pre training food

[dethhead]

hi everyone, ive been eating 2min noodles about and hour before training and a chocolate bar (just to boost my glucose levels right before training starts) about 15min before training (i have to catch the bus into town just after i have the noodles) but i just got my braces and cant eat noodles anymore and im not aloud to eat chocolate so i was wondering what SHOULD i be eating before training? what does everyone else here eat?
thanks.

[Azimuth]

I normally don't eat approx two hours before training,
because of the intensity of the workout. What i do after training is to go home as fast as possible and have something to eat and drink .

[Liu]

I usually try to eat as little as possible. Digestion actually uses a lot of energy, and you don't want to waste any for your training! Also I don't recommend eating chocolate or food high in sugar before training. Sugar does give you some sort of energy boost, but you will eventually feel tired after a while. Noodles are good, but remember that instant noodles are high in fat and fat takes a lot of time to be digested and absorbed. In comparison carbohydrates are digested and absorbed the first.

I try to fill my stomach with mostly carbohydrates and drink water 1 to 2 hours before training. After training, I take a 15 minutes break then it's water time. Eating high protein food is good after training since protein repairs and regenerates cells (it's important to keep the muscles).

[Kris]

I have started eating rice (Japanese white rice) about two hours before training. This gives me a lot of energy for a 2 hr training session. It is not scientific, just learned that it works for me.

[nzproud]

2 mins noodles are junk food. I would eat a banana before a session. or slices of whole grain wheat bread. 2 mins noodles have so much saturated fat(dunno how much trans-fat is in it tho)..

Eat either an apple, banana or kiwi fruits to boost up your sugar level.

[sokaiya]

I have eaten 2 hours before training once and in the middle of class felt it kind of sizzle upwards.

Peanut butter on whole wheat bread
Glass of chocolate milk
2Hrs before training.
Works for me

[Lucy]

I normally had a high carb meal (say pasta, rice or potatoes) 2 hours before training and a banana before i leave for the dojo. I also drink alot of water but that doesnt work for everyone thats just my personal choice. I need regular water.

[dethhead]

thanks everyone for the advice, last night about 90mins before training started i ate a big plate of plain rice which filled me up good and i felt great during training.
i'll also take rxrliu and nzproud advice and stay away from junk food before training but maybe have some fruit if im still hungry.
thanks again.

[ichigeki31]

wel i believe that drinkin a proper amount of water a day to keep u hydrated really helps during training and yup cutting of the junk food also helps osu .

[L.K]

To me the most important thing is not what I eat but rather when I eat. If I eat closer than 1,5hours before training it generally has a bad effect on my session.

[kidflash]

I agree to nzproud and Lucy: banana works very well. In my experience better as any other fruit. Drinking enough water is also important, but too much directly before the training will maybe cause problems, because you will want to get to the toilet... ... I have had this...

[Spirit]

As for me, I eat just before going to train. I'm lucky I guess, never had any problems of eating before training.
Now not eating before training is a whole different issue for me at least.

As for eating 2 min noodles I would drop that faster than it takes to cook. Same with the candy?!?
Cook up fresh pasta (no sauce) not fast/convenient foods.
Try eating fruits if you are under a time crunch.

Remember, energy from your food comes from breakfast through super, so start your "energy" day by eating foods in the morning that will help your body stay full of energy all day, not trying to gain some energy with the last meal before training.

[supergroup7]

I'd stay away from any sugary junk food or soda pop, or fat filled junk food before training because that will really wreck havok with your digestive tract. The sugar will spike your blood into a high, and some minutes later you will crash. You need something that will give constant energy, not bursts.

What I have found out is that our body recognizes fruit, and digests it very quickly. I will eat some fruit about two hours before class, and drink 2 cups of water to truly hydrate my body. I prefer bananas as they have high potassium, natural glucose, and fructose sugars, and really good carbohydrates to offer me. Apples, and grapes are my second choice. I try to stay away from oranges, and other citrus fruits because I found that the high acidic level made me feel their presence more during training.

[A-jay]

Originally Posted by supergroup7

I'd stay away from any sugary junk food or soda pop, or fat filled junk food before training because that will really wreck havok with your digestive tract. The sugar will spike your blood into a high, and some minutes later you will crash. You need something that will give constant energy, not bursts.

What I have found out is that our body recognizes fruit, and digests it very quickly. I will eat some fruit about two hours before class, and drink 2 cups of water to truly hydrate my body. I prefer bananas as they have high potassium, natural glucose, and fructose sugars, and really good carbohydrates to offer me. Apples, and grapes are my second choice. I try to stay away from oranges, and other citrus fruits because I found that the high acidic level made me feel their presence more during training.

