How Long Before You Workout Should You Eat? Your Definitive Pre-Workout Nutrition Guide

Wondering how long before your workout you should eat?

Not sure what you should be eating before your workout?

Do you even need to eat before your workout?

I’m going to answer these questions, as well as everything you need to know about pre-workout nutrition.

By the end of the article, you’ll know exactly what foods you should be eating and when so that you can have the best possible workout.

Let’s get right into it.

The goal of a pre workout meal

The goal of the pre-workout meal is to provide you with the right kind of fuel for your workout.

Now I know that food isn’t just fuel, and you should be eating things you enjoy..

But if your goal is to have a good workout, then what you eat beforehand is going to make a big difference, for two reasons.

First, your pre-workout meal is going to give you energy for your workout.

Eating the right kind of foods (which we’ll get into in just a minute) is going to help you push harder through your sets and helps prevent your muscles from breaking down during your workout.

Second, what you eat before the workout will impact how well you recover after workout.

This is because you’re going to be digesting nutrients from your pre-workout meal while you’re in the middle of your workout. And as soon as you finish your workout, those nutrients will still be available for your body to use.

When you fuel your body the right way, you’re going to set yourself up for a good workout and better recovery afterwards.

How long before you workout should you eat?

You’ve probably heard about endurance athletes who load up on carbs before a race to help give them energy.

And while it’s a great idea to get some carbs and protein in before your workout, you don’t want to stuff your face with a bunch of fettuccine alfredo right before you deadlift or you’ll be puking your brains out like Micheal Scott.. 

So how long before your workout should you eat?

There really isn’t a straightforward black and white answer.

If you really want to have the best performance in the gym, it’s a good idea to have a meal a few hours before your workout.

However, it’s not necessarily wrong if you eat something closer to your workout.

And if you workout first thing in the morning and like training on an empty stomach, you can do that too.

There are three important points before your workout that can affect your performance in the gym:

• • The day before your workout
  • A few hours before your workout
  • Right before your workout

Let’s break down all three, and go over exactly what you should be eating at each point for the best performance in the gym.

The day before your workout

Your pre-workout nutrition really starts the day before your workout.

How well you fuel your body the day before your workout is going to determine how ready you are on the day of your workout.

If having good workouts is important to you, then you’re going to want to make sure you’re getting enough protein and carbs throughout the day, as well as making sure you are hydrated.

Protein

The day before your workout, you want to make sure you’re getting enough protein throughout the day.

Getting enough total protein throughout the day is going to help you build and repair your muscles from your workouts.

For most people, aiming for 0.7-1 gram of protein per pound of lean body weight is a good place to start. 

Carbs

Eating enough carbohydrates the day before your workout can help stock up your glycogen stores so that you have energy for your workout the following day.

Glycogen is how we store carbohydrates for energy.

When you do short bursts of activity, like lifting weights or an intense HIIT workout, you’re going to mainly burn glycogen for energy.

How much carbs should you be eating the day before you workout?

In general, I don’t give my clients specific carbohydrate recommendations. I would rather they eat according to their preferences. 

As long as you’re eating some carbs throughout the day, you’re probably good as far as having enough glycogen available for your workout.

But if you’re looking to maximize your performance in the gym, getting between 1.4 and 3.6 grams of carbs throughout the day is a good target (1).

This breaks down to between 250 and 650 grams of carbs throughout the day for someone who weighs 180 pounds.

Hydration

One of the best things you can do the day before your workout is make sure you are hydrated.

When you’re dehydrated, you’re not going to perform at your best. Even very small amounts of dehydration can cause a big decrease in your performance!

As a general guideline, shoot to get half your bodyweight in ounces of water the day before your workout.

For someone who weighs 180 pounds, you would try to get 90 ounces of water throughout the day.

What should you eat the day before your workout?

This is going to depend on how many calories you need for your goals, how much protein you need, and your individual preferences.

Here’s an example of what someone who is 180 pounds and needs around 2,500 calories and 180 grams of protein per day might eat the day before a workout:

• • Breakfast: Oatmeal with peanut butter and blueberries, 3 whole eggs and 3 egg whites
  • Lunch: Grilled chicken sandwich with chipotle lime mayo and an apple on the side 
  • Snack: Protein shake with 2 scoops of protein and a banana
  • Dinner: Baked salmon, sweet potato, side salad
  • Dessert: Yasso Greek yogurt bar

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Great Pre Workout Meals

Now it’s the day of your workout, and you have a few hours before you’re going to hit the gym.

What should you eat?!

You’re going to want to eat a balanced meal with a good amount of protein, carbs and fats.

Protein

A few hours before your workout, you’re going to want to make sure you have some protein.

Eating a meal with protein is going to increase something called muscle protein synthesis.

Muscle protein synthesis is the creation of new muscle proteins. It’s the process our bodies use to build muscle.

When you eat a meal with protein, you’ll spike muscle protein synthesis and put your body into muscle building mode.

Working out is going to cause the opposite of muscle protein synthesis, which is muscle protein breakdown. This is when your body breaks down the proteins in your muscles.

Getting protein before your workout can help limit this breakdown. 

How much protein should you have a few hours before your workout?

