Tag: workout

When it comes to losing weight, it is essential to factor in exercise and appropriate dieting. Since you will need to adjust your diet to get your ultimate weight, it may be challenging to know whether to eat before or after a workout to lose weight.

But it would be best if you timed your pre and post-workout meal or snack. This is where your dietician may come in to ensure your dieting and exercising are in line with the changes that would accompany them.

However, this article will help you to go through the process religiously.

Eating Before Workout to Lose Weight

It does not matter if you eat before or after a workout. Nevertheless, having some calories in you during exercise is necessary. Eating a little meal before the exercise helps to fuel the workout. Your muscles need to be strong and at their full potential to function well.

However, knowing when to eat is as important as what to eat. You can eat a few hours before the workout to avoid indigestion during the workout. Including healthy carbs like grains, veggies, fruits, or nonfat milk or yogurt in your pre-workout meal is advisable. These energize you during workouts, offering your muscles nutrients to keep them going.

If you work out before breakfast, your meal could include oatmeal with sliced banana and chopped walnuts. We recommend vegetable soup, beans, an apple, low-fat cheese, and whole-grain crackers for an afternoon workout.

• Alternate with a Snack

If your workout to lose weight happens early in the morning, which means you may have yet to eat before exercising, a quick pre-workout snack will be beneficial. Ensure the snack is low in fat, small-sized, and easily digestible.

In addition, eat foods that do not cause your blood sugar level to go high. The foods must have lower glycemic loads, such as oatmeal, plain yogurt, or whole grain. This will make you feel less tired, have more cognitive function, and have more energy after the exercise.

Another form of snack is a fruit smoothie with a tablespoon of nutty butter or a milkshake. These also help in retaining water in the body. Another alternative to this is low-fat Greek yogurt with diced apples or bananas. They are suitable for pre or post-workout to lose weight fuel.

Eating After Workout to lose weight

It is good to eat after a weight-loss workout and muscle-building. Include a little protein, carbohydrate, and fat in the post-exercise meal for a better outcome. Taking a glass of low-fat chocolate milk or a small snack will do. Remember, eating before or after a workout to lose weight is optional as long your body has enough calories to keep it going.

You can alternate it with whole-grain crackers with hummus or half a turkey sandwich. The follow-up meal helps to recover the lost energy during the workout while preserving muscle mass. Eating a balanced diet is the goal, so focusing on one nutrient won’t achieve that.

Healthy meals help you feed your body with the required nutrients, not only for the sake of the workout. According to the 2015-2020 ‌Dietary Guidelines for Americans‌, whole grains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables, and low-fat or nonfat dairy should be part of your healthy and balanced meal.

• Why Should You Work Out Fasted?

The body uses fat and carbohydrates for fuel during workouts to lose weight. It stores fats as triglycerides in fat tissues and carbs in the muscles and liver as glycogen (a molecule). The carbs are available for the workout in the form of blood sugar.

If you eat before a workout, the blood sugar in the body becomes higher before and during the exercise. The reason is that pre-workout meals usually contain carbs, which provide energy to the body.

But when working out on an empty stomach, the body’s energy needs are provided through the breakdown of body fat. The transaction between carbs and fat metabolism gives the body the natural ability to operate with or without meals.

• Does Working Out Fasted Lead to a Higher Loss of Body Fat?

Although the body burns more fat when you fast, it does not lead to a higher fat loss at the end of the day. According to studies, there is a strong potential for the body to benefit from exercise if you fast, but the evidence is not much. Hence, eating before working out depends on your discretion.

In addition, not eating before any workout may hardly affect performance. Working out fasted or fed could produce identical results. As long as your body has a store of energy (around 2000 calories), you can work out for hours if you want to lose weight. But if it does not store much energy, you may need to eat a little before the exercise.

• Is It Necessary to eat After a Workout If You Fasted?

