I get asked this question a lot. Most people are more concerned about what should be eaten before the workout but the truth is that you should be prepared to eat before and after your workouts. When you attend Boot Camp I want you to be fueled. If you are going through the workout on an empty stomach, you will not really be able to give a 100%. Remember the Boot Camp workouts are not just cardio. We are building lean tissue, working on your power and speed. In order to truly give your all, you have to have a good mixture of carbs, protein and fat before and after your workout. There is a good book that studied this topic extensively, it is called nutrient timing. The authors looked at studies over ten years on when to eat to get the most out of the body during activity. The conclusion was that you should eat a certain ratio of carbs to protein and fat before and after. For Boot Camp, I suggest eating 2 to 1 with carbs being the 2 and protein and fat being 1. An example of that is a protein shake made with 40 grams of carbs (a serving of plain yogurt) and one scoop of Jay Robb protein powder (20 grams). Or 3 eggs with two pieces of toast would give you this ratio. I usually recommend the shake because it is so easy to make and it digests quicker than a meal.

I did this with a group of 25 Boot Campers a couple of years ago. It was a nutrition class where I made a rule that everyone will use this ratio in the form of the shake before and after Boot Camp. It was a huge success. The entire group lost an average of 15 pounds over 6 weeks. You can’t argue with real results. I will be posting some protein shake recipes that will be balanced and tasty. I mean lets face it, if they do not taste good, you will not drink them.

Tim