Interval Training Nutrition

Interval Training Nutrition is not designed as a resource for planning a diet, there is a wealth of information on the web or in books about this. However as we are trying to lose weight here we need to touch on the principals of Interval training nutrition that will make the difference from getting nowhere to getting exactly where you want to be.

When to eat in interval training nutrition:

Although it was previously thought that not eating after interval training was beneficial, the correct thing to do is to eat just before and after you train, its actually been found that you actually exercise with more intensity when you have eaten.

As long as you balance your total eating out over the day you will lose weight.

How much to eat in interval training nutrition

In a basic way of looking at it, we put on weight because we put in more energy into our body than it needs to use. Our fat is essentially stored energy.

So this implies that is we eat very little we will lose all the fat? Unfortunately not, we lose fat AND muscle which lowers our metabolism and then after a couple of weeks the body thinks its in a famine and makes hormonal changes to keep the fat reserves as stock, so instead of losing fat, we keep it and just slow ourselves down.

So the trick to losing weight in a healthy way is use up more energy than we consume without letting the body panic about an upcoming famine.

You can do this by finding out your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). This is a calculation that works out your daily energy requirements if you were to spend the entire day resting without expending too much energy.

This is worked out in calories. If you stick just below this figure when eating you won’t upset your body. Your exercise and daily activities will let your body use up more energy than it receives and it will turn to those fat stores for the energy it needs.

What to eat in interval training nutrition

Ok so you know that you need to keep your calories within a certain range, and you know to split your meals into 6 portions through out the day. The last step is what you eat.

You obviously need good food to supply the vitamins, nutrients and minerals that your body will need but in order to lose fat the last step is not to spike that insulin again.

Insulin is released into the body when we eat. The higher in sugar the food is the more insulin is released. So you need to keep your meals as balanced with their energy as possible. This means combining protein and carbohydrates at every meal as well as choosing low glycemic carbohydrates.

Summary for Interval Training Nutrition: Don’t eat before training Wait one hour after training Eat calories just under your BMR Eat six times a day Add a portion of protein and carbohydrates to every meal Eat low glycemic foods that are nutritious and healthy Take a quality multivitamin