It's March 1. Just 20 days till spring break. Twenty days to go ballistic on the elliptical, eat a carrot, and drink lots and lots of diet soda all day, right? WRONG! If you believe the fastest way to a lean body is exercising more and eating less, think again.
There is actually a healthy way to exercise, eat well, and still look like a hot tamale on the beach. And it doesn't involve depriving yourself of food and extending your cardio sessions hours beyond what your schedule permits. Eating and exercising sensibly while understanding what your body needs and when will not only enable you to maximize your workouts, but will also help you feel more energized in order to keep them up.
When deprived of food, the body clings onto every extra calorie it can get. You think you're getting rid of the fat, but in reality, you're actually storing it all up. This is because the body suddenly senses that food is in short supply.
So what does it do? It goes into starvation mode, which means that the next time you eat, your insulin response will be greater than normal. As a result, more of these recently ingested calories may be stored away as fat. The body is only doing this so that next time, it will be prepared if it goes into "famine" again.
So then, how can you ensure that all of your discipline and hard work isn't for naught? Don't go for hours and hours without food. First of all, why do that to yourself? It isn't pleasant to fast, and, even forgetting that it is terribly unhealthy, not eating for hours on end isn't going to make you lose weight.
Those who don't have frequent smaller meals tend to "catch up" later on by eating meals that are much more oversized. After not eating for a long time, the body is overloaded and might even become more effective at storing the extra calories as fat. Eating smaller meals/snacks scattered throughout the day will regulate your hunger levels, lessen the chances of bingeing, and even speed up metabolism!
If you are an exerciser, letting large time gaps occur in your diet is even more detrimental. If you exercise like a vicious animal when the body is underfed, the fuel that you need in the form of liver and muscle glycogen (stored carbohydrate) is missing in action. To deal with that, the body has to act out of character and convert proteins in your muscle tissue into blood glucose for energy. To put it bluntly, if you exercise when your tank is empty, you'll lose and weaken your muscle.
One of the most crucial times to eat is following an intense workout. Exercise physiologists call the first 30 to 45 minutes post-exercise the "metabolic window of opportunity." Eating a combination of carbohydrate and protein (peanut butter sandwich or yogurt with fruit/nuts) right after training will improve your muscles' capability to rebuild and fill up your glycogen tank.
Additionally, according to the American Diabetes Association, doing so may reduce the amount of fat your body stores. Your body also has the greatest protein synthesis within one hour of exercising and strength training, so there's another reason to eat protein with your carbohydrate.
You don't want to miss this metabolic window. This is the time when your muscles will soak up the nutrients necessary to perform well the next time you exercise. It's also important to drink plenty of water during and after exercise to re-hydrate your body. The American College of Sports Medicine states that fatigue during exercise can be related to low levels of water and stored carbohydrates.
Since we use carbohydrates as energy during exercise (including weight training), we need to replenish these stores after a workout. Doing this will definitely help those who weight train, but it's especially important if you do a lot of aerobic exercise (more than 60 minutes) on successive days.
Depending on how heavy a meal you have eaten, wait at least 30 minutes to two hours before exercising. The larger the meal is, the longer you will need to wait. Experimenting with your eating to see what works best for you is key, but here are some pre- and post-exercise eating suggestions.
Pre-exercise, eat a high-carbohydrate, low-fat snack that you can easily digest. Stay away from fatty meals or snacks, because they may stay in your stomach for long periods of time. Meals should be moderate in protein - just enough to satisfy hunger - but not greater than your carbohydrate intake, because proteins take longer to digest. Also, meals can consist of a liquid snack like a fruit juice or shake.
As mentioned before, eat foods rich in carbohydrates and proteins following your workout to reload your energy reserves for the next time you exercise. Some suggestions for snacks are a banana with peanut butter, yogurt and fruit, or even energy bars that have high carbohydrate-protein content.
No more panicking. Starting today, here's to a healthy routine.
Senior Marissa Beck, an English and Art History major, works with the Strong Women program as an assistant manager and personal trainer for the Tufts Personalized Performance Program. She can be reached at Marissa.Beck@tufts.edu. This column is written in conjunction with Emily Bergeron, R.D., the editor of the Daily's Balance section.
