5 Best Natural Foods to Eat Before A Workout
Whether you're looking to gain muscle mass, or just want to feel the extra energy for a high intensity workout, there are certain foods you can eat before exercising to maximize your results. Here are 5 best natural foods to eat before a workout.
When you’re trying to get in shape, the last thing you probably want is a giant list of rules. Most people just want actionable advice they can put into practice right away. Whether that means eating five small meals at specific times, avoiding carbs on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, or something else entirely, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that through your own research and experimentation, you find the natural foods to eat before a workout routine that will help you achieve your fitness goals faster than ever before.
If you’re looking for ways to get more out of working out and feeling
sore from your next personal training session — without going hungry or giving
up pizza — keep reading for our top 5 natural foods to eat before a workout.
Eggs
First up on our list of the best natural foods to eat before a workout is eggs. While there are a number of reasons you might want to eat eggs — they’re high in protein, low in fat, and rich in vitamins and minerals — their special place on this list lies in their high biotin content. Biotin, also known as Vitamin B7, is a water-soluble vitamin that helps the body process fats and proteins, keeps hair and nails healthy, and is even key to regulating blood sugar levels.
If you’re going to be working out and sweating
for long periods of time, biotin is an especially important nutrient for
keeping your body running smoothly. When you work out, your body heats up, which
can cause your biotin levels to drop. By eating eggs before a workout, you can
ensure you’re getting enough biotin to help your body perform at its best.
Greek Yogurt
Next up on our list of the best natural foods to eat before a workout is Greek yogurt. While the benefits of this protein-rich food are many, one of the best ways to put it to use is to eat it before a workout. Greek yogurt contains a high amount of calcium, a nutrient that is important for strong bones, which is why it’s often recommended as a way to prevent osteoporosis.
While that’s certainly one of the best natural foods to eat before a workout, there is one other way it can improve your workout performance: it can help you build and maintain muscle mass. When you lift weights, you are breaking down muscle and then rebuilding it stronger. Because calcium is important for this rebuilding process, it can help you maintain and even build muscle mass by preventing your body from breaking down muscle tissue.
All that to say, eating Greek yogurt before your next workout can help
you build and maintain muscle mass and prevent muscle tissue breakdown, leading
to better performance.
Dark Leafy Greens
Next up on our list of the best natural foods to eat before a workout are dark leafy greens. While these natural foods to eat before a workout are great for many reasons, their special benefit lies in their high calcium content. Like Greek yogurt, dark leafy greens are an excellent source of calcium, which is especially important for bone health. Not only do calcium-rich foods like dark leafy greens help prevent osteoporosis, they also help build strong muscles.
When you lift weights and break down muscle tissue,
it is important to eat a diet that keeps calcium levels high enough to prevent
your body from breaking down muscle tissue as a substitute. By eating dark
leafy greens before your workout, you can help your body retain as much muscle
as possible by increasing your calcium intake.
Berries
While berries are great for many things, they perform especially well on our list of the best natural foods to eat before a workout due to their high fiber content. In fact, berries are the most fiber-rich fruits, with blueberries and strawberries leading the way.
By eating a high-fiber diet, you can help regulate your digestive and metabolic functions, which is especially important when you are working out. When you exercise, your body undergoes many changes to help you perform at your best during your workout, such as increasing your body temperature, heart rate, and blood flow.
By eating foods with high fiber content before your workout, you can help your body metabolize sugars and fats more efficiently, which helps your body regulate its temperature better by cooling off your blood flow. All this can help you perform at your best during your workout.
Sweet Potatoes
Finally, we come to the last of the best natural foods to eat before a workout: sweet potatoes. While there are a number of nutrients in sweet potatoes that can help your body perform at its best before a workout, their high amount of vitamin B6 is the one most worth highlighting.
By eating
foods rich in vitamin B6 before a workout, you can help regulate your serotonin
levels even when you experience stress. Because workouts often cause us to be stressed
out, eating foods rich in B6 before your workout can help you maintain your
composure and do your best during your workout.
Conclusion
In this article, we’ve talked about the five best natural
foods to eat before a workout to help you perform at your best. While eating
these foods will not get you super ripped or build muscle overnight, they will
help your body function at its best. Those who eat a balanced diet know that
eating right means not just eating because you’re hungry, but eating to fuel your
body and give it the nutrients it needs to perform at its best. That’s exactly
what these five natural foods to eat before a workout can do for you.