What to eat and when to eat it
In last week’s column, new gym apparel and some of its perceived benefits were discussed.
But what about gym accessories and snacks that should be in your bag?
Gym bag? Check. Water bottle? Check. Gloves? Check. Sweat Band? Check. Snack? Maybe.
What and when to eat before and after a workout varies widely, with nutritional needs depending on your weight status, what food you’ve already eaten, and plans for subsequent meals in the hours after exercise. Understanding your individual dietary needs and learning to plan around your exercise routine is a crucial component of weight management and the fuelling process, no matter your goal.
Goal: Weight loss
Since the beginning of the great obesity epidemic, the majority of gym-goers are exercising as part of a weightloss regimen. Weight loss is dependent, first and foremost, on caloric regulation, rather than caloric expenditure.
In other words, what you eat matters more so than what you do in the gym. It is far too easy to consume a high number of calories, and far too hard to expend those calories through exercise. In order to lose 1 pound, you must create a deficit of 3,500 calories. Consider that, to create that deficit through diet, you would need to account for your calories and reduce your intake by 500 calories per day from your regular consumption. To expend the same number of calories, you would need to run 35 miles per week at a 10 min/mile pace, a feat unrealistic for many novice gym-goers.
If weight loss is a primary goal, it’s important that you plan carefully to prevent any additional caloric needs surrounding your exercise routine. The best method to prevent unnecessary snacking is to meal split. Meal splitting involves portioning meals so that you’re consuming 6075% of a meal in the hours after exercise, saving the leftover 40-25% of that meal for a snack in the 90 minutes prior to exercise.
In lieu of splitting a meal, consider consuming smaller meals to leave room for a small, easily digested snack prior to exercise.
Goal: Weight maintenance
In the absence of any specific weight-loss goal, many gym-goers are exercising for general health and weight maintenance. In order to prevent any unnecessary weight gain while still fuelling training, portioning meals and snacks is your best bet. Additional snacks, even seemingly healthy snacks, may negate the weight-moderating effects of the exercise itself.
For gym-goers for whom weight maintenance is a primary goal, meal-splitting (addressed above in weight loss) is an effective strategy.
Foods to favour + foods to avoid
In general, avoid fat and protein in the 90 minutes prior to a workout, as these nutrients slow digestion. Simple, easily digested foods are most easily digested and broken down for use during your workout. Additionally, while hydration is key, it’s a good idea to avoid a very high volume of liquid (smoothies, fruit juices and such like) which are easily regurgitated during a high-intensity workout.
Favour
-
- distress.
Fresh fruit (bananas are especially popular for potassium content)
Yogurt
Whole-grain toast
Simple, plain carbohydrate-rich foods
Avoid
High-volume liquids
High-acid fruits, which may cause regurgitation Spicy foods, which may cause gastrointestinal
that I had man with him. I was afraid but I did not show it and this time around he stormed out without hitting me,” she said.
“I told him to tell his family and I don’t know what he told them, but they seemed upset with me. But by that time, I really didn’t care I know I just had to leave. And leave I did. My family helped me to move out and I didn’t really take anything. I got an apartment and I started life as a single mother. It has been three years since and we are now finally divorced. I don’t know if his family spoke to him or what, but he never attempted to hit me after I left. And apart from a few threatening phone calls and texts he has basically left me alone.
“He never tried to win me back or anything and did not challenge the divorce nor wanted custody of the children. He hardly plays a part in their lives and has moved on with someone else. I haven’t dated since and I just focus on my children. I am still young, and I know one day I will find someone but for now I owe my children to give them the best life I could.”
Later in the conversation she told me she received counselling and that her church helped her to heal.
“I never wanted to be a victim, but I was. I came out and I can safely tell anyone woman if he hits you once, he would do it again, just leave as quickly as you could. But I would not condemn any woman who stay because I don’t know their situation. We just need to support each other,” she said.
I couldn’t agree with her more, sisters have to support sisters.
I decided to focus on intimate partner violence this week in light of the recently released survey, which basically confirmed what most of us knew: violence against women and girls remains at an all-time high in Guyana. The Guyana Women’s Health and Life Experiences Survey found that more than half of Guyana’s women (55%) have experienced at least one form of intimate partner violence (IPV). The survey is the first comprehensive national survey on gender-based violence in Guyana.
“Physical violence was reported more commonly than sexual violence (35 per cent vs 9 per cent lifetime; 14 per cent vs 4 per cent current), which may be in part due to a reluctance to disclose sexual violence outside of a trusting relationship. Emotional violence, typically the most common dimension of IPV, was reported by 40 per cent of respondents over their lifetimes and 17 per cent over the past 12 months,” the survey said. The survey also highlighted that violence against women when pregnant by the fathers of their children was very prevalent. Some 92% of the women, who revealed violence in their relationships, reported violence during their most recent pregnancy. The violence was perpetuated by the father of the child, with 30% targeting the pregnancy by punching or kicking her in the abdomen.
Following the release of the survey, I listened to the call-in section of a morning radio programme and was horrified at the number of persons—both men and women—who basically blamed women for the violence and suggested the many ways they can avoid such violence. Women were also blamed for not leaving; no one spoke about our many sisters who were killed when they attempted to leave. While I knew victim-blaming is the sentiment of many (it is always the woman being unfaithful or talking back to her partner) I can’t say I was not shocked and angry at the responses. We certainly have a long way to go when it comes to violence against women, but the recent survey is a step in the right direction since data is always needed for strategic responses.