And while you're at it, would you like some guacamole? New science shows that all the foods we try to avoid—fats and carbs and even brewskis—are exactly the workout fuel we need to get the most out of a sweat-slinging, pec-blasting gym session
Following the fickle rules of sports nutrition can give a guy whiplash. One day you’re supposed to stop eating steak, and the next you’re supposed to eat nothing but steak. Still, a few things now seem clear: Fat isn’t all bad, protein bars aren’t all good, and eating a carb won’t instantly turn you into John Candy, may God rest his soul. So stop depriving yourself of everything that tastes delicious and start eating like the modern jock you are.
PRE-WORKOUT Eat the Rich
Just as you wouldn’t enter a Formula One race with an empty tank, you shouldn’t enter the gym without fueling your body. And contrary to the low-fat hypochondria of the 1990s, we now know that naturally occurring fats found in protein-rich whole foods (like eggs and avocados) are good for us—they stabilize our blood sugar and keep us full. Even saturated fat is okay. Trans fats, the artificial fats the FDA wants to eliminate—sadly, the ones in Häagen-Dazs—are the real enemy.
When it comes to carbs, you want to swap highly processed carbohydrates (think: Wonder Bread) for complex carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potatoes) that give you slow-release energy instead of the crash-and-burn kind. We fully cosign on whole-wheat breakfast burritos and brown-rice stir-fry lunches, but your body needs a few hours to digest all that before you start whaling on your pecs. Let that be a lesson to the after-work-ercise crowd.
What you don’t want: store-bought fruit juice at breakfast. It’s processed all to hell. In fact, Tropicana is currently being sued for falsely advertising its "100% pure and natural" OJ, which, the suit claims, is "pasteurized, deaerated, stripped of its flavor and aroma, stored for long periods of time before it ever reaches consumers," and on and on. Just eat an orange for the fiber and drink a glass of water.
DURING Go Coco-nuts
Sweat makes you lose electrolytes such as potassium, which helps maintain your body’s sodium/water balance and keep you from cramping. Try coconut water: It has more potassium than a banana at less than half the calories. Tastes good, too.
What you don’t want: sports drinks. The worst part about those sweet antifreeze-colored Whatever-ades filled with artificial additives? They don’t even hydrate properly. "From a physiological standpoint, they’re too high in carbs to hydrate," says Stanford ercise physiologist Stacy Sims. "They actually pull water out of the blood and into the intestines, which is the opposite of what you want."
AFTER Drink Like a Little Boy (or a Frat Boy)
Eventually, you’re gonna shower up and go have a nice balanced meal with lean protein and vegetables. In the meantime, you need nutrients now. "After your workout, your body is like an empty furnace," says Virginia dietitian and gym owner Jim White. "It’s depleted and needs fuel from carbs to ignite it."
Happily and sort of unbelievably, nutritionists have come to think of chocolate milk as a perfect post-workout elixir, packed with protein and carbs to rebuild the body you just tore down. After a hard run or heavy lift, the sugar helps replenish your depleted glycogen stores, speed up muscle recovery, and regain your energy levels. No wonder we always felt so refreshed after recess.
What you don’t want: protein bars. They’re not all bad, but most mainstream bars have replaced high-quality whey proteins with cheaper, artificially extracted soy-protein isolate. "You’re better off eating real food," Sims says.
Or, hell, have a beer. While light on protein, a dinnertime brew provides antioxidants that aid in workout recovery. Yes, the distance between a six-pack and six-pack abs might be closer than you ever dreamed possible.