Fueling your body for success -- guest post

Fueling Your Body for Success

Achieving and maintaining your physique requires much more than hours in the gym pumping iron. In order to make strides and reach new fitness goals, you must treat your body as the top of the line machine that it is. This means not only preparing healthy and satisfying meals, but also nutritional snacks for when hunger strikes out of nowhere!

When life gets busy, it can be tough to find the time to prep meals and snacks that have the necessary nutrients to reach your health goals. Whether your goal is to become more lean or to lose weight, it’s always a great idea to have a pre-workout snack that contain carbohydrates. Some of the best pre-workout snacks to help to maximize the effectiveness of your workout include bananas, oats, and whole grains! Easily digestible carbs for quick energy are key.

When it comes to properly fueling your body post-workout, the options can be quite overwhelming. Since you’ve just finished a killer workout, it’s important to get a great recovery meal or snack in! A blend of carbohydrates and protein are a great way to refuel tired, sore muscles. The guide below from Nuts.com can help you can learn a little bit about how to properly refuel your body and find a healthy snack that will give you the nutrients necessary to work towards achieving your fitness goals.

Do you prefer a quick grab and go option? We’ve got a snack idea for that! You could choose from a variety of different options -- while some people prefer a trail mix, an apple with some peanut butter is another great option! Are you more of a smoothie person? There’s a ton of great protein filled recipes for you too! Smoothies are a great high-protein, low-calorie post workout option. Plus, they’re super convenient when it comes to traveling or being on the go because you can drink your nutrients!

Properly fueling your body will allow you to have more energy (in life & at the gym!) and will help you achieve your health goals. Eating immediately after working out will increase your body’s ability to refill muscle stores, while waiting two hours or more will decrease their ability by 50 percent. So, while putting in hours at the gym is a great start, nutrition is key when looking to shed weight. Be sure to be prepared with a quick snack that contains carbs and protein because as they say, “abs are made in the kitchen.”