Planning meals around an exercise programme

Meal times present a major challenge for people who exercise. For those involved in intensive training programmes, their exercise sessions frequently clash with meal times. Since exercise also suppresses the appetite, it’s easy to skip meals and miss out on getting essential supplies of energy. Frequent, small meals and snacks are good ways of making sure that the body is kept properly nourished. The worst mistake anyone can make is to skip a meal after exercising, since our bodies are desperate to absorb energy after an exercise session has been completed. If a meal is missed, the rate of recovery and re-fuelling is slowed dramatically, and can often take as long as 48 hours.

Eating a carbohydrate-based meal within four hours of finishing exercise is essential.

Most people find it difficult to eat a meal shortly before exercising because it can cause feelings of discomfort and stomach cramps. It’s also been suggested that rises in insulin levels due to eating sugary foods before exercise can lead to an increased rate of energy depletion – and earlier fatigue. Although there are still many who follow advice to avoid sugary food two or three hours before exercise, recent research suggests that the potential problems caused by a rise in insulin have been exaggerated.