundred worth of effort.

I eat a banana, a couple dates, or some peanut butter pre-workout and I count it. I usually try to schedule my workouts so that I can have a meal a little bit after them, since I'm usually really hungry after a long workout. But I definitely count everything.

Anything I eat gets counted.

Pre workout is half an apple. Post workout is whey protien in half a cup of milk or the workout is timed so I can come home and have lunch or dinner straight away. My workouts are cardio and strength training.

Yet another counter here too. I've read (somewhere and I'm sure there are different theories) that ideally, you eat nothing before your workout. If you need to eat, then you eat a protein. I usually have 10 almonds before my workout (70 calories) but if I wanted to have more calories, I could have 20 almonds. :D I don't really eat anything after my workout. I usually have a coffee and then I have an early lunch.

I typically don't eat pre-workout. It makes me sick to my stomach.

I do try to eat something within an hour of working out. I try to keep it to under/around 100 calories. A banana, cottage cheese, string cheese, or my breakfast -- a fiber bar.

I always count the calories.

Yeah I also should have said not right before. About an hour before.

LOL

I usually exercise within 15 minutes of getting up. :)

Oh my gosh! I am not a morning person and that is my worst nightmare. :dizzy:

I am currently aiming at anywhere between 1200-1400 calories. I work out 5 days a week. 1-2 times a week with a personal trainer so those days it is focused mainly on strength training (because I am very very weak it is sad!). On training days I find I have to eat something before and after or I won't make it through and after I get shaky if I don't.

So I will continue to count my pre/post work out snacks but work on getting them to be fewer calories I think that is what is really killing me or I will lose my evening snack to help make up for it.

any suggestions for snacks? I am currently struggling with ideas and I am a little sick of yogurt and bananas or apples and low fat cheese.

Reduced fat triscuits with a wedge of laughing cow cheese

Granola (bar or otherwise)

Cottage cheese

Add some pb to the banana/apple, or with celery

Hard boiled egg

I usually work out mid-morning, so I have my usual breakfast, no pre-workout snack, and then whether or not I have a snack after my workout depends on if it's time for lunch. So if I get to the gym at 9:30, run for an hour, shower, leave at 11:30, I'll just have lunch. But if I skip the shower and I'm going to be running errands until 1, I'll have a snack, usually a granola bar or some nuts, something easy to pack in my bag. Sometimes I'll get a high-protein smoothie at the gym. I've seen people eating a slice of good turkey (like Boar's Head brand-type) rolled with a piece of cheese (maybe they put an ice pack in their bag?).

Bronzeager, I've often wondered about how studies performed on elite athletes translate to the rest of us. The only concrete evidence I have is that I had some bloodwork done earlier this month, and my Creatine Kinase level was quite elevated. This is symptomatic of muscle breakdown. My doctor was concerned until I mentioned I had run 10 miles about 48 hours before the test. Googling confirmed that marathon runners exhibit elevated CK levels for about a week post-marathon. So I have empirical evidence that my workouts are enough to cause measurable breakdown (which is desirable since that's how muscles get stronger) and that leads me to believe that some sort of proper nutrition might help the recovery process. But must it be done within 45 minutes of workout (as my gym promotes, in a big sign right outside the cafe? That I do not know!

And back to the OP's question -- yep, those calories count. "Afterburn" is not universally accepted, and it's impossible to calculate, so you are best off counting those calories. If you lose a tiny bit faster than you estimated, well, hats off to you! :carrot: