I Was Eating at the Wrong Times for a Year

Here’s Exactly What to Eat Before and After Every Workout

I kept working hard and had a pretty decent diet for 12 months. Protein at every meal, veggies most days, not too much junk. I was doing what I should do on paper. In reality I would arrive to the gym without having eaten anything since lunch four hours before. I would come back from a session and if I wanted to eat I wouldn’t until 2 hours later, or I would eat what was around me which was usually not what I needed.

The results were satisfactory. Not bad. With consistent efforts five days a week, though, you’re not looking for fine. Fine is you’re letting a lot of potential winnings go down the drain, each and every time.

It all changed when I had a personal trainer friend check out not what I was eating, but when. One thing that shifted my whole perspective was that the gym provides the stimulus for your body to change. You have to eat around your training in order to see if it does. Without the pre-workout fuel you are working under powered. You don’t have enough time to work the building before you miss it.

This article will tell you exactly what foods, when, and what strategies work best for your goal in order to get it right — and research has proven it.

⚡ The Science Behind the Timing

Research published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition found that consuming protein and carbohydrates in the period immediately surrounding exercise can increase muscle protein synthesis by up to 40% compared to the same nutrients consumed at non-targeted times. Workout nutrition is not about eating more — it’s about eating at the right moments.

Why Workout Nutrition Timing Actually Matters — The Science in 2 Minutes

If you know why, you know what. What really goes on in your body when you train, and afterwards.

Resistance training and high-intensity cardio burn your glycogen stores (the stored carbohydrate energy source in your muscles), cause micro-tears to your muscle fibres that need repair and stimulate a hormonal response which results in a short-term rise in anabolic hormones such as testosterone and growth hormone.

The critical window: within 30 – 45 minutes of training, your muscles are more insulin sensitive than at any other time of the day – meaning they are absorbing glucose and amino acids from food in a more efficient manner. This is the reason why it’s said that there’s an anabolic window for each fitness article you read. It is there, and it is true — but not as long as most people think, just 20 minutes. You have just about an hour or two to make the best of it.

The myth of the fasted training is worthy of its own segment. Most people will not experience any significant increase in fat loss when starting their training without food in their bellies. It does increase cortisol (your stress hormone) which can lead to increased muscle protein breakdown for energy, it can measurably decrease training intensity, and it doesn’t decrease training intensity. The vast majority of people will find that eating before training will yield more results than not eating before training.

“The gym builds the stimulus. What you eat around your training determines what your body does with it. Get the timing right and your results compound every session.”

What to Eat Before a Workout — Timing, Macros and Real Meal Ideas

Golden Rule of Pre-Workout Eating: Have a balanced meal at least 60-90 minutes prior to training. This is so that your body gets a chance to start breaking the food down and won’t leave you with digestion cramps during your session or working on an empty tank.

What your pre-workout meal must contain

Complex carbohydrates for a sustained release of energy, to replenish muscle glycogen stores during the session. Moderate protein (20-30g) to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, which is what amino acids in protein can do to build and repair the muscle. Low fat intake, low high fibre foods, both slow the emptying of your stomach, which means that your body is still working on them when your muscles are working elsewhere.

That’s why a big, fatty meal two hours prior the workout results in a droning, sluggish sensation that hinders performance. The fat is not the culprit, it’s the wrong tool at the wrong time.

Pre-workout meal ideas — 5 options with macros

Meal / Snack	What it contains	Approx. macros
Oats + boiled eggs + banana	80g oats, 2 boiled eggs, 1 banana — complex carbs, protein, natural sugars	~540 kcal | 32g protein
Greek yogurt + granola + berries	200g plain Greek yogurt, 40g granola, mixed berries — fast and effective	~380 kcal | 26g protein
Wholegrain toast + peanut butter + banana	2 slices toast, 2 tbsp peanut butter, 1 banana — portable and quick	~450 kcal | 18g protein
Chicken + sweet potato + veg	150g grilled chicken, 150g sweet potato, steamed broccoli — if 90+ min before	~520 kcal | 44g protein
Quick option (30 min before)	1 banana + 150g Greek yogurt — minimal prep, fast digestion, effective	~280 kcal | 16g protein

The complete article on what to eat before and after a workout on this site provides a detailed framework of what to eat before and after a workout based on the training goal, as well as the electrolytes considerations for longer workouts.

