Fueling Up

Fueling Up

You wouldn’t head out for a drive without gas in the car’s tank, so why start your workout when your personal fuel gauge is approaching empty? Because most people work out in the morning, midday, or afternoon, breakfast and lunch are the most important meals of the day, because they provide fuel for the physical exertion to follow. Food fashions ebb and flow, but nutritionists recommend a balanced low-fat diet, high in complex carbohydrates. Nutritionists recommend starting your day with energy-rich complex carbohydrates such as whole-grain bread or hot or cold cereal with fruit rather than sugar if you need a sweetener. Proteins are good, too, but not in the form of fatty breakfast sausages or bacon. At lunch, low-fat bean soups, broth-based soups, sandwiches with a little lean meat and vegetables on whole-grain bread, thick-crust pizza topped with vegetables and reduced-fat cheese, or pasta with fresh marinara sauce are good choices to fuel you through your workout. You’ll learn more about eating well in Chapter 20, “You Are What You Eat.”