Should I eat before the gym or after the gym? This is a question that many gym goers ask and wonder about. The main objective of going to the gym for most people is to lose weight. This is understandable considering the fact that obesity is the worldwide bane of so many millions of people who have accumulated fat and need to lose the extra kilos fast. But the issue of eating before the gym or eating after the gym is something that intrigues many. It is quite clear that the quality of your workout does depend on what you ingest and when you choose to do it, hence this query is not only valid but also crucial for the health and wellbeing of gym goers.

It is quite clear that scientists say that one should eat something before you go to the gym. This is because the body really needs some energy to be at its optimal level before you go for the workout. When you sleep at night, the calorie intake is nil and all that you may have ingested for 8-10 hours is some water which is 0 calorie. A lot of people go to the gym on an empty stomach, which is quite a mistake. This is because an exercise regime demands the flow of your blood through the bloodstream and also requires energy. If you have no energy source in the form of glucose, the body could withdraw energy from the glycogen in your muscles, leaving you tired and enervated.

What and how much you eat before the workout is also important, as you cannot also have a full 3 or 4 course meal before the workout because that would consume a lot of activity and effort in digestion which otherwise could have been used in the workout. This diminishes the efficacy of your workout. So be careful as to what you eating before the gym. You cannot really miss out on eating at least a couple of hours before the workout and expect to be fit. It’s really a myth that you can skip eating and burn more calories, because your body is not made that way at all. Working out on a grumbling stomach is like trying to run a car on very less fuel.

Researchers are also clear that eating after the gym is essential. This is because the body needs energy and nutrients to repair any damage to tissues that may occur during the workout. You also expend huge amounts of energy during the workout. This may often leave you drained and exhausted. It is recommended by doctors that you eat within 45 minutes of your workout. This is the golden hour period when your muscles replace the glycogen levels and get rejuvenated most effectively. Also, it is very important to re-hydrate the body as you would have lost a lot of body fluids through sweating it out in the gym.

So now you have the answer to the question, “Should I eat before the gym or after the gym?” The answer obviously is BOTH.

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