Even though it is necessary to eat before a workout, if you feel like doing so, eating afterward is beneficial. Eating foods rich in protein and carbs helps you to replace lost energy. Undoubtedly, the food you eat before a workout can still be in significant amounts in the blood after the exercise, meaning you may not feel like eating. However, you may need to eat to recover lost energy.

If you choose to work out without eating, your body will utilize stored energy to keep you going. This means you need to eat something immediately after the workout. Knowing how soon to eat after exercise is another issue people deliberate on.

You don’t need to eat immediately after the exercise to lose weight. However, you can eat early enough to replenish your body for lost energy. Eating protein helps to repair your tissues and muscle, while carbs restore the glycogen stored.

Personal Preference is Supreme

Although eating before or after a workout to lose weight does not make a difference, your preference matters. Eating before your workout may be necessary for long-duration exercise. But you will always make progress whether you eat before or after, as long as the food is the right choice.

Besides, some people feel nauseous or sluggish if they eat soon before the workout. Others feel exhausted quickly if they do not eat anything before working out.

Also, if you prefer exercising early in the morning, the duration between when you eat and when you exercise may affect your choice. Heading to the gym immediately you roll out of bed may make grabbing something to eat quickly impossible.

The less time you have between eating and workout, the smaller your pre-meal portion should be. The essence is ensuring you do not feel full and uncomfortable during the exercise.

As explained, your options should be between carbs and lean protein. Whether to eat before or after the workout to lose weight is solely your choice.

A final thought on Should You Eat Before or After Workout to Lose Weight

Eating before or after a workout to lose weight is a frequent issue for early-morning trainers. Your body may benefit from exercising without eating, as it utilizes its fat for fuel. However, this does not translate into losing massive weight.

While you are not obligated to eat before a workout, filling up within the period around the exercise (whether before or after) is crucial.

Hence, if you did not eat before the workout, try to eat soon after. Your preference remains the primary factor surrounding your decision.

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Best Gym workouts for busy professionals: Time-saving tips

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It is possible to get routine gym workouts for busy professionals who rarely have time for themselves. We all know how life can become so fast-paced, and we almost can’t stop to catch our breath—juggling many activities in other to make ends meet or keep up with our current lifestyle. Yet, we keep looking for means to improvise and try to find a balance between these activities.

In the middle of it all, many busy professionals begin to overlook the vital aspect of life: their health. And as such, they unconsciously start losing out on the pillar that supports their core being.

For this reason, this article intentionally targets some gym workouts for these busy professionals to regain their health and inculcate these routines into their busy lifestyles.

Therefore, if you fall into this category, we have put together an easy workout that will be highly effective and won’t stand in the way of your busy life; hopefully, not having the time will no longer be an excuse not to stay fit and healthy.

Anyone unsure about this line of discussion can join in comfortably as we first break down what gym workouts are.

What is a gym workout?

Gym workouts are different types of exercise programs done routinely; it may be daily or weekly to build muscles, shed unnecessary fat build-up, and generally promote health and fitness. In proper definition, we will break the sentence into two: gym and workout.

According to Collins Dictionary, a gym is a large room or a building housing various equipment people use to exercise to get fit. According to the same Collins dictionary, a workout is a period of physical exercise or even training for both women and men.

Some busy professionals may have never worked out in their lives or have done that a very long time ago. Not to worry, when it comes to physical exercises, everyone can be included. This means there are gym workouts for beginners, yet they will show results before you move to more advanced or tasking ones.

Also, gym workouts can be target specific in the sense that these physical exercises can target different parts of the body where they work especially.

For example, someone may decide to burn their excess tummy fats or go the extra mile to build their abs. Another person might wish to build stamina, upper body, lower body, or even go for a full body workout. All these goals have specific exercises that can help you attain them.

Excellent time-saving workout tips for busy professionals

One all-time workout-saving tip that can save you time as a busy professional is bringing your workout routine home. Active people may find it very difficult to include visiting a gym in their schedule. This is understandable, especially when the closest gym is miles away and totally off your route.

