Breakfast is an important meal for both athletes and people not involved in sports, but leading an active lifestyle.
There are hundreds of opinions and approaches regarding what the first meal of food should be.
It’s worth figuring out what exactly is the ideal menu for the morning before class. To do this, you need to understand what happens in the body after a morning meal, what is the connection between your body type and a certain food.
Should I have breakfast?
Eating breakfast before a morning workout is very important for people who exercise. Metabolic processes – synthesis and breakdown of substances – largely depend on its quality. A proper breakfast is:
- endurance and strength in training;
- replenishing protein supplies, since in sports the most important thing is to maintain muscles;
- acceleration of metabolism, which is important for a slim body.
The distribution of food throughout the day directly depends on rational eating in the morning. For athletes, the nutritional value of the morning meal should be a quarter or even a third of the norm for the whole day. So the question is not whether you should eat, but what and how to eat correctly in the morning.
Be sure to check out: Simple recommendations from famous trainers on what to eat before a workout to lose weight What to eat before a workout: recommendations from experts What is the best thing to eat after strength training and cardio to burn fat What and how long can you eat after a workout
Features of nutrition in the morning before exercise
The morning meal menu depends on what time the athlete wakes up when training begins.
But there are general rules:
- for your first breakfast, you can allow yourself easily digestible carbohydrates, which will give you energy for your morning run and exercise, and also support your muscles;
- whey protein will fill the morning “protein” hunger, and the second breakfast can consist of solid food;
- if training is in the morning, then you need to eat at least an hour and a half before the start of classes, allowing yourself porridge, cottage cheese, fish;
- when classes are scheduled for the afternoon, you can eat something that has a low glycemic index - an omelet with meat, cheese, cottage cheese.
It is believed that the best breakfast for an athlete is protein combined with carbohydrates. The general recommendation of all nutritionists and gastroenterologists is that breakfast should be light and not overload the stomach.
What to eat for weight loss
It is a mistake to think that those who are losing weight should deny themselves everything. On the contrary, nutritionists believe that the main percentage of obese people refuse to eat in the morning.
Lyudmila Denisenko, a nutritionist, says that breakfast should account for up to 35% of the total calories of the daily value. Those who eat breakfast have a 7% higher metabolism than average.
To maintain a slim figure for the morning meal, you can easily afford:
- porridge with fruit, buckwheat with butter;
- as a dessert - dates, yoghurts, fresh fruits;
- A light protein breakfast can be cottage cheese, to which you can add raisins; it is better to dilute dry cottage cheese with yogurt, sour cream, and add honey to sour cottage cheese, but not sugar.
If we are talking about people of the endomorphic type (they are the ones who are prone to excess weight), then the morning meal should be 60-70% protein. Skinless chicken fillet, zero-fat cottage cheese, seafood, low-fat kefir, and tofu are appropriate.
Interesting! The glycemic index of instant cereals is about 90, and whole grain cereals are 40-45. It is recommended to eat whole grain porridge for breakfast, adding honey or fruit to it instead of sugar.
Nutrition rules before morning workout
Properly organized nutrition is one of the problems that arouses genuine interest among almost everyone.
Some people want to lose weight, some people need to gain muscle mass, and others just want to live a long time. The fact that breakfast is necessary is no longer even discussed in the press and on television. If you want to feel cheerful and full of energy all day, be sure to eat in the morning. Moreover, all the calories received in the morning are already “burned” by lunchtime. This does not mean that you can consume any food in unlimited quantities - there should still be a measure.
For those who go to workouts in the morning, the issue of breakfast is especially acute - going to the gym with a full stomach seems absurd, staying hungry is also not good for eating, grabbing something on the run - will it be beneficial? So…
TOP 7 foods to eat before exercise
The world's nutritionists have identified the seven most effective breakfast foods. Experts recommend:
- chicken eggs, nutritious and rich in iron, vitamin A;
- poultry meat, the value of which is that there are few calories and a lot of protein, provides great energy;
- milk and cheese, they contain calcium, which strengthens the skeleton, and these products also normalize the gastrointestinal tract;
- porridges, they contain carbohydrates that provide energy and enhance brain function;
- citrus fruits help improve intestinal function, energize you, and lift your spirits;
- bread, cereals, flax, bran - what the stomach and intestines like so much;
- honey, it gives energy, allows you to do without sugar, kills germs, improves immunity.
Interesting! For athletes and everyone who works actively, the best morning diet is protein; it should be 30% or more. For knowledge workers, carbohydrates are better for breakfast because they stimulate brain activity.
How and when to have breakfast properly
The time from 7 to 9 o'clock is considered ideal for a morning meal. But you shouldn’t load yourself with solid food. Otherwise, after a hearty breakfast, a sleepy state will set in. It's better to start with a glass of warm water, to which you can add a spoonful of honey and a little lemon juice. After half an hour, start a full breakfast.