What to avoid before training

• Slow gastric emptying – discomfort and decreased blood flow available during exercise from high fat meals.
• High fibre foods — same mechanism – bran cereals, large quantities of raw cruciferous vegetables, legumes slow digestion
• Alcohol will also affect coordination, dehydrate and reduce growth hormone – the triple threat of training disaster.
• Nothing at all: Particularly bad after 45 minutes — cortisol goes up, muscle breakdown goes up and performance goes down.

During Your Workout — When Intra-Workout Nutrition Actually Matters

This is over thought by most people. Most of the time, the answer is simple: simply water.

Sessions under 60 minutes — water is enough

If your workout is less than 60 minutes (most workouts at the gym are), then the glycogen you had in your pre-workout meal will last for the duration. Drink water regularly (150–200ml every 15–20 minutes) – reserve recovery food for the end of the session. For shorter duration, sports drinks and intra-workout carbohydrates are not needed and are a calorie for calorie expense.

Sessions over 60 minutes — fuel strategically

Endurance activities that last longer than 60-90 minutes (e.g. longer runs, more team training sessions, or consecutive training blocks in one day) can lead to glycogen depletion and become a definite performance factor. The plan is to eat 30-60g of quick-acting carbs every 30-45 minutes after the initial hour.

Best real food choices: 2-3 Medjool dates (about 18g of carbohydrates per date), half a banana, 2 rice cakes with a thin layer of filling or a few small handfuls of raisins. These are a source of quick energy, as opposed to the artificial dyes, sweeteners and not so pleasant taste of most commercial energy gels.

The water plan is as important as the food for longer sessions. If there is a high amount of sweat loss, it’s not enough to simply drink water, an electrolyte (sodium, potassium, magnesium) is lost through sweat and needs to be replaced to ensure the muscle maintains its contraction, coordination and cramp resistance.

What to Eat After a Workout — The Recovery Meal That Builds the Results

The payoff comes after the meal – the pre-workout meal is the preparation. This is the one nutrient time that is most crucial for anyone looking to gain muscle, maximize performance or aid in body composition.

The post-workout window — how it works

Your muscles are like a sponge for the 30-45 minutes following training. Depleted glycogen stores and increased insulin sensitivity combine to make the nutrients provided at this time of day available to repair and replenish muscle tissue first. If you wait 2-3 hours after this window of absorption, then you are missing this absorption window.

The post workout meal should contain 20-40g of fast-absorbed protein (carried out to maximise muscle protein synthesis) and moderate to high carbohydrates (to replenish glycogen). Fat is not as crucial here, as it will help slow the delivery of nutrients, and that is something you don’t want in the post-workout window.

Post-workout meal ideas — 5 options with macros

Meal / Snack	What it contains	Approx. macros
Protein shake + banana	1 scoop whey, 250ml milk, 1 banana — fastest and most portable	~350 kcal | 36g protein
Chicken breast + white rice + veg	180g grilled chicken, 150g cooked white rice (faster than brown post-workout), greens	~550 kcal | 50g protein
Greek yogurt + banana + granola	250g plain Greek yogurt, 1 banana, 40g granola — no cooking required	~420 kcal | 30g protein
Eggs on wholegrain toast	3 whole eggs scrambled, 2 slices wholegrain toast — quick, complete, cheap	~430 kcal | 32g protein
Tuna + wholegrain crackers + fruit	1 tin tuna, 6 crackers, 1 piece fruit — ideal for post-training at work	~360 kcal | 34g protein

Add turmeric into your shake, tart cherry juice (clinically proven to boost recovery and reduce muscle soreness after training) into your post training smoothie or a bit of ginger in your post-training smoothie; these anti-inflammatory additions that many people miss. Not superfoods like the marketers say — they are compounds with measurable anti-inflammatory effects that make the next training session a better one and decrease the severity of DOMS (Delayed onset muscle soreness).

What not to eat (or do) after training

• Alcohol lowers muscle protein synthesis for up to 24 hours after exercise. Any amount of downers will have a significant effect on the anabolic response to training, even in moderate doses. One of the best studied nutrition-exercise interactions in the body of evidence.
• High-fat meals as your first post-workout food: High fat meals will slow down the emptying of your stomach and delay the delivery of protein and carbohydrates to the muscle tissue — which is the last thing you want after training.
• Nothing, or little: Real and temporary post-exercise appetite suppression. The hormonal changes that happen during heavy exercise briefly suppress hunger. It’s not that you aren’t hungry, but that doesn’t mean your muscles aren’t hungry for nutrients! Takes food, even if not hungry.

By Goal — Pre and Post Workout Nutrition at a Glance

The ideal nutrition for everyone’s exercise is slightly different, depending on the activity they are training for. You can find the summary of the three most frequent goals in this table.

