5/18 Foodie Friday

The noon firebreathers at work. 
We finish our 3-week Foodie Friday mini nutrition course with a little bit about meal timing. You know, by now, that a successful nutrition program focuses on 1. Food Quality - meat, vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar, 2. Food Quantity - Eat according to your frame size by using your hand to portion meals, and the final issue is 3. Meal Timing. 
While, meal timing is important, it's not the highest priority of a sound nutrition program. You'll have better results if you focus first on quality and second on quantity. Meal timing is more important on days you workout, and not so much an issue on days you rest or do something fun outside. 
The foods that we focus on for meal timing are our carbohydrates and fat, specifically we are going to "cycle" our fruit and starch. Fruit is delicious and is an excellent carbohydrate to consume in the meal you eat before you workout (PRE-WOD) and starch is best consumed in the first meal after you workout (POST-WOD.) 
Fruit's carbohydrates come from fructose and glucose, and fructose is metabolized in your liver which makes it not so great for POST-WOD refueling. You can access the fructose more easily for energy during your WOD which is why fruit is best consumed before you workout. 
After your workout (POST-WOD) you want to consume a carbohydrate that is easy to digest and will readily refuel the cells of your muscles which is why we should eat a little starch POST-WOD. Good starchy foods are all below ground vegetables, e.g. carrots, beets, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc., or all hard skinned squash, e.g. butternut, acorn, delicata, etc. For some people, especially those who are NOT trying to lose weight, rice can be an excellent POST-WOD carbohydrate. 
The other macronutrient we are going to cycle is our fat. Try to avoid high fat foods in your POST-WOD meal. Fat slows the digestion of your food and you want to be able to easily digest all of the POST-WOD carbohydrates. Cycle fats into meals in the morning, or if you have big evening cravings eat most of your fat in your evening meal. 
There you have it, and easy 3 step nutrition program. It wouldn't be Foodie Friday without a delicious recipe. This week's recipe is an excellent POST-WOD meal courtesy of 40 Aprons. Click on the image for the recipe. 

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