As you probably know, it's critical to adequately hydrate and fuel the body before any workout session. This will not only decrease the amount of stress and recovery time, but also allow you to perform better. What is best?

Many of the energy bars and sports nutrition drinks are not the healthiest options.  They often have coloring, artificial flavors and chemicals I would not want to eat.  I like to eat whole natural foods even when working out. Here is some information I have gathered as to what will support your body before your workout.  

Eat Simple Carbohydrates

When you exercise you need simple carbohydrates.  If you provide your body with enough simple carbohydrates to fuel your workout you don't need to start breaking down the complex carbohydrates.   If your body runs out of the simple carbohydrates and has to resort to the complex carbohydrates, you need to use extra energy to convert the complex carbohydrates into simple carbohydrates.  This results in less energy available for your exercise. 

Eat Foods Which Are Easy to Digest

One of the most important factors in choosing a pre-workout meal or snack is digestibility.  If the food you eat before a training session requires energy to digest, it leaves the body with less fuel - not something you want while exercising.  Also hard to digest foods require more blood to be sent to the stomach to help in the digestion process.  You want your blood to be in your extremities delivering oxygen and carrying away waste which is a requirement for an optimal workout. You may even experience a "stitch" in your diaphragm if your food has not been digested completely before a workout or race - especially an intense one.

Protein - Limited

Protein is not what you need your body to be digesting for fuel during a workout.  Protein is for building muscles in your body not fueling them.  If you eat protein instead of carbohydrates before exercise they will have to be burned as fuel.  When proteins are burned as fuel they burn "dirty", meaning they create toxins as a result of their combustion. When these toxins are created in your body they need to be eliminated.  This creates stress resulting in a decline of your energy and endurance.   You may even get a muscle cramp due to the fact that a protein requires more fluid to be metabolized than a carbohydrate. If you want, you can have a little easy to digest protein like whey protein powder or some ground nuts.

If you are exercising for 1 hour you will be good with the following foods. But if you exercise longer, your body will have to be replenished about every 20 minutes after one hour of intense activity to keep it adequately fueled.

For these 1 hour training session which is common for most people the healthiest sources for this simple carbohydrate called glucose is fruit. Glucose is what we want because it can be used for immediate energy we don't have to convert it. All fruits are great and dates are also a great source of fuel since they are rich in glucose and give you the power you need to get through your workout.  In addition having some coconut oil or coconut milk with their medium chain fatty acids will provide quick energy. 

Fruit Smoothie - One of the best things to have before a workout is a fruit smoothie. 

      Recipe - Strawberry Apple Green Smoothie

Green Juice - The vitamins, minerals and carbohydrates from all the vegetables in a green juice get immediately absorbed into your system providing you with a burst of energy.

      Recipe - Green Lemonade

Homemade Energy Treats - When you make your own energy treats you know get to have exactly what you want and need.  They store in the freezer so you can make them up and have them as needed. 

      Recipe - Blueberry Energy Bites

      Recipe - Cacao Almond Treats  

Store Bought Energy Bars -  sometimes you are running to your workout and don't have anything prepared in advance so I want to give you a few options I use.  I too have been there without my homemade energy treats on they way to the gym.  These all have whole food ingredients you would find in your house, no dairy, no soy, no gluten.

• Lara Bar's - Cashew Cookie or Ginger Snap
• Gopal's - Power Nori Wraps
• Go Raw - Spirulina
• Raw Revolution Bars are OK in a pinch but they use agave which I don't like because it is hard to digest 

Water - It's important to drink fluids before, during and after your workout. If you're sweating heavily or exercising for more than 60 minutes, reach for coconut water rather than plain water to keep you well-hydrated and fueled and to replace the electrolytes lost in sweat. If you're working out for an hour or less plain H2O should be fine.

Next week I will bring your part 2 of this article:  

What to eat after a workout...