I have a healthy breakfast at 8.30, Lunch at 12 then hit the gym (weight training) at 5.30 and have dinner in the evening. The problem is i'm always hungry going to the gym and a lot of the time i don't have enough energy.
What would be a good food/snack to eat at around 3pm that would give me the energy i need to get the most from workout?
What's a good food to eat before a workout
Moderators: Boss Man, cassiegose
Hi everyone, I'm new 
Please pardon me for jumping right in...
gmacker...I think you need to eat something after you have lunch, like around 3:30- 4:00pm. I have breakfast, snack, lunch, then another snack before I go to the gym at 5:30 ---its usually something like two bananas and a protein shake and maybe a few wheat crackers. Otherwise, I'll fall down in that aerobics class.
Please pardon me for jumping right in...
gmacker...I think you need to eat something after you have lunch, like around 3:30- 4:00pm. I have breakfast, snack, lunch, then another snack before I go to the gym at 5:30 ---its usually something like two bananas and a protein shake and maybe a few wheat crackers. Otherwise, I'll fall down in that aerobics class.
I'd be careful doing that. Bearing in mind if the Protein shake contains Maltodextrin, listed as Carbs, and most likely in at least a 20g quantity, you're going to get a massive Glycemic load, because Bananas are around GI 54, much hgher GI, than most Fruit, and 2 of those would do it too.
You will get a large Bloodsugar spike, which you will counteract by exercising, which reduces Bloodsugar.
You could convert the complex Carbs to Glucose, thereby sparing Glucose reserves, but that's still a massve potential spike in Bloodsugar pre-workout, from the Simple ones.
For instance lets assume you eat 2 small Bananas 36g total Carbs, 54 GI.
Protein shake assuming Maltodextrin, and say at least 20g Carbs, works out roughly as this.
40%
If your Malto Carbs were 30, then you get this.
50% , so you could be spiking Bloodsugar up 50% before workouts. Unless you do this Shake Banana thing directly befor,e in which case you're then exercising and counteracting that spike, instead of doing it abotu 1-2 hours pre-workout, where you might spike, then reduce.
Your simple Carb intake pre-workout is therefore perhaps a bit too high, and you could sub some of the Carbs for something with more Complex ones, like a Yoghurt with your Banana, or some Beans perhaps.
Really you might benefit doing something like a low GI Carb source, before workouts, but then something simple afterwards, for Bloodsugar elevation, maybe.
Though I respectfully think you need to lower your Simple Carb and GI impact pre-workout.
If you do eat those things diereclty before, you counteract the eductions in Bloodsugar, but at potentially 40-50% increase you're not in opinion going to get that size reduction, so whatever Bloodsugar reductions you combat, you could still then get a Spike after exercise, which is fine, but your body is going through a period during workouts, where it possibly tries to increase Bloodsugar at the same time as it's going down, as opposed to you having complex Carbs, which won't impact, thereby reducing Bloodsugar, then spiking it post-workout with Simple Carbs.
The second way measns you don't get some potentially internal struggle between your Insulin reactions to Sugar, and your Bloodsugar reactions to exercise.
If I'm not confusing you with all that.
You will get a large Bloodsugar spike, which you will counteract by exercising, which reduces Bloodsugar.
You could convert the complex Carbs to Glucose, thereby sparing Glucose reserves, but that's still a massve potential spike in Bloodsugar pre-workout, from the Simple ones.
For instance lets assume you eat 2 small Bananas 36g total Carbs, 54 GI.
Protein shake assuming Maltodextrin, and say at least 20g Carbs, works out roughly as this.
40%
If your Malto Carbs were 30, then you get this.
50% , so you could be spiking Bloodsugar up 50% before workouts. Unless you do this Shake Banana thing directly befor,e in which case you're then exercising and counteracting that spike, instead of doing it abotu 1-2 hours pre-workout, where you might spike, then reduce.
Your simple Carb intake pre-workout is therefore perhaps a bit too high, and you could sub some of the Carbs for something with more Complex ones, like a Yoghurt with your Banana, or some Beans perhaps.
Really you might benefit doing something like a low GI Carb source, before workouts, but then something simple afterwards, for Bloodsugar elevation, maybe.
Though I respectfully think you need to lower your Simple Carb and GI impact pre-workout.
If you do eat those things diereclty before, you counteract the eductions in Bloodsugar, but at potentially 40-50% increase you're not in opinion going to get that size reduction, so whatever Bloodsugar reductions you combat, you could still then get a Spike after exercise, which is fine, but your body is going through a period during workouts, where it possibly tries to increase Bloodsugar at the same time as it's going down, as opposed to you having complex Carbs, which won't impact, thereby reducing Bloodsugar, then spiking it post-workout with Simple Carbs.
The second way measns you don't get some potentially internal struggle between your Insulin reactions to Sugar, and your Bloodsugar reactions to exercise.
If I'm not confusing you with all that.