Don’t let all that good work go to waste by neglecting your diet. Nutrition coach Victoria Tipper from Dubai Herbal & Treatment Centre believes there’s a particular way to match your diet to your workout habits.
“Activities that involve more endurance will need you to fuel up on more carbs,” she says. “They help replenish glycogen stores, which endurance sports put a huge dent in, causing you to tire. Strength-based exercise will require more protein to enable muscle growth and post-exercise recovery. Exercises that combine the two, such as CrossFit or boxing, need both carbs and protein.”
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But it’s not just about what you eat, with timing your meal an important factor, too. Tipper recommends leaving around two hours between your meal and workout.
If you want to train before work, this isn’t feasible, but there is an alternative.
“Many find that working out in a fasted state works for them,” says Tipper.
“A cup of coffee with some coconut oil in it can help to boost cortisol levels and the medium-chain fats in the coconut oil offer a great energy source.”
Later in the day, your pre-workout meal should contain carbs and proteins but be low in fat as it takes longer to digest, Tipper says. And within half an hour of ending your session, you should consume at least 25g of protein to help rebuild damaged muscles.
So what meals does Tipper suggest? “Tuna and beans, yoghurt with half a cup of berries, omelette with black beans, sweet potato with chicken or brown rice and turkey slices are good choices.”
For more information and advice visit www.dubaihtc.com or call 04 335 1200.