There isn’t a specific number you need to get before your workout. Hitting your overall protein intake for the day is much more important than getting a specific amount at any point during the day.

With that being said, research has shown that it’s better to evenly space out your total daily protein intake over at least 4 meals, rather than trying to get all your protein in one meal (2).

That could simply look like 3 meals with protein and one protein shake per day.

So if you wanted to maximize your muscle building and recovery, you would have one of these meals a few hours before your workout.

Carbs

If you ate enough carbs the day before your workout, there’s no need to go crazy and have a ton of carbs before your workout.

However, including some carbs in your pre-workout meal will top off your glycogen stores and make sure you have enough energy to push through your workout.

Carbohydrates can be broken down into two categories:

Simple carbs: Also known as simple sugars, these carbohydrates are digested quickly and can be used by the body for fast energy. Some examples of simple carbs are:

• • Fruit
  • Sugar
  • Candy
  • Syrups
  • Cereals

Complex carbs: These types of carbohydrates contain more fiber and micronutrients, which take longer to digest and can give you more sustained energy. They include:

• • Potatoes
  • Whole grain breads
  • Whole grain pastas
  • Oats
  • Beans and legumes

A few hours before your workout, you’re going to want to choose more complex carbohydrates. Because you have a few hours before your workout, it’s okay that these take longer to digest. 

Fats

A few hours before your workout, you’re going to want to keep the fats in your pre-workout meal a little bit lower.

This is because fats take the longest to digest, and the last thing you want before your workout is to have food sloshing around in your stomach.

Fats do provide you with energy, but only when you’re exercising at a very low intensity.

If you’re doing a strength training workout or you’re doing a HIIT workout, fats aren’t going to help you like carbs will.

You also don’t store them in your muscles like you do glycogen, so there’s no benefit to loading up on them before your workout.

What should you eat a few hours before your workout?

Again, this is going to depend on what you actually enjoy eating and your overall calorie and protein goals, but here are a few examples of meals you can eat a few hours before your workout:

• • Grilled chicken sandwich with a side of fruit
  • Ground turkey, sweet potato and vegetables
  • Chipotle bowl with chicken, rice, beans, and fajita vegetables
  • Eggs and oatmeal with fruit
  • Baked salmon, rice and vegetables

Right before your workout

Now it’s less than an hour before your workout, and you’re kind of hungry but not sure what you should eat.

Or maybe you wake up early to workout, and you only have 30 minutes before you hit the weights and your stomach is rolling..

What should you do??

Don’t worry, you can still eat something before your workout. You’ll just need to be strategic about what you choose to eat.

Carbs

When you have less than an hour before your workout, you’re going to want to prioritize simple carbohydrates. 

Remember that simple carbs digest the fastest, and can give you energy in a pinch before your workout.

Protein

It’s still a good idea to get a little protein in, even though you don’t have much time before your workout.

Protein drinks would be a good option here, because you don’t want something that’s going to sit in your stomach during your workout.

Fiber

Getting enough fiber is great for your overall health, but you might want to pause on eating a ton of fiber right before your workout.

Like fats, fiber takes a long time to digest and can cause foods to sit in your stomach.

This is going to come down to personal preference and it will depend on what you can tolerate, but for the most part you want to avoid eating a ton of foods high in fiber right before your workout.

What should you eat right before your workout?

Here are a few examples of snacks you could eat right before your workout:

• • Protein shake and a banana
  • Greek yogurt with berries
  • Beef jerky and an apple
  • Low-fat cottage cheese and blueberries
  • Applesauce with a protein shake on the side

What if you workout fasted?

I get that some people would rather workout on an empty stomach.

Maybe you wake up at the crack of dawn to workout before your kids get up, and you don’t have time to get any food in before you train.

Or maybe you workout early before work, and you feel like a pre-workout meal just bogs you down.

Whatever the reason, you can still have a great workout if you don’t eat anything before.

I will say that if you’re looking to maximize your workouts and get as strong or build as much muscle as you can, you should eat something before your workout. Your body isn’t going to be in an optimal state to workout if you haven’t had any protein or carbohydrates for a long time.

If you workout fasted, then your post-workout nutrition becomes very important.

You’re going to want to make sure you get protein in as soon as you finish your workout, because you will be in a state of muscle protein breakdown.

And here’s a full breakdown of what and when you should eat after your workout.

Wrapping up: How long before you workout should you eat?

There really isn’t a definitive answer of when you should eat before your workout. 

It’s really going to depend on when you workout during the day.

Your pre-workout nutrition really starts the day before your workout. You want to make sure you’re eating enough protein and carbs throughout the day, as well as drinking enough water.

If you have a few hours before your workout, eat a well balanced meal with enough protein to prevent your muscles from breaking down and carbs to give you energy.

When eating right before your workout, stick to simple carbs and a little bit of protein to keep you fueled.

And if you workout fasted, make sure you’re getting a post-workout meal in as soon as you can after you finish your workout.

If you want me to take care of your workouts and nutrition and take all the guesswork out of fitness, you can apply for coaching to see if we’d be a good fit for each other.

Thanks for reading, and as always leave any questions you have below!