Amen.

If you have an adrenaline boost from sugars, insuline will kick in which acts as a tranquillizer.
Just to compare and to sound scientificy:

energy per 100 gram
banana: 347 kilojoule
White rice: 1478 kilojoule
Bread: about 1100 kilojoule

wikipedia:
1 joule in everyday life is approximately:

* the energy required to lift a small apple (102 g) one meter against Earth's gravity.
* the amount of energy, as heat, that a quiet person produces every hundredth of a second.
* the energy required to heat one gram of dry, cool air by 1 degree Celsius.
* one hundredth of the energy a person can get by drinking a single 5 mm diameter droplet of beer.

You will probably burn anywhere between 3000-4000 kilojoules per hour, probably.(not sure about this though).
(not all of the energy is provided by carbonhydrates, though.)

So breakfast is important, because you will benefit from the energy when you train later that day.

[supergroup7]

A-jay.. would brown rice be a better choice than white rice? I'm just wondering about this because I assume that the brown rice would contain the "bran" part of the rice which has alot of nutrients, vitamins, and fibre. You would still get just as much energy from brown rice.

I bet you that a stir fry of mixed vegtables with brown rice on the side would be a GREAT meal to have before training. Now my next question would be.. how long does it take for my body to convert the energy in that rice into usable energy for training. Does it not take close to 24 hours on average for normal digestion of mixed foods to occur? Perhaps if your stomach is empty to begin with it might just take a couple of hours for digestion of rice, and vegtables. Meat, and protein takes the longest time of all to digest.

That's why I turn to fruit, because our body seems to recognize fruit, and send through the digestive process more quickly. Within 15 to 30 minutes, a fruit can be digested on an empty stomach.

[A-jay]

Originally Posted by supergroup7

A-jay.. would brown rice be a better choice than white rice? I'm just wondering about this because I assume that the brown rice would contain the "bran" part of the rice which has alot of nutrients, vitamins, and fibre. You would still get just as much energy from brown rice.

Yes, you are absolutely correct. Brown rice gives an equal amount of energy but has more vitamines/minerals. Also the bran layer helps digestion since it has lot of fibers. Your stomach needs more time to digest brown rice though, because we don't have enzymes that can digest some stuff in fiber (cellulose)

I bet you that a stir fry of mixed vegtables with brown rice on the side would be a GREAT meal to have before training. Now my next question would be.. how long does it take for my body to convert the energy in that rice into usable energy for training. Does it not take close to 24 hours on average for normal digestion of mixed foods to occur? Perhaps if your stomach is empty to begin with it might just take a couple of hours for digestion of rice, and vegtables. Meat, and protein takes the longest time of all to digest.

I've also always wondered how long it would take to benefit from your food to the max. Unfortunately, I asked a lot of experts and they don't know how long.
It depends on the kind of food (carbonhydrates in this case) and the person.
What I do know is that how fast you can absorb the carbonhydrates depends on something called GI(Glycemic Index). The higher the value of the GI, the faster it can be absorbed in the body.
Carbohydrates are digested faster than fats.
I did find a site that seemed trustworthy, because of the very official looking URL but since I'm not sure I'm skeptic about the following:
I read somewhere that it takes 3 hours for the stomach to digest the food well and break it up in smaller pieces. It takes 1-4 hours for the intestine to absorb usable energy sources/ vitamines/ minerals etc.

stir fry vegetables with brown rice sounds yummy, though!

That's why I turn to fruit, because our body seems to recognize fruit, and send through the digestive process more quickly. Within 15 to 30 minutes, a fruit can be digested on an empty stomach.

[hungheykwun]

i have found (the hard way!) these food do not agree with me before training:
- milk
- spicy/sour food
- a full meal of anything, including rice
- coffee

so mostly, i just eat bread

[Bloke]

Yeah I have to be careful with coffee too - I need at least 2 hours between drinking one and training.

[sublimo]

Originally Posted by hungheykwun

i have found (the hard way!) these food do not agree with me before training:
- milk
- spicy/sour food
- a full meal of anything, including rice
- coffee

so mostly, i just eat bread

Indeed especially spicy food! Fresh milk is also not a good idea for Asian types. I don t no why but if I drink Fresh milk, I ll be in touble!!

Sometimes between work and training I´m so hungry. But when I eat than I regret it off course.