Be the best fat burner, boost immune health, reduce inflammation+ build better muscle…by how you eat (or don’t eat) around your workout.
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Research shows that exercise is one of the best ways to maintain your ideal weight. (1) One reason: Regular exercise supports balance among your fat-regulating hormones.
“Exercise improves your health in many ways, and has been shown to lower leptin, raise adiponectin, lower insulin, and burn fat in overweight and obese people,” says Sara Gottfried, MD, in Brain Body Diet.
Consistent exercise provides a zillion other benefits, too. You feel better, have more confidence, maintain steady energy, boost your immune system, and sleep more deeply. Life gets all-around better when you work out consistently.
Those are among the reasons why regular exercise is a non-negotiable staple for lasting success on The Virgin Diet and Sugar Impact Diet.
I want you to move more, period. Park your car farther away from the department store door, have friend dates walking at the park, take your dog out for a stroll, and take the stairs rather than the elevator. Everything counts.
With exercise, my philosophy is that it should hurt a little bit. It should never get easier.
Fortunately, my 2 favorite kinds of exercise — high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or burst training and weight resistance — provide ample opportunity to increase the intensity and continuously challenge yourself.
Burst training and weight resistance also make you a better fat burner. With more intense exercise, your body burns more sugar during exercise, but more fat and calories overall. More rigorous exercise also requires heavier post-workout recovery, which optimizes fat burning in the bargain.
One of the biggest questions I get about exercise is how to fit in the time. Trust me, I manage 2 businesses and am actively engaged with my family. I don’t have time for hour-long spin classes, either!
Time is never, ever an excuse for not working out. In this podcast, I talk about how 15 minutes of HIIT is far superior to 45 minutes of running.
“Whether you’re interested in better health, fitness, strength, or weight loss, you’ll succeed with HIIT not by exercising more but by exercising smarter,” says Joseph Tieri in Staying Young with Interval Training. “Say goodbye to 30-minute jogs, 45-minute bike rides, and hour-long walks — save them for Sundays with the grandkids!”
I’ve worked with super-busy executives with the most packed schedules. They always make time to fit in some burst training or weight resistance, and you can too.
Another question I consistently get is what someone should eat before and after a workout.
The real question should be, what are you eating surrounding your workout? In other words, what you eat throughout the day will make a bigger impact than your pre- or post-workout fuel.
When you eat by The Virgin Diet Plate — that means every meal contains clean, lean protein, healthy fats, and slow low carbs — you’re providing the right nutrient fuel to crush your workouts.
What you eat is critical, but so is when you eat. Learn more about why timing is everything (not just with meals) in this blog.
With The Virgin Diet Plate, you’re getting all of the nutrients you need to go full-out, whether you’re lifting heavy or doing HIIT.
That said, you might get a bit hungry before you work out or need something immediately after you exercise. Here’s how to make the best choices to support your fitness routine.
15 sweet treats that don’t undo your hard work at the gym? Yes, please! Get my recipe guide here.
Pre-Workout: Fasted is Best
The benefits of intermittent fasting are nearly endless. I talk about seven of them here.
Research shows that exercising while you’re fasting boosts your body’s ability to burn fat, leading to better fat loss and maintaining that fat loss. (2) Fasting may also help you build muscle better.
“[E]xercising in the fasted state trains your muscles to burn fat,” says Jason Fung, MD, in The Complete Guide to Fasting. “Instead of relying on limited glycogen stores, you can use almost unlimited energy from your fat stores. Muscles adapt to use whatever energy source is available.”
That’s why ideally, I want you to work out fasted. Let’s say you get up at 7 a.m. and you’re exercising by 8 a.m. If you can work out well and hard fasted, that’s the way to go!
A cup of organic black coffee makes great morning pre-workout fuel, especially if you’re working out on an empty stomach.
I love throwing in some MCT oil. Along with the caffeine, the MCTs give you some serious energy during your workout. Coconut milk, which is rich in MCTs, is another smart option in your coffee.
What if I can’t work out fasted? Don’t stress about it. If eating something before your workout gives you that extra oomph, or you feel nauseous or otherwise uncomfortable working out on an empty stomach, then eat something. A protein smoothie is your pre-workout bestie here. (Learn how to make the perfect smoothie here.)
What if I don’t work out in the morning? Some people fit in exercise in the afternoon, or immediately after office hours. The one time I really don’t want you to work out is too late in the evening, when exercise can keep you tossing and turning when you should be dozing!
If you’re working out in the afternoon, or otherwise need some pre-exercise fuel, have a protein smoothie or mini-meal before your workout. But if you can, keep that smoothie till after your morning workout.
One more don’t: Never go into a workout immediately after eating. If you work out later in the day, I recommend working out two or three hours after a meal or one hour after a snack.
Give your body adequate time to digest food so it can optimally fuel your muscles while you work out.
Post-Workout: A Protein Smoothie is Best
After a workout, you may or may not be hungry. Regardless, you want to give your body that critical protein and healthy carbohