Foods you can eat before playing a sport.
Diet and physical exercise are two of the pillars of a healthy lifestyle. They are closely linked and strongly affect each other. If your diet is bad, you will see few results no matter how much sport you do. On the other hand, good nutrition habits also need to be complemented with a proper sports routine – unlike the sedentary lifestyle of most people have today. In this new Life Smoothies blog post, we’re going to talk about a key time when these two very important aspects come into play.
What should you eat before playing a sport? What are the best foods at this time? Does it matter what you eat? Can it actually have a big impact on your performance? Could you maybe consider not eating anything before exercising?
Here, we’re going to look at the right diet for non-professional sports practice. This is because high-performance athletes may have different needs to those who play sport as a hobby or simply as part of a healthy lifestyle.
It’s important to eat before exercise
First of all, as most experts point out, it’s important to eat before exercising – because by eating certain foods you will ensure you get the fuel you need. A key aspect is that you eat the right foods for the sport you are going to be playing and what you are aiming to achieve. Ideally, therefore, you should consult a specialist. The same applies with the time of day that you are exercising: playing sport early in the morning is not the same as late afternoon, after a day’s work. So what you eat also needs to be taken into account.
Here, we’re going to show you some healthy options to consider before you go out training:
Smoothies, of course!
Smoothies meet two basic requirements that you should take into account before doing any sports activity. First, they provide a significant amount of water – something that it is essential to take into account not only before training, but at all times. And they also provide a good supply of nutrients to help you exercise better – an injection of energy that will positively affect your performance.
You have plenty of options. Always choose fruits, vegetables and combinations that contain no added sugars, such as Life Smoothies. Your choice of ingredients should be in line with the exercise that you are going to be doing, and ideally you should check with your nutritionist. Here you can see some of the favourite smoothies of Life Smoothies customers.
Carbohydrates
Bananas, apples, smoothies, yoghurts, pasta… but be careful, make sure you have the right amount! Carbohydrates will give you the right amount of glucose for your physical activity. These foods are especially important for people who do high intensity training, including anyone training for over an hour at a time.
Prevent cramps before they start!
Seeds, soybeans, avocados, nuts, broccoli… You need to look for foods that are rich in minerals and are high in magnesium – a fundamental ingredient that will help your body prevent cramps during exercise.
These are just a few of the many options available. As we said, it’s best to talk to your trainer and/or nutritionist so that they can advise you on a menu tailored to the exercise you’re going to be doing. But there’s no question that these foods can help you improve your performance, so long as you consume them in the right way and at the right time. If you want to find out more about our products, please head over to our website or find us on social media.
