Food and sport: everything you need to know

Food and sport: the end of the eating before or after sport debate 

Food and sport, when hearing these two words, in the sporting world we think of this incredible question “eat before or after sport?”. In reality, both options offer benefits. You just need to know your personal goals and your expectations in relation to your performance. This is the basis of sports nutrition. Then arises the question of a balanced snack or not and the future of snacking. 

Eat before sport to improve your performance

You must know that eat before sport can be useful to you if you are planning to make a high power session. Moreover, at high intensity, or not, it is often advisable to eat before any sporting activity because you are not safe from risk. One of the most common is hypoglycemia. By eating, you give your body the most adequate energy and conditions to fulfill your goal for the day. Additionally, it will help you sustain physical effort over a long period then improve your physical abilities as well as your performance. 

If you are heading towards this method, eat 2 hours before your sport to let your body digest. Choose foods rich in protein, you will gain muscle. Otherwise, your stomach will be in full digestion, which will not allow your body to give you the energy essential for your gymnastics. 

Don't worry, you don't have to eat a full meal, a quick snack is enough. In this case, turn to fast carbohydrate foods like bananas, energy bars or protein cakes.  

Eat after sport for better recovery

Some prefer to eat after doing their sport. This is completely understandable since it allows you to replenish your energy and of regain strength. This is a good solution so that your muscles can continue to be active after sport by nourishing them. Indeed, your muscles continue to work 30 minutes after your physical activity. To restore your body, it is beneficial to take proteins during this period of time. By doing this, you give your body to renew in nutrients. Indeed, by training, you lost some. Eating after sport allows the body to restore.

Recovery

For good recovery, it is advisable to take only one snack. However, if you want to reward yourself with a complete meal, you will have to be patient and wait an hour before consuming your dish. This waiting time is useful in order toavoid the risk of overconsumption of calories giving your body time to recover from the practice. As well as letting it set in state of rest. 

Note that this solution is suggested for athletes who want or are used to training at high intensity to optimize their recovery, strengthen their muscles and maintain shape.  

To find out the best foods to put on your plate, you can read our article Eating before or after sport: good practices to adopt. 

The importance of a healthy sporty snack

It may seem obvious, but a healthy snack allows you to stay in shape. In dance as in any other sport, snacking is effective for counterbalance certain dietary imbalances and so that you can exercise in good conditions.  

Reasons to have a healthy snack

The advantage of consuming a snack lies in the fact that you will no longer snack between meals while not exhausting your appetite for dinner. In addition, as it is a balanced snack, it will meet the needs nutritional needs of your body. The snack offers another advantage, that to improve your performance at night. You will have the satisfaction of being tired no longer because of hunger but because you have made physical efforts. 

When should you take it? In a time slot between 2 hours after your last meal and 2 hours before training. 

On the health side, snack regulates your blood sugar And channels bad fat, which will allow you to losing weight or stay in shape. By tasting healthily, your sugar cravings decrease. 

Foods to favor and avoid

A snack is good, but what should you have as a snack and what should you put aside? Obviously, it does not replace a meal but it should not be neglected! To do this, simply mix with two different food groups. To help you, here are some foods with which you can have fun mixing. 

Foods to keep

Unthinkable to talk about healthy snacks without mentioning fruits, those who will give you vitamins !

To give you a boost before your dance session, you can count on the Kiwi, there guava where the grapefruit.

You can also turn to the fruits dry, they act like shields In you guaranteeing A good aging and one preserved health capital. Enough to fall under the spell of dates, THE raisins or even the Goji berries.

Because sport is also proteins, THE oilseed are here to provide you with it in a manner vegetable. In this group we find almonds, of the Hazelnut and nut.

The snack is a bit like a second breakfast, you will need calcium. Who performs this function? THE dairy products. You can treat yourself with milk, of white cheese, of soy milk, etc.

When we talk about milk, we also talk about cereals, it is advisable to bring a cereal product to your snack like cookies, of bread or simply cereals.

Finally, the last group that is suitable to taste is the nuts since they are rich in Omega 3 and in magnesium. Choose between the macadamia nuts, there pecan nuts where the pistachios.

You know all the perfect groups for making a healthy snack. 

Prohibited products 

However, that doesn't mean that everything is good to eat. Avoid: 

• Industrial treats since they are too sweet, too fatty and addictive 
• Sodas because they are too sweet

• Spreads because they contain too many calories and are high in fat

If your mouth is watering, you can take a look at our article  Healthy sports snack: explanations and recipes where we offer you balanced recipes for delectable snacks.

