Whether you’re going to a medical conference, a business meeting, or a social event,

 it’s common to get hungry before the day’s events start. Your stomach starts grumbling around 8:00 

when you realize that you haven’t eaten since breakfast and there is no food in sight. 

You may be thinking of grabbing whatever random food item is available at the closest convenience store

 but this might not be the best idea. To your surprise, many studies have shown that consuming less than 3 hours before 

an event can actually help improve your performance in the long-term! Let us explain what does and doesn’t work

 when it comes to pre-event meals and why we got it all wrong in the first place…

The first study, which was published in the British Journal of Nutrition , was conducted on 39 young men. 

Over the course of 8 weeks, athletes ate one of three pre-event meals before each of 3 sessions. 

All three groups had at least 4 days of recovery. The first group was given a high-fat meal, 

the second group ate a low-fat meal, and the third group ate no food within 3 hours before their workouts. 

What they found is that those who ate a low-fat meal had significantly less body fat compared to individuals who ate either nothing or high fat before each workout. 

While this is an interesting result on it’s own, researchers also found that those who consumed fat prior 

to their workouts demonstrated higher levels of testosterone, lower levels of cortisol (a stress hormone), 

and experienced 12% more muscle activity during each exercise session. 

This indicates that consuming fat before your workout may actually prevent muscle loss and 

improve mental performance during your exercise routine. The fact that this was seen in all 3 groups,

 regardless of whether or not it was hungry or not, further indicates that the timing of the pre-event meal may 

play an integral role in determining its effectiveness.

Branch DW, Merendino KA, Riechman SE (2011) Consumption of fat vs carbohydrate before 

exercise alters blood lipid profile and mood state. Br J Nutr 106: 134-141.

The second study , conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, 

found something similar with endurance athletes during a workout. The researchers had 4 groups who ate a high-fat, 

low-carbohydrate breakfast within 4 hours before exercise. In one group, the athletes consumed a high fat meal,

 in another group they consumed a low fat meal, and in the 3rd and 4th groups they ate nothing. 

What the researchers found was that those who ate a low-fat meal, regardless of whether or not 

it was within 3 hours or not, lost an average of 60 grams of body fat in just one week! 

Of course this isn’t to say that pre-event meals should only be high fat because one study from 2009 found 

that consuming a bagel 5 minutes before your workout can also improve your body composition.

Kim EI, Kim JS, Kim YS (2009) Mealtimes and body fat: Effects of pre-exercise snack on abdominal obesity and body composition in athletes. 

Asia Pac J Clin Nutr 18: 268-272.

All of the studies had their own advantages and disadvantages but what we can conclude is

 that getting your pre-event meal within 3 hours of starting an exercise routine is better than not eating 

at all because it prevents unwanted muscle loss and improves your performance. 

The researchers from UMass Lowell also found that those who ate nothing within 3 hours before exercise

 had higher levels of cortisol, lower testosterone levels, experienced a 14% decrease in lean body mass,

 and a 22% increase in body fat. They also found that there was no significant difference between those

 who consumed high-fat or low-fat meals. This indicates that the fat to carbohydrate ratio of your pre-event meal

 is not as important as whether or not you ate within 3 hours of starting your exercise routine. 

But what about other nutrients, such as protein? Well…

The first study mentioned above also found that consuming high amounts of protein results in 

higher levels of muscle mass compared to fat or carbohydrates. Although this may seem counterintuitive,

 there are a few reasons why this is shown in many studies. First, eating too much protein results 

in an increase in insulin which can lead to increased fat storage and decreased glucose uptake, 

which may contribute to muscle loss. a pre-event meal should quizlethttps://topnewsdesk.com/a-pre-event-meal-should-quizlet/

Second, protein is also able to stimulate protein synthesis in your body which can result in muscle growth. 

Lastly, protein is necessary for muscle repair after exercise, which may explain the higher levels of muscle mass in those who ate high amounts of protein.

Refeeding after Exercise

There are many benefits to eating before and during exercise but is there ever a time when you need to take it easy?