Should I Eat Before or After my Workout? The Nutritional Facts on when it’s best to eat

Building Muscle and Mass

If you’re working out for those sweet gains, then you’re most likely in a calorie surplus…so this is an easy one. When considering your calorie intake, you might have been using the Harris-Benedict equation to determine how much you should be consuming. Let’s say it’s a nice round figure off 3,000 calories a day, having three meals to account for these is going to be difficult and most likely leaving you feeling bloated and sluggish, so splitting this into five to six meals a day will allow your body to continually burn through the calories, digest easily and prevent any sudden spikes in blood sugar. But therein lies the problem. Do you eat before or after your workout if you’re eating that many meals, and the answer is…yes.

The easy thing with building muscle is that your body needs protein, fats and carbs all together, so you don’t really need to consider counting calories or really when to eat. You can munch away both before and after your workout, which is beneficial for energy and recovery.

Eating Before a Workout

• Provides energy to fuel your workout, especially for high-intensity or endurance sessions.
• Helps maintain stamina and prevent fatigue during exercise.
• Can prevent muscle breakdown by providing your body with readily available fuel.

• What to eat:
• Opt for easily digestible carbs and some protein. Examples include a banana with peanut butter, a protein smoothie, or oatmeal with berries. Avoid heavy, fatty foods that take longer to digest.
• Eat 30-60 minutes before if you’re having a snack or 2-3 hours prior if it’s a bigger meal.
• Good for: High-intensity, weightlifting, endurance workouts, and people who feel sluggish on an empty stomach.

Eating After a Workout

• Helps with muscle recovery by replenishing glycogen stores and providing protein for muscle repair.
• Boosts recovery and reduces muscle soreness.
• Refuels your body, especially if you’ve had a long, intense workout.

• What to eat:
• Focus on a mix of protein and carbs within 30-60 minutes post-workout. A balanced meal might include chicken and rice, a smoothie with protein powder and fruit, or Greek yogurt with granola.
• Avoid processed foods or sugary snacks that don’t offer the nutrients your body needs to recover.
• Good for: Strength training, endurance activities, or long workouts where muscle recovery is crucial.

Toning and Cutting

If you’ve come to the end of your bulking phase, you’re probably now considering the not-so-fun cutting phase, which will help define those hard-earned muscles at the expense of all those delicious carbs. As you reduce the calories you intake to place you into a deficit, your body will prioritise burning through the fat cells, which will be accelerated during exercise. This process is what our bodies have been built for over millennia of evolution, going through a period of heightened performance as we relied on hunting for our food, nowadays referred to feast or famine. Luckily we have supermarkets now, so you don’t need to rely on hunting wooly mammoths for those necessary calories, but you can still apply the same principle!

Pre-Workout:

• Timing: Eat 30-90 minutes before your workout, depending on what you consume and how your body handles food.
• Goal: Provide energy for your workout while keeping insulin levels stable to help promote fat burning.
• What to eat: Focus on a small meal or snack with a balance of protein and healthy fats (instead of carbs if you're targeting fat loss). Example: A handful of nuts, a boiled egg, or Greek yogurt with a spoonful of nut butter.

• Why? A lower-carb, higher-protein/fat snack will give you sustained energy without spiking your blood sugar, which can help keep your body in fat-burning mode.

Meal Timing for Fat Loss:

• Consider Fasting Before Workouts: Some people prefer fasted workouts (especially for cardio) in the morning to boost fat burning. Training on an empty stomach can increase fat oxidation since your body uses stored fat as fuel. However, it depends on how you feel—if you're low on energy, this may backfire.

• Avoid Heavy Eating Late at Night: Eating large meals late, especially carb-heavy ones, can slow fat loss. Try to keep your meals lighter at night and focus on protein and veggies to maintain muscle while staying in a calorie deficit.

The thing is, you’ll probably figure out when it’s best to eat while either building muscle or cutting by simply listening to your body and determining what feels good. Everyone’s metabolism and digestion are different if there’s one thing to take away from this article, don’t listen to advise from anyone telling you that you need to do it the same way as them. Feeling rubbish after your meal post workout? Change it to a snack. Feeling sluggish at the gym because you skipped lunch? Schedule a meal in. Like with working out, eating should be a routine, which works in harmony with your body.

Want to know more about nutrition and training? Sign up to our newsletter and download the Gravity Fitness app, for all the latest info, hot off the press as well as workout guides dedicated to your goals.