10 pre-workout breakfast ideas

Early morning can be an ideal time to work out (photo: Adobe)

As we skip towards spring this time of year can signal a reset and a fresh opportunity to revive a beleaguered exercise routine.

The early morning is a great time to work out and can offer valuable benefits.

But what food will help you to get the most from your efforts?

Fitness and nutrition expert Patrick Dale, from Fitness Volt, has this guide on what to eat to fuel your morning workouts and maximize energy.

A fruit smoothie could be just the recipe ahead of a morning workout (photo: Adobe)

Morning pre-workout meals and snacks

Ripe banana mashed onto toast with a little honey

Cereal and low-fat milk

Fruit smoothie made with soft fruit, low-fat yogurt and protein powder

A carb/protein energy bar or granola bar

Scrambled egg whites and rice crackers

Instant oatmeal and berries

Bagel and turkey slices

Toasted English muffin with low-fat cream cheese

Toast and fruit preserve, plus a cup of low-fat natural yogurt

Turkey and crackers

Ultimately, so long as your meal contains moderate to high carbs and a source of protein, it will provide your body with what it needs to power through your workout.

How long before working out should you eat?

Ideally, you should consume your early morning training meal 30-60 minutes before you start training.

Liquids digest more quickly than solids, so if you plan to train shortly after getting up, it may be better to drink rather than eat your pre-workout meal.

Make sure what you eat the night before is also a pre-workout meal

Eating a nutritionally complete meal a few hours before bed will help fuel muscle recovery and growth and ensure you wake up with good levels of muscle glycogen.

Your early morning pre-workout snack should top up your already high levels of glycogen and glucose.

Carbohydrates

As glucose and glycogen are needed to power you through your workout, carbohydrates should be the cornerstone of your pre-early morning workout meal.

You need fast-acting and easy to digest carbs.

This means you should choose foods that rank moderate to high on the glycemic index chart such as dates, breakfast cereal, white bread, ripe bananas and white rice.

Protein

While you can just eat carbs before training, some research suggests combining carbs with protein will have an even better effect.

Avoid fatty foods

Fat is the most significant gastric inhibitor, which keeps food in your stomach for longer and delays digestion.

As such, your pre-early morning workout meal should be very low in fat – not even healthy fats such as olive oil, flaxseed oil or coconut oil.

Also, avoid natural sources of fats such as nuts and whole eggs.

Low fibre-foods

Fibre is part of most carbohydrate foods.

However, while fibre is very good for you, like fat, it is also a major gastric inhibitor and best avoided in pre-early morning workout meals. Instead, look for more refined and naturally low-fibre foods such as white bread instead of wholegrain bread.

www.fitnessvolt.com

READ MORE: these foods could be keeping you awake:

www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/lifestyle/food-and-drink/these-foods-could-be-keeping-you-awake-3975502