What to eat before, after and during training

Many beginner athletes often wonder whether they need to eat after training? Or how much protein is needed per day after and before training? Let's try to understand these questions in more detail.
 
Pre-Workout Nutrition

One of the main rules is a two-hour break before and two hours after training. This means that before physical activity, it is important to eat foods that contain nutrients to increase endurance, activity, and also prevent dehydration, help build muscle mass and recover quickly. What are these foods?
 
Main types of food components and their properties:
 

Proteins. They help saturate the blood with amino acids, which are the building blocks of muscle tissue.
Carbohydrates. This is a kind of "fuel" for the body, they allow you to charge the body with energy for active training, promote accelerated recovery after intense physical activity, the production of insulin and the preservation of glycogen in muscle tissue and the liver, which gives a feeling of satiety, and therefore the brain receives a signal that it is possible to spend energy on muscle growth.
Fats. These substances do not have any special advantages for pre-workout use, however, fats are still an important component of a balanced human diet. They slow down the digestive process, which helps maintain glucose levels, and fats are also involved in the absorption of minerals and vitamins.
This means that your pre-workout meal should consist mostly of proteins and carbohydrates, and very little fat. All of this should be eaten 2-3 hours before your workout. One hour before your workout, you can only eat something that doesn't require long digestion, such as a smoothie.
 
Post-Workout Nutrition

The food that should be consumed after training (within 2 hours) and its quantity directly depends on what and how much you ate before training. It should be taken into account that after completing physical exercise, the body continues to actively burn calories and build muscle mass, so eating immediately, especially “heavy” food, is strictly not recommended. Properly selected nutrition after physical exercise should perform the following functions:
 
 restoration of strength and water balance in the body
 muscle mass formation
 improving endurance performance for the future
 This means that we will need proteins and carbohydrates again. After training, you should categorically refuse fats, which slow down the absorption of useful substances.