	Muscle Building	Fat Loss	Endurance
Pre-Workout	High carbs + protein. Oats + eggs or banana + yogurt. Eat 60–90 min before.	Moderate carbs + protein. Smaller portion. Same timing applies.	High carbs. Oats, banana, wholegrain toast. Electrolytes if session >90 min.
During (>60min)	Not essential unless session >90 min.	Water only for most sessions. Avoid intra-workout calories.	Fast carbs every 30–45 min. Dates, banana, energy gel.
Post-Workout	High protein (30–40g) + high carbs. Chicken + rice or shake + banana.	High protein (30–40g) + low-moderate carbs. Protein shake + small portion rice.	High carbs + moderate protein. Rice, pasta, or potato + chicken or fish.
Key Focus	Calorie surplus. Hit protein target. Don’t skip post-workout.	Protein protects muscle in deficit. Don’t skip post-workout.	Glycogen replenishment is the priority. Carbs come first.

5 Workout Nutrition Mistakes Most People Are Still Making

All these have been my errors over the years. All of them are easily solved.

• Training in the fasted state for fat loss. This will raise cortisol, speed up muscle wasting and decrease exercise frequency — thereby lowering calories burned. The overall outcome tends to be negative or neutral relative to training fed. Eat something.
• Training on a full stomach just before or after a big meal. As well as content, timing is key. When you eat a complete meal 20 minutes prior to a workout, your muscles are fighting for blood and your belly is getting it. This leads to a decrease in performance and a great deal of physical discomfort. There’s a reason why there’s a 60 to 90 minute window.
• Not eating a post workout meal when you are not hungry. The body’s appetite after exercise is a natural response, not that it is not hungry. It’s temporary. Be sure to consume within 45 minutes—even a small amount of food like a Greek yogurt and banana is better than nothing.
• Sports beverages for 30 minutes of gym class. Sports drinks are designed for prolonged time spent in an endurance activity such as running, cycling, team sports for more than 60 minutes. They are 200-300 calories of sugar that don’t provide any performance advantage for a typical gym workout.
• Not getting adequate protein after exercise. The optimal amount of high quality protein to maximally stimulate muscle protein synthesis is around 20g. A protein bar, a glass of milk, a couple of crackers and hummus are just below this amount. Know your numbers. The following article looks into the whats and hows of getting 100 grams of protein on a daily basis, and goes into the details of how the body reacts to 100 grams of protein a day — it changes the way most people think about protein.

The Bottom Line — Time Your Nutrition Like You Time Your Training

Those who reap the rewards of their training are not necessarily the ones who work the hardest. It is they who take a holistic approach to system, training, nutrition, sleep, recovery and so on, and are deliberate about it. One of the most manageable variables in that equation is the food you take while you exercise.

There’s no need for exact time slots or to bring a stopwatch to your protein shake. The basic idea behind the practical aspects is to have a balanced meal 60 to 90 minutes before training, water during training, and focus on protein and carbohydrates within 45 minutes of training. Repeat this and you will see the changes.

Your workout nutrition checklist:

1.  Eat a carb + protein meal 60–90 minutes before every training session

2.  If short on time, a banana + Greek yogurt 30 minutes before works

3.  Avoid high-fat, high-fibre foods and alcohol before training

4.  For sessions under 60 minutes, water is all you need during

5.  For sessions over 60 minutes, consume 30–60g fast carbs per hour

6.  Eat within 30–45 minutes of finishing every session

7.  Post-workout meal: 20–40g protein + moderate-to-high carbs

8.  Avoid alcohol and heavy fat meals immediately post-training

9.  Never skip the post-workout meal even if you’re not hungry

10.  Adjust carb amounts by goal — more for muscle building, less for fat loss

Use this approach with your next three Training Sessions and notice the differences in your energy level, performance and recovery. It’s not something subtle that’s happening.

What is your favorite pre or post workout meal at the moment? Leave it in the comments: I am truly interested in what is working for you!

⚕  Medical Disclaimer

The information in this article is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or nutritional advice. The meal timings, portion sizes, and dietary strategies discussed are general guidelines and are not personalised recommendations. Individual nutritional needs vary based on age, body weight, fitness goals, health status, and activity level. Pure Vitality Tips content is not a substitute for advice from a qualified doctor, registered dietitian, or certified personal trainer. If you have a health condition or specific dietary requirement, please consult a qualified healthcare professional before making significant changes to your diet or exercise programme. Results will vary. Reliance on any information on this website is solely at your own risk.