You’ve probably been hearing throughout your childhood and youth about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, haven’t you? We bet that you had your share of discussions with folks, trying to explain that the idea of eating early in the morning makes you feelsick. Yeah, so did we, but no amount of convincing ever worked.
As adults, of course, we understood why breakfast is so important and why they were so persistent. Still, we couldn’t imagine putting anything but a large dose of coffee in our system until at least 10am. But then we noticed something odd after making some changes in the routine. You see, the thing is that our jobs involve lots of traveling and long hours at work, so we don’t even have time to properly plan the meals. You can search for a fresh meal prep delivery like Florida’s Ideal Nutrition which is a life-saver. However, as we are concerned about health, we are trying to work out as frequently as possible. Thus, for years we had a habit of going for a run or doing some bodyweight training, or hitting the gym, after work. But this year, with COVID and all that is happening, it seemed better to start the day with exercise at home.
As you can imagine, we have a bit more time, so four mornings in a week, after having coffee and a well-tasted pre-workout supplement, we jump into our sports gear and do some training. But shortly after we began we started noticing that we have less energy in the morning than in the evening. It’s somewhat bizarre, don’t you think? We thought so too, so we looked it up. As it turned out, working out on an empty stomach isn’t a good idea. The thing is that it leads to burning valuable energy sources and losing stamina. Besides, it contributes to the drop of glucose levels in the blood, which then makes us lightheaded or even nauseous and shaky.
Now, the question was how to make things better, knowing that it is unimaginable to eat a lot of heavy food in the morning. Further research showed that eating breakfast doesn’t mean that we need to eat three fried eggs, an entire bowl of cereal, and so on. We discovered plenty of good pre-workout breakfast ideas depicted with the help of a food photography editing service that provide us with loads of energy for training without making us feel bad.
Five Pre-Workout Breakfast Tips
Fruit
As much as we know that fruit is healthy, some fitness junkies tend to avoid it because it is packed with sugar. However, if you are looking for a light pre-workout breakfast meal, it is necessary to say that fruit can be a fantastic option. First of all, the fruit is full of simple carbs that provide fuel to muscles much faster than wholegrain bread or pasta. At the same time, the fiber in fruit slows digestion enough for you not to be hungry in the middle of the workout. Many fruits also have high water content, which means that you will be hydrated as well. Now, some of you maybe prefer dried fruit options. Keep in mind, though, that dried fruit and fruit juices often have a much higher calorie content and, as such, can lead to sugar spikes if you don’t combine them with complex carbs and protein. The best thing to do is to eat fresh apples or bananas.
Greek Yogurt
Plain and or combined with a bit of granola and fruit, a cup of Greek yogurt is by far one of the best pre-workout breakfast options you can get. A single container of yogurt contains about 17 grams of protein, which is more than enough to keep you feeling good during the workout. And the healthy sugars in fruit and granola will provide quick digesting carbs to power up the muscles. Apart from all that, this pre-workout breakfast is light and will not upset your stomach. Since it doesn’t have high-calorie content, this is a great pre-workout breakfast for weight loss.
Beetroot Juice
If you prefer to fuel up by drinking juices rather than by eating, then we recommend that you go for vegetable juice. And among them, the queen of all is beetroot, especially if you are looking for a pre-workout breakfast for building muscle. This potent root is packed with fiber, folate, potassium, iron, manganese, vitamin C thus has practically everything that you need for a vigorous workout. It also contains nitrates, which means that drinking beetroot juice enables your body to produce nitric oxide. This compound widens the blood vessels and stimulates the release of insulin and human growth hormone which is good news for everyone who is doing strength training. Thus, it is safe to say that beetroot juice is an excellent pre-workout breakfast for bodybuilding.
Hard-Boiled Egg And Avocado Toast
Unlike us, some people do wake up hungry, and they are ready to eat a heartier breakfast. However, eating too much before the workout can make you a bit sluggish. As you want an opposite effect, the question is what to eat to feel satisfied and still have enough energy for the type of workout you want to do. Our suggestion is to go for a combination of hardboiled egg and avocado toast in such a case. Avocado is incredibly nutritious as it comes with folate, vitamin K, vitamin C, potassium, etc. An egg is an excellent source of protein, and the whole-grain toast will provide you with just about the right amount of carbs.
Fruit Smoothies
Again, if you prefer to start the day with something light but nutritious nonetheless, then a pre-workout breakfast smoothie is just what you need. Smoothies are always a good choice because the variations are endless. Plus, they are super nutritious and satiating. If you want a lighter variation, combine only fruit and milk. In case you prefer a heartier smoothie, then we recommend combining fruit with yogurt and nut butter. Keep in mind that adding protein powder will also do the trick.
Final Take
Breakfast is an undeniably important meal, and we shouldn’t skip it. However, the idea that we need to eat a lot in the morning to have energy throughout the day is a myth. It is not about quantity but the nutritious quality of the food. Five pre-workout breakfast ideas that we listed above are just there to get you inspired. Keep in mind that we all have different tastes, and different foods work for various people. The trick is to find what works for you. In the meantime, we would like to hear from you. Do you have breakfast every morning? What do you usually eat? Are you working before or after work?
*collaborative post