All of your hard work in the gym isn’t going to help you reach your health goals if you aren’t fueling your body with the proper nutrition. Gone are the (harmful) days where eating less means weighing less. We put some basics together to get you on the fast track to all the gains you’re looking for. But first, macros.
A macro is short for macronutrient. Macros (along with micronutrients) make up our foods and are used as energy sources. A macro can either be a carbohydrate, protein, or fat. Curveball ahead: foods can be made up of all three macros, but are categorized by whichever they are mainly made up from. For example: 4oz of edamame has 14g of protein, 7g of fat, and 12g of carbs. This food has the highest amount of protein per serving, so it is considered a great protein source.
Not sure what macros your foods are made up from? A quick google search can tell you, or you can use helpful apps and sites like My Fitness Pal or Macros First.
Before we get started, we have a little disclaimer. Every body is different, and everyone tolerates food (and workouts) differently. Be sure to test these suggestions and see how your body responds. Keep in mind that something that works for one personmight not work for you the same way. Differences make the world go ‘round. Now let’s dive in.
What you are eating depends a lot on when you are eating. The closer to the workout you are, the less fat you want to eat. If you’re eating a full meal 2–3 hours before, that is plenty of time to allow your body to digest those fats. In that case, feel free to eat a pretty even meal between carbohydrates, protein, and fat. What does a “pretty even meal” look like in regard to macros? If you’re just starting to keep track of your macros, a pretty even split to start is 35% carb, 35% protein, and 30% fat. The best rule of thumb? The fewer ingredients on the label, the better.
If you’re looking for a last minute snack, let’s check out what Naked Nutrition has to say, “If you’re looking to improve performance and recovery for resistance training or HIIT style workouts, the ratio of your macros in your pre-workout snack should be weighted towards carbs. Aiming for 15 to 30 grams of carbohydrate and 10 to 20 grams of protein in your pre-workout snack is a good place to start”.
For meals after your workout, timing is essential. That’s why you always see people walking around with a shaker bottle and some protein power in hand. You want to pump those nutrients into your body as quickly as possible to kick off the recovery process. Those muscles are swole AF and looking for some love. What does that lovin’ consist of? Protein and carbs. (Now, we can get into simple vs. complex carbs, but we’ll let Medical News Today break that down for you once you get a grasp on the basics.) For now, stick with getting in a pretty balanced meal of protein and carbs and a little bit of fat.
We can’t let you go without pointing out the number one winner of nutrition. Good ‘ol H2O. Our bodies are made up of 60% water. If you aren’t hydrating throughout the day, and even more before and after your workout, you are doing your body a huge disservice. Does your car run without oil? Don’t expect your body to run without water. Rule of thumb: drink half your body weight in ounces of water (at minimum!).
If you’re looking to get your gym members on board with eating right, we suggest running a gym-wide nutrition challenge through Wodify Rise! This can be at zero cost to you as a gym owner unless you want to charge your members.
We also have two pre-made nutrition challenges by OptimizeMe Nutrition that can be ready to roll for your gym with a click of a button. Check out more here!
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Want to learn more about the nutrition challenges? Give our team a call to learn more about how Wodify can help. Book your call here.
