Maximizing your progress at the gym takes fueling yourself with energy-rich foods and maintaining a healthy diet. Using nutritional supplement drinks with the Helimix shaker cup is also a great way to supply your body with nutrients that will help you feel energized. However, planning your meals and your snacks intentionally will help you to feel at your best when it comes time to put in work at the gym. You might be a model citizen when it comes to eating the right foods, but there are some surprising foods that can actually make life more difficult if you eat them soon before your workout.
Beans
There are a variety of beans you can eat that make for great vegan sources of protein and fiber. If you are doing your best to eat healthily, beans are most likely a significant part of your diet. Even with all of the nutritional benefits to be gained from consuming beans, they contain high amounts of raffinose, an indigestible carbohydrate that is responsible for bloating and, well, the other things beans are known for…
Spicy Foods
This one may seem a bit obvious, but it can be easy to forget at times. This is especially true if you have worked hard to get creative with making healthy, delicious meals. Adding peppers or various spices to meals with lots of greens, lean meats, and complex carbs can make a bland meal taste amazing without making it unhealthy. However, you’ll want to skip adding that spicy spread to your sandwich before you exercise to avoid stomach pain that can cause you to quit early.
Fruit Juice
A refreshing beverage with vitamins and minerals before working out? Why not? Well, sugar, that’s why. For all the benefits that you can gain from drinking fruit juice, you also get the drawback of the high sugar content and the energy crash that comes with it. That’s definitely not what you want when you’re trying to break personal records.
Carbonated Beverages
If you’re serious about making progress in the gym, you’ve probably cut-out sugary sodas almost entirely by now. If you haven’t, common sense would tell you that this drink choice won’t exactly give you a boost in the gym. It’s also important to be mindful of when you consume other carbonated beverages, such as sparkling water, to avoid bloating and stomach discomfort when you’re trying to get that next rep or lap in.
For quality pre-exercise fueling, stick to lightly seasoned lean meats or fish, nut butters, oats, or whole grains roughly 90 minutes before your workout, along with plenty of hydration. Fruits such as berries, apples, and bananas are great to eat for quick-releasing energy closer to 45 minutes before your trip to the gym. Be sure to bring along your Helimix shaker cup to mix your low-sugar sports mix for convenient nutritional replenishment.