So what do you do? You have to improvise and convert a portion of your house to become your gym. Perhaps there are no extra spaces for this; you can get a few pieces of equipment that can fit into your home naturally and begin from there. This way, as a busy professional, you can incorporate physical exercise into your schedule.

Also, take advantage of the internet. There are numerous workout videos on the internet, like Youtube or Instagram, that you can join without as much as handling gym equipment and still get desired fitness results. Still, it will not tamper with your busy schedule.

Types of workout equipment that can comfortably fit into a home and save you gym time

See below;

• A treadmill

This is a Cardio exercise equipment that you can use at home at your convenient time. It comes in different sizes and does not occupy a lot of space. It comes with running or walking settings and is very beginner-friendly.

As a busy professional, you can revise your presentation or speech or even think about your next business proposal while getting fit on the treadmill.

• Dumbbells

Dumbbells are workout equipment that does not occupy space in your home. It helps with weight training and comes in pairs. Dumbbells come in different sizes and types and can be used while reading or walking around the house.

• Jump ropes

Jump ropes are handy workout equipment that is well-known and very effective.

• Yoga mat

This can be rolled up as soon as your session is over; it is a special type of mat for Yoga meditation and exercise.

• Indoor bike machine

It is an equipment that helps you work on the lower part of your body by cycling.

Many other pieces of equipment can fit into your home perfectly and save you the time of going to the gym.

Gym workouts for busy professionals

As a busy professional, your workout session can also double as a time for you to do other things. Hence, slaying two birds with a single sling.

Planks workout

The planks workout is a core strength training exercise for females and males. It targets the abdominal walls, the shoulders, and the back. You can include the front and side planks in your routine. Planks do not take much time while doing it, yet, it works effectively on various body muscles.

Jumping ropes workout

Jumping rope is a workout session that involves strength training and cardio exercise. It takes about 15 minutes to achieve the high percentage benefits of jumping rope.

There are intensive and beginner-friendly jumping rope workouts. Jumping rope will not make you miss your big business move of the day.

Push-ups workout

You are still correct if you refer to this workout as press up. Push-ups help you build various muscles in the body, especially the upper body muscles of the chest, shoulders, and arms. Your abdominal walls are not left out, including your spine and gluteus.

Pilates workout

Pilates is another workout session that targets the core. There are different types of pilates exercise, so you get to do many styles in separate workout sessions. Pilates helps care for your hips, back, spine, pelvic floor, rectus abdominus, and even lower back pain.

Squats workout

This is an excellent workout that improves your hip, joints, and leg bones. Squats can be done alongside other exercises, like lifting weights, dumbbells, or balls.

Jumping jacks workout

Jumping jacks can be done in a fast or slow mode. You can even freestyle and add other routines like squats while at it. Jumping jacks, among the other workouts mentioned above, aid in weight loss. For this workout, you can experience a significant amount of fat loss in the arm, legs, belly, and back.

To draw the curtain, busy professionals can include these easy do-at-home workouts to stay healthy while doing their best at work.

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Have you ever wondered how you can recover from burnout as a medical student?

Stressing out while in medical university is a common occurrence. Since it appears to be expected, people may miss the signs and symptoms of a much more severe condition called burnout.

Burnout is far more dangerous than day-to-day stress. It is often overlooked or dismissed as typical university stress.

You walk up and have no desire for attending lectures or doing any given assignments. Even the thought of doing anything related to your medical education is irritating. You feel pressured, and exhausted, and have zero motivation for studying.

If this describes you, you may be suffering from academic burnout.

The first thing to remember is that it is more frequent than you would believe and that the sooner you treat it, the better.

Read the article and learn what burnout is, how to recognize the symptoms and recover from it.

What is burnout?

