By Elena Voropay

Good balanced diet may seem like a no-brainer - eat some complex carbohydrates from whole grains,  protein from fish or  lean cuts of meat, a bit of 'good' fats from vegetable sources, include a few green veggies and maybe sprouted or cooked legumes for fibre, vitamins, minerals and amino acids. What a perfect meal! Eat this for lunch and dinner, throw a protein bar in Right?

Maybe, but only if you are not concerned about your exercise regimen. When it comes to sports nutrition, the word diet takes a whole new meaning. If your goal is to trim down fatty deposits on your hips, put on lean firm muscles and become stronger, you gotta have to exercise. And that includes cardiovascular and weight training. These are two different activities with almost opposing targets -  when one is performed for the purpose of losing weight from adipose or fat reserves, the other is planned for weight gain in the form of muscle tissue. To help your body achieve the best possible results you need to supply the right kind of nutritional energy for each activity.
Nutrients come from three different molecules ¿ carbohydrates, fats and proteins. Your main sources of usable energy come from sugar and fat. Protein provides nuts and bolts of the complex machinery based in every cell of the body to ensure that you stay young and healthy. Depending on the type of activity you do, the body switches between these fuel sources gradually burning the energy stored in them.

Your body exists on a metabolic knife edge and you need to constantly supply it with appropriate energy sources. Exercising sharpens the blade, so the stability of nutritional support becomes much more essential. But what should you eat if you want it all ¿ trim the fat, build muscle, and stay healthy at the same time? It may be helpful to break things down into two distinct time periods ¿ Before and After exercise. You have to eat the right nutrients at the right times to get the most out of your training and take it to the next level. Even though it looks like too much to consider, don't get discouraged or overwhelmed. This simple guide will show you how to tailor your diet to your preferred training activity. Now is your time to open the doors to success in your quest to find the right balance between diet, exercise and soon to be discovered fitness potential.

If you have been physically active for a while, all of your body cells have adapted to training regimen and now you have a higher oxygen capacity. With more myoglobin and mitochondria, you are able to get in more oxygen and nutrients into your system and make use of these. In order to support your extremely efficient working body, the fuel tank must to be loaded before exercise. The highest quality fuel for endurance or weight training are your carbohydrates.

With such a bad recent reputation as fat storing nutrients, carbohydrates are indeed on the list of banned foods of weight conscious dieters. However, these nourishing ingredients take the top of the most consumed foods among all competitive and immature athletes. Carbs fuel your body, which is the ultimate function of food. Cutting down too low on your fuel will make you feel lethargic, unable to exercise properly and will slower your fat-burning metabolism. In addition to expanding less calories during your workout, you will experience increased appetite after training and all your weight-loss intentions will be cancelled out.

If you notice that your weight quickly goes up after you increase your intake of carbs, you may be surprised to find that most of that weight consists of water. Every gram of carbohydrates stored in the body in the form of glycogen holds three grams of water. That means that for every spoon of sugar you eat your efficient self-regulating system will store three spoons of fluid without letting the excretion contributing to the overall weight gain of 60 grams or four tablespoons. This fluid is needed for healthy metabolic support. Water is your basic most essential nutrient ensuring that all functions in the body run smoothly, particularly when the physiological demands are high. Besides proper hydration, carbohydrates  give immediate energy your brain and muscle employ during training. Forget about efficient oxygen and energy utilization when your glycogen stores are empty.
Base your meals around good sources of carbohydrates, such as natural sugars and starches from fresh and dried fruit, vegetables, wholemeal bread, brown rice, potatoes, peas, beans and other legumes. Try to limit your intake of refined carbohydrates found in white bread, pasta, rice, cakes and sweets. Wise food choices will pay off by balancing your blood sugar levels through slow energy release.

Protein

The use of protein as energy occurs when your carbohydrate stores are low. Made up of amino acids, the primary function of protein is to build and regenerate new cells and tissues. The shedding of your skin, growth of hair, construction of new strong dense muscles all depend on protein synthesis. it is your body's primary material for helping build stronger muscles, produce hormones, fight infection and aid neurotransmitter activity in your brain. These are all important functions that require energy from the specially structured molecule of protein.

