“I’m training hard—but I don’t know what to eat around my workouts.”
If I had a protein shake for every time someone asked me this, I’d be walking around with 300g of protein a day.
This question comes up all the time—from busy professionals balancing back-to-back meetings, to parents squeezing in a 45-minute gym session between school drop-offs and conference calls. You want to get stronger, leaner, and more energised—but you’re unsure how to fuel your workouts without overthinking it.
In this post, I’ll break down what to eat before and after your workout, why it matters, and how to make it fit your lifestyle without needing a Tupperware tower or a stopwatch.
🔍 First, Why Does Pre- and Post-Workout Nutrition Even Matter?
Let’s start with the “why”:
When you’re strength training to build muscle, lose fat, and improve performance, your body needs the right fuel at the right time. This doesn’t mean six meals a day or carrying a chicken breast in your handbag—it means understanding what supports your goals and your life.
Here’s what proper nutrition around training can do:
- ✅ Improve workout performance
- ✅ Preserve and build lean muscle
- ✅ Support faster recovery and reduced soreness
- ✅ Improve body composition (less fat, more muscle)
A study from the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (JISSN) notes that timing carbs and protein around workouts enhances muscle protein synthesis and recovery, especially when sessions are intense or close together (Aragon & Schoenfeld, 2013).
And if you’re training hard but underfueling? You’ll feel flat, burn out, or start questioning whether exercise “even works.”
🥞 What to Eat Before You Train
The Goal: Walk into your session energised but not heavy.
You want to fuel your muscles, support your central nervous system, and give your body a small energy boost—especially if you’re doing resistance training or circuits.
✅ Ideal Pre-Workout Meal (60–90 mins before):
- Lean protein + moderate carbs + low fat
- Examples:
- Greek yoghurt with berries and honey
- Chicken wrap with a small tortilla and spinach
- Protein smoothie with banana and oats
- Scrambled eggs on a slice of toast
🕐 Training early? (Under 60 mins from waking)
If you’re doing a 6:30 AM session and food feels like too much, try:
- A half banana
- A protein coffee
- Or even a few sips of a carb/electrolyte drink
The goal isn’t to hit 100g carbs—it’s to give your brain and muscles something so you’re not running on empty.
🔬 Research Insight: Fasted training is not superior for fat loss (Schoenfeld et al., 2014), and can impair performance and muscle retention—especially in people trying to build strength. Small pre-workout carbs and amino acids help increase training intensity and support lean mass.
🥩 What to Eat After You Train
The Goal: Support muscle repair, recovery, and growth.
This is where you help your body adapt to the work you just did. Protein rebuilds your muscle tissue, and carbs help refill glycogen stores and reduce stress hormones like cortisol.
✅ Ideal Post-Workout Meal (within 60 mins):
- High protein + moderate carbs + moderate fat
- Examples:
- Grilled chicken, rice, and veg
- Whey protein + oats + nut butter
- Turkey sandwich on wholegrain bread
- Tofu stir fry with noodles
If you’re on the go, even a protein shake and a banana is better than nothing.
🔬 Research Insight: A review by Morton et al. (2018) found that 20–40g of high-quality protein post-workout is optimal for maximising muscle protein synthesis. Add 25–50g of carbs and you’ve nailed recovery.
🧠 But Sam, What If I Want Fat Loss Too?
Here’s the magic: you don’t have to choose between fuelling your workouts and losing fat. In fact, eating smart around training helps you lose fat faster because you preserve more muscle and train harder.
Muscle is metabolically expensive—it burns more calories at rest. If you’re underfuelled, you’ll train at 70% and recover at 50%. If you fuel well, you’ll train at 100%, recover at 100%, and look and feel like it.
That’s sustainable strength.
🧩 The Sustainable Strength Fueling Framework
Here’s a super simple system I give my clients to help them not overthink it.
| When You Train | Pre-Workout Snack | Post-Workout Meal |
|---|---|---|
| Early Morning (6–8 AM) | ½ banana + black coffee or protein coffee | Eggs + toast, or shake + oats |
| Mid-Morning | Greek yoghurt + berries | Chicken + rice bowl |
| Lunch or Afternoon | Wrap, smoothie, or protein bar + fruit | Balanced dinner (protein + veg + carb) |
| Evening (6–8 PM) | Light meal 1–2 hrs before | Smaller protein-rich meal/snack if needed |
✅ Key tip: Don’t “save” all your calories for after the workout. If your energy is flat, your training suffers—and so do your results.
❌ What Not To Do
- 🚫 Train fasted and then wait 3 hours to eat
- 🚫 Rely solely on protein bars with 8g of protein
- 🚫 Skip food after workouts because “you’re not hungry”
- 🚫 Eat a large, greasy meal pre-workout and feel like a sloth
💬 Real Talk from the Studio
“Once I started eating Greek yoghurt before my morning session, I stopped crashing and actually looked forward to training.”
“I used to think not eating after a workout meant I’d burn more fat… but I was just more sore, hungrier, and weaker. Fueling up changed that.”
You don’t need to count every gram or track every bite. But if you want to feel good in your body, stay consistent, and finally see the leaner, stronger physique you’re working for… then supporting your training with smart nutrition is a non-negotiable.
🏁 Wrap Up: What To Do Next
- Eat a small, protein-rich snack before training—even if it’s just a bite
- Eat a protein + carb meal after training, ideally within 60–90 mins
- Don’t overthink. Simple meals, repeated often, win every time.
💪 Want a Meal Plan That Matches Your Training?
Inside Sustainable Strength, I help you match your meals to your workouts, goals, and schedule—no guesswork.
If you’re tired of spinning your wheels and want to finally feel in control of your nutrition (without the food guilt), then [click here to start today].
You’ve got the discipline. Now let’s match it with the right fuel.