What is the best time to eat before and after your daily exercise ?

Leslie Bonci who is the Director of sports nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center says you should consider food as a part of your equipment.

Ideally food should be taken an hour before exercise. And when you eat, it should be a fist size portion of food. Leslie says, most people make the mistake of either starving before an exercise or over eating – both of which are bad.

A fist-sized amount of food – such as a granola bar, a peanut butter jelly sandwich and so on which should give enough carbohydrates and proteins, gives the body enough food to be available as an energy source  but not as much to give you an upset stomach.

And don’t forget to drink around 20 ounces ~ 0.5 liters of water an hour before your workout. If you have liquid ahead of time, you will be better hydrated when you start to be physically active.

Put fluid back into your body as you exercise, says Leslie. This is because your body loses water as sweat and you have to replenish it at regular intervals. Leslie says you should drink 14 to 40 ounces of water per hour depending upon your sweat rate.

Post exercise, have a snack within 15 minutes.

[Source : New York Times]