However, protein is not the preferred source of calories for your exercising body. Of three macronutrients, protein to has the greatest thermic effect and requires the most energy to be digested, absorbed and excreted. Consider that in order to be converted into usable energy, all proteins have to be broken down into amino acids, go through a complicated digestive process in the liver, converted to glucose and then released back into the bloodstream to help maintain blood glucose level and supply energy for working muscles. Think about all the hard work all of your digestive and circulatory systems have to do in order to release calories from protein. And you need calories for exercise, especially if your goal is to progress in training.

If you are on a high-protein diet and don't get enough carbohydrates, especially before physical activity,  you may put a lot of burden on your internal organs working hard to generate energy. Now your blood supply goes from where you want it to be (that would be your muscles) into your stomach. This may also cause undesired effects such as nausea, fatigue and indigestion. It may be a lot wiser ease the digestive work and get the actual energy in by eating more carbohydrates.
With that in mind, do not completely ban protein out of your pre-exercise meal. Science has shown that supplying protein in the form of some amino acids prior to training has a favourable effect not only on immediate training results, but on greater recovery rate and faster recuperation. Select lean cuts of meat, fish, low-fat dairy, or combination of grains and legumes as your best natural protein sources. Eat these throughout the day with every meal to slow the digestion and release of other nutrients. Protein consumed together with carbohydrates will balance your blood sugar levels so that the energy you get from any meal is supplied gradually and you don't experience a burnout or energy crash when you exercise. Alternatively, you may try some of the meal replacement shakes and energy bars, but look for an amino acid content in proportion with carbohydrates ¿ 1 to 2 respectively. So, if the shake has 15 grams of protein, it should provide at least 25 to 30 grams of carbs. Liquid shakes are usually easier to digest and absorb, so they might be ideal right before and after training when you need an immediate energy supply to support your working muscles.

Fat

Fat is the most concentrated fuel source in the body. While carbohydrate stores run out fast during exercise, fat can fuel hours of training without running out. Fat has twice the amount of energy found in carbs or protein (9 vs. 4 and 4 respectively). It doesn't require a lot of energy for digestion and it is very easy for your body to deposit and keep the storage full. On the other hand, losing fat from already existing deposits is difficult. What is needed for fat loss is a reduction in overall caloric supply and oxygen to spark the fat-burning fire. Oxygen is best supplied during cardiovascular activities. If your primary goal is to burn fat stores, then low-intensity activities will suit you. But if you want to break through your training platos and really get the muscles working, higher intensities are the best. However, more vigorous training mostly runs on sugars and needs these before you exercise.

For example, walking will burn more fat than sprinting, but it will also burn less calories overall and will not benefit cardiovascular system so much. Weight training will help you build lean muscles and speed up metabolism, but this type of training is not designed for fat burning process. But as hard as it is to burn body fat, you still need to consume some dietary lipids for proper metabolism. Unfortunately, our systems don't come equipped to burn cellulite pockets automatically when the blood sugar levels drop or when you limit your fat intake.

Since you don't want to add another set of love handles on your hips in the form of fat, it may be a good idea to limit how much dietary fat you eat. Just like protein, dietary fat is not the preferred energy source during exercise and is easily deposited to your cellulite reserves. But becoming fat-phobic is not a good suggestion either. In fact, certain fats can actually enhance fat loss. It provides efficient hormonal production, absorption of some vitamins and minerals, slows down digestion, balances blood sugar levels after a meal, and even improves insulin sensitivity.
Eat small amount of fat with every meal and snack focusing on vegetable sources such as flaxseed and olive oil. Lipids from fish oils have also shown to assist metabolic machinery and help you burn fat. Limit your oils to a couple of spoons per meal considering fat content of all foods you include.

