Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, CSSD, LMHC, FAND
Culinary Sports & Performance Nutritionist

 
Hands down, a pre-workout snack or drink can make or break a workout. Runners who train in a fasted state risk “hitting the wall”— the energy bonk of low liver glycogen stores (stored sugar) which may impair performance, especially for longer workouts.
If you train first thing in the morning and can’t stomach anything before breakfast the consider your previous dinner as a very “early” pre-workout meal. If that’s the case, then include some carbs—a tennis ball or two serving size of whole grain or quinoa pasta, brown rice, sweet potatoes, beans, peas, or corn or even a serving or two of fruit, vegetables, or low fat dairy “option” such as organic milk, almond, flax, hemp milk, yogurt or kefir.
If the pre-workout snack is within one hour of training, keep it very simple—leave the fibers, fat, and spices for other mealtimes, if you want to avoid training “trots” and indigestion. Exercising with a full stomach may cause indigestion, nausea, and vomiting. (More on gut distress in an upcoming blog.)
Snacks that provide one to four grams of carbohydrates per kilogram body weight (weight / 2-2) one to four hours prior to your workout is the formula you can use to plan this meal. You can calculate how much you need by multiplying your kilogram body weight by the number of hours before your workout you’re eating, to get how many grams of carbohydrates you will need.
So, if your weight is 120 pounds, 54 grams of carbs one hour before training would look like a plain, dry toast, ½ cup cereal, or handful crackers & a banana is all you would need to meet that amount. As a reference, a slice of toast, ½ cup of unsweetened cereal, or 6 saltines has about 15 grams of carbs; 14 grams for every 8 oz of sports drink; 30 to 45 grams for a banana, and 21 to 40 grams for some of the more popular, high carbohydrate sport bars.
Pre Workout Meal Options
One Hour or Less before—Approximately 100 kcal
One of these choices:

Fresh fruit such as a banana or orange slices
Half of most sports energy bars
½ plain whole grain bagel or English muffin*
8 whole grain crackers *
Small box of dry low-fiber cereal*
8-12 oz. of a natural sports or endurance sports drink
½ plain baked potato

Two to Three Hours before—Approximately 300-400 kcal
One of these choices:

½ of turkey sandwich* with baked chips
½ whole grain bagel* with fruit jam and 1 banana
2 whole grain waffles* with natural maple syrup and berries
1 baked sweet potato with 0% Greek or Icelandic Yogurt dollop
32 fluid ounces of a natural sports drink or 32-ounce endurance drink with added protein
1 fruit smoothie with berries, banana, and scoop of added powdered veggie or whey protein
1 sports energy bar, 1 cup sports drink, 1 cup water

3 to 4 Hours before —Approximately 700 kcal
One of these selections:

Scrambled free range egg + 4 egg whites with whole grain toast*, fruit jam & banana
Whole grain bagel with nut butter, fruit jam, banana, and coconut water
6-inch turkey sub * with lettuce, tomato, apple, and baked chips
3-ounce grilled chicken breast with baked potato, dill spiked yogurt dollop, whole grain roll*, and water
2 cups whole grain pasta*, 2 meat or veg balls, roll*, glass of almond milk

* Gluten free options work for those who cannot tolerate the wheat protein

 
Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, CSSD, LMHC, FAND “The Running Nutritionist®” is a Miami-based, culinary sports & performance nutritionist for Olympian, Professional, Collegiate & Junior athletes in the NFL, MLB, NBA, USTA, UST&F & US Boxing & celebrity actors appearing in movies/TV & on stage-Avengers, Gone Girl, Iron Man 3, Book Thief, The Glades & Miami City Ballet. Lisa served as Sports Nutritionist for the University of Miami athletic teams & Olympic Sailing Team Nutritionist for Beijing ’08. In 2014 she launched the 1st Farm to Table Performance Meal Delivery Service www.LegallyLeanToGo.com. Lisa has appeared on 20/20, Dateline, Good Morning America Health, FOX News, CNN, MSNBC and ESPN & featured in USA Today, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Men’s Fitness, Outside & Runners World magazines. She is a competitive runner and triathlete who has competed in more than 34 marathons (PR 2:52:32), Ironman USA Lake Placid, and hundreds of running and multisport races. In 2004, she competed for the United States on Team USA at the World Long Distance Duathlon Championships. The author of 8 books, her latest Legally Lean: Sports Nutrition Strategies for Optimal Health & Performance (2015) is available at her website www.LegallyLean.com. Follow Lisa at Twitter@FoodFitness or Instagram@LegallyLean. For contact information & appointments: www.RunningNutritionist.com
The food, fitness and wellness nutrition information you receive at this website including blog, recipes, food programs, meals, snacks, exercise regimens etc., is not intended to replace medical advice or be a substitute for medical or other professional medical advice for you or your loved ones. Before starting any lifestyle change program, it is your responsibility to consult your personal physician. Do not change your normal diet or exercise patterns without permission from your doctor and/or personal medical team.
Lisa Dorfman, MS, RD, CSSD, LMHC, FAND-The Running Nutritionist®
Author: Legally Lean (Momentum Media, 2015)
Chair-Miami Culinary Institute Advisory Board ’15-16
Media Rep-American Overseas Dietetic Association (AODA)
www.RunningNutritionist.com www.LegallyLean.comwww.LegallyLeantoGo.com www.cTHRUNutrition.com Twitter@FoodFitness Instagram@LegallyLean