The term “burnout” was used for the first time in 1974 by American psychologist Herbert Freudenberger. Burnout was officially recognized in 2019 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an occupational phenomenon.

Although it is not classified as a medical condition or mental disorder by the WHO, burnout is the reason behind many people’s depression, low productivity, and feelings of hopelessness.

Related: Top study habits for medical students

Academic burnout is an adverse emotional, physical, and mental reaction to extended study sessions that causes weariness, frustration, a loss of enthusiasm, and reduced academic performance.

It’s the result of weeks or months of studying the same topic or working on the same project without resting properly.

What causes burnout?

The reason behind burnout can never be just one. Most of the time, many different factors contribute to high levels of stress. Therefore if not appropriately managed and neglected, the pressure can lead to academic burnout.

Many medical students find the first 2 years of their education challenging and full of unexpected difficulties, such as the amount of information they should memorize. Here are a few aspects of the medical student’s life that can cause burnout.

Bad time management

As a medical student, you will have a significant number of lectures and assignments daily. You will feel pressured by a particular deadline or grade you want to achieve.

In advance, you will spend lots of time reading your notes, medical books, online lectures, and studying in general. If you don’t organize your study schedule accordingly, you won’t have enough time to exercise, sleep, and take care of your health. This is a recipe for academic burnout.

You can keep up with this plan for a few weeks or even months, but you will damage your mental and physical health in the end.

It is good to have specific goals and ambitions to achieve them, but it is also essential to be realistic about your abilities.

Medical students are bound to be precise, trustworthy, and devoted to their education. However, staying healthy comes before your MD degree.

Lack of free time and social life

Following the previous paragraph, when you overwork yourself, you will start to cancel plans with friends, quit hobbies, and not give yourself time to relax.

You have to find the balance between medical education and social life. You need a support system of family and friends. Spending time with new people, visiting new places will bring you positive emotions.

Sacrificing exercise, family time, mental and physical care will not help you achieve your dreams. It will bring you to the edge of burnout, which can last for 2 weeks or up to a few months.

Studying abroad worries

Every year thousands of students decide to study medicine or dentistry in Europe in English. That is an excellent opportunity for them for several reasons: affordable medical education worldwide recognized degrees, and lower living costs.

However, as with everything other in life, there are pros and cons of studying medicine abroad. Some of the hardships that international medical students face are:

• Accommodation worries
• Homesickness
• Money matters
• Culture shock
• Language barrier

How to recognize the symptoms of burnout?

Some of the most common warning signs are:

• Feeling sleepy no matter how much sleep you get
• Having trouble getting motivated to go to class or start assignments
• Lacking originality and inspiration for projects and class discussions
• Loss of faith in your capabilities
• Not being able to meet important deadlines
• High levels of stress and exhaustion
• Insomnia
• Inability to pay attention in class or during lectures
• You’re bored or dissatisfied with subjects that you used to like

How to recover?

The first step of the recovery process is to notice the symptoms and take them seriously. In most cases, you can practice self-treatment to fight burnout. However, if you find yourself unable to manage the situation, don’t lose time and ask for professional help.

Here are some tips that can help you recover from burnout:

1. Change your goals

Be realistic with the goals that you are setting for yourself.

2. Learn how to manage your time properly

You can create a study schedule with all important academic deadlines. Try to stick to it and don’t cram. It is essential to have free time for the things that you like to do. You should include daily activities as fitness, cooking, listening to music, etc.

3. Eat healthily and drink water

4. Make new friends

The main goal is to become a doctor but make it fun and enjoy some quality time with friends and fellows from university.

5. Don’t compare yourself with others

6. Take small steps

If you are experiencing burnout, it is because you have neglected your health and overworked yourself for a very long time. The path to recovery will take time too. Be patient, and the change will come.

Many medical students have experienced burnout. It is nothing scary, but you have to be mindful of your health.

Implement the suggested tips and make your study medicine journey a positive experience.

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