Regardless of the activity you do ¿ be it cardio or weights ¿ you gotta eat before exercise. If you skip a meal in order to cut down on calories, your energy and training will suffer. Being very smart and sensitive in nature, every organ in the body detects the shortage of fuel supply very quickly slowing the rate of caloric burn. All cells now switch to the slow-motion mode, your brain's activity is reduced pushing the breaks on all the nervous and muscular activities. This is your body's cry for all nutrients ¿ carbs, protein and fat. If your energy level seem to fall during your workout, you need to look at your meal patterns and the types of food you are eating. It is very likely that you are missing on sufficient carbohydrate intake and besides revitalizing your system, increasing the amounts of carbs will add vitamins, minerals and fibre.

As you begin your training session, your heart rate increases and your body starts burning both carbohydrates and fat. At low intensity, you can expect your body to burn primarily fat as it conserves carbohydrates. As intensity increases, the body looks for a more efficient fuel to keep up with demand, so it begins burning more carbohydrates. If you simply expect yourself to be able to walk, then you don't need to worry too much about your carbohydrates or training progress. But if you want to push yourself to a higher fitness level, you need to ensure that your glycogen stores are full before you engage in physical activity.

Ensure that each meal and snack contains portions of carbohydrate, protein and fat. The best fuel should come in the form of low-glycemic carbohydrates which will help stabilize blood sugar levels throughout the session. High-glycemic carbs are released faster into the blood stream and are usually burned faster. These do have a place in your training diet if you consume them right before activity with intention to shoot your energy through the roof. In fact, these simple sugars will not be stored in fat tissues as some might think. Instead, you'll burn them straight away. Your muscles can actually take a good advantage out of high-glycemic carbs as they will be loaded with premium fuel that can give you more strength and power than you expect. This may be your secret little key to break through training platoes and upgrade your training intensity. But limit simple carbs to immediate pre-training only. Consumed at sedentary times during the day these nutrients may not have the chance to be utilized at appropriate rate and be stored as fat.

In a long run, try to concentrate on fibrous foods that keep you fuller longer. Since your digestive tract needs some time to absorb these, be sure to wait at least half an hour after eating and before hitting the track or the dumbbell stack. Depending on your schedule, the last meal before exercise may be a snack or a large meal. The rule of thumb is the larger the meal, the longer it takes for the body to digest it. Shakes and liquid meal supplements are usually better tolerated than solid meals, but they also get digested and absorbed a lot faster. Take into account your personal food tolerance to avoid indigestion during training. When your muscles are involved in energy-bursting training, the last thing you want to worry about is what's going on inside your stomach.

The carbohydrates used during exercise comes from blood glucose, liver and muscle glycogen stores. On average, your liver is capable of holding 100 grams of glucose, and additional 500 grams in the muscles. But before your system shifts to releasing energy from glycogen, it has to burn your blood sugar first. This is the major fuel form you use during your high-intensity short duration activities, such as weight training and sprinting. Your body cells are capable of storing enough water and glucose for about one hour of immediate energetic release. If your training session is longer than that, your system is likely to run out of energy and shift to a slower expending rate. In this case, you either need to supply additional carbohydrates or can expect reduced training intensity.

2 Hours Before: Eat your regular meal composed of equal amounts of low-glycemic carbs and easily digested lean protein. This will give you good body and mind fuel and ensure slow proper digestion (Example: 1 cup of rice, ½ cup steamed veggies sprinkled with lemon juice and flaxseed oil, and 1 medium grilled chicken breast)

30 Min. Before: To kick-start your training and recovery energy, at a small snack with some carbs and protein which will reduce the magnitude of muscle breakdown you may expect during training. If (Example: 1 apple with 2 slices low fat cheese)

Immediately After Exercise: Your recovery meal should come from protein and carbs again supplying raw material and energy to repair and reassemble the muscle. (Example:  ½ cup yogurt, 2 Tbsp cottage cheese, ¼ cup cereal

Last but not least, drink plenty of water throughout the day and particularly during exercise. Try not to gobble large amounts at once. Rather, take sips to refresh your breath and body.