Snack, yes, but snack healthily

Is snacking positive for your health? Yes and no. Even if you're happy to fill your stomach with products you love, this habit can become harmful to your health. 

The favors and disadvantages

Snacking is good, especially for the moral. Indeed, mentally, this act makes you enthusiastic and gives you a feeling of well-being. Among other things, it allows you to forget your negative emotions and can act as a multiplier of positive emotions. But these feelings only work short term. 

The risks

As you might imagine, snacking isn't all about happiness. Very often, snacking consists ofsweet and fatty foods. In this sense, Snacking provides neither the nutritional qualities nor the energy needs that your body needs. Which translates into stored fat by your organization. So you will end up with a high energy intake at the end of the day. Snacking can cause overweight and other health problems like diabetes, THE cholesterol And hypertension. 

There are also other risks : 

• Of the digestion problems and therefore sleep problems and of skin.
• An addiction to sugar caused by the “reward circuit” due to a jubilant state during snacking.
• A dietary imbalance translated by deficiencies in vitamins, iron, etc. 
• Of the dental problems with the appearance of cavities.
• Development of cardiovascular diseases like a stroke, of hypertension, A heart attack, etc. 
• A degraded image of oneself. 

The privileges of snacking reasonably

Snacking reasonably involves snacks low in calories, sugar, salt and fatty acids but high in nutrients. You can go with dark chocolate; fresh fruits such as apples or oranges; nuts; cottage cheese and dried fruits. 

You will be more than delighted since you will get 3 benefits : 

• Better concentration : snacking gives you energy and reduces fatigue problems. Omega-3s better support your ability to concentrate and your brain function.
• More fruits and vegetables
• Regulate appetite

To find out more about what pushes us to snack and to know effectively delicious and balanced recipes, take a look at our article The best tips for healthy snacking. 

In summary

Eat before or after sport? 

As we have seen, food and sport are a vast subject. Let’s put an end to the “eat before or after sport” debate. The truth lies between the two. In fact, you can do both. Each has its own specificities. Eating before sport limits the risk of hypoglycemia or to pass out for example because you will have given all the input your body needs to do your sport. Furthermore, when eating you increase your chances of performing over a long period of time. Be careful to respect the deadline 2 hours before your physical activity to eat. 

AboutEating after sport, it is beneficial for those who train intensely to improve their recovery as well as their muscles. It's a safe bet for regain energy quickly while letting your muscles continue to work. By nourishing your body you allow your body of produce again nutrients, those lost during training. Eating after sport restores the body and puts it into a state of rest. The main objective is to obtain a good recovery through a snack or a meal but to savor it count 1 hour wait. 

Snacks and snacks

Don't deprive yourself of a healthy snack. It allows you to avoid snacking between each meal while maintaining enough appetite for the main course that follows. The balanced snack provides the nutritional needs you need and allows you to perform better at night. Keep in mind that your snack is take between 2 hours after your last meal and 2 hours before you go to exercise. You will see that the snack makes losing weight, regulates blood sugar And stores bad fat. 

Regarding foods, favor these groups: 

• Fruits for the vitamins
• Oilseeds for the vegetable proteins
• Dried fruits for the antioxidants
• THE dairy products for the calcium
• Nuts for the Omega 3 and the magnesium
• Cereals products 

Industrial products

Avoid industrial products. 

For fans of snacking, know that it is possible to snack healthily! Overall, the only positive thing about snacking is that it calms the mind. However, it does not provide any nutritional needs which creates fat. It may present serious risks for health such as: 

• Overweight

• Cardiovascular illnesses

• Digestion problems

• Tooth problems

• Poor self-image

• Sugar addiction
• Dietary imbalance

But it's not all bad news, you'll have a better ability to concentrate, you will eat more fruits and vegetables and your appetite will be stable. 

Try dancing with DECIBEL®

Want to do a little sport before or after eating? Join the team DECIBEL®. 

DECIBEL® it's dance in abundance, an insatiable desire to move and above all it's inclusive dance workout without judgment. 

Relax for 45 minute sessions on the choreographies And playlists custom made. 

Shape your body, strengthen your glutes and thighs using our coaches welcoming And has listening of yours needs And expectations. 

After that you will have well deserved your meal!