In the morning you can eat proteins and carbohydrates without harming your figure. For athletes, breakfast should be richer. For those losing weight - balanced and quite dense. This will reduce evening hunger.
You need to eat slowly. The body must be allowed to wake up. It’s better to drink coffee without sugar. Tea is as invigorating as coffee, so you have a choice. A cup of coffee before your morning workout won't hurt either.
If you plan to train in the morning, then you need a light diet - cottage cheese with raisins, oatmeal. In just half an hour you can start training. If the menu focuses on protein foods (eggs, meat, bacon), it is better to eat an hour and a half before class.
What not to drink before breakfast
Ready-made juices and sweet carbonated drinks are completely excluded. They contain quite a large amount of sugar, which leads to a sharp release of glucose during training and rapid fatigue. For the same reason, it is not recommended to drink sweet coffee or with cream.
Contrary to popular belief about the benefits of freshly squeezed juices, in this case the statement is not true. They are almost completely devoid of fiber; in addition, they cause increased secretion of gastric juice. This means that heartburn may occur during training, so exercise will have to be suspended. If you cannot do without juices, add vegetable fiber and L-carnitine to them.
Nutritionists recommend drinking coffee (strong) and green tea without sugar and milk in the morning.
What famous athletes eat in the morning
The famous football player Cristiano Ronaldo eats cereals, fruits, and bread for breakfast. And from drinks he chooses water and juices, which he prepares from various fruits. He also loves fish, sometimes it’s on the menu for breakfast.
American football player Matt Kalil prefers eggs, fruit, toast, cottage cheese and sausages for breakfast. Lately he loves high-calorie protein drinks and pasta.
Andrey Shmidt , absolute champion of the Arnold Classic, prefers complex carbohydrates: buckwheat with butter, oatmeal with milk.
Marathon runner Maukl Arnstein is a fruitarian. He loves raw vegetables and fruits and adheres to a raw food diet. His morning diet consists of 80% carbohydrate foods and 10% proteins and fats.
What not to eat for breakfast
To get results you will have to give up foods containing fast carbohydrates. These include sugar, sweets, and confectionery. Such food contributes to a rapid increase in blood glucose levels and an equally rapid decrease. However, by the time you start training, you will not have the necessary glycogen reserves.
You should also exclude processed meat from your diet - sausages, sausages, and semi-finished products. It is undesirable to eat fruits with a high sugar content - grapes, pears, sweet apples, persimmons.
Expert advice
Sergey Khalepo , absolute champion of the Arnold Classic and absolute champion of the North-West, believes that it makes sense to eat protein at night, because the peak level of growth hormone occurs from 0 to 2 am. And dedicate the morning to complex carbohydrates in order to stock up on energy for the whole day. Oatmeal, buckwheat, eggs, cheese are perfect for breakfast.
Famous fitness model Brittany Tacy suggests alternating a carbohydrate breakfast with proteins and proteins. You need to eat 6 times a day. With this system, active burning of calories occurs. Daily exercise will help strengthen your muscles.
Sports nutritionist Wendy Martinson believes that carbohydrate foods are the most important fuel for muscles, energy food for the brain and central nervous system. They help in the ability to think quickly, add dexterity and coordination of movements. And in sports this is very important. Carbohydrates in muscles are present in the form of glycogen, and this supply must be replenished. Low glycogen levels lead to a risk of injury.
Nutritionist Lyudmila Denisenko , answering the question of what to have for breakfast, notes that preference should be given to pasta (pasta), potatoes, and cereals. You can also have sandwiches, if quickly, but correctly: a piece of black bread with red fish, bread with boiled meat, lettuce and a slice of tomato. To eliminate stagnation of bile, black bread with a piece of lard is good. Carbohydrate breakfasts should be alternated with protein ones.
Before the power
The goal of strength exercises is not weight loss, but a rapid increase in muscle volume and they require large energy expenditures. To accumulate it, complex carbohydrates are needed, and the growth of muscle cells cannot occur without protein, which is the supplier of necessary amino acids, so the meal before strength training should include proteins, carbohydrates and not contain fats. Half an hour before going to the gym, many athletes drink a protein shake, which promotes rapid muscle growth. Before strength training you can eat:
- rice, coarse wheat pasta with poultry;
- boiled potatoes with fish;
- porridge with eggs;
- cottage cheese with berries, fruits or bread;
- omelette with vegetables or cheese and whole grain bread.
Eat in small portions, after eating there should not be a feeling of heaviness in the stomach that will interfere with exercise. In addition to the snack options suggested above, before strength training, you can drink a cup of strong coffee, but without adding sugar or cream. This drink promotes the production of norepinephrine, which accumulates energy for training from human fat deposits. As a result, the effectiveness of exercise will increase, and glycogen and amino acids will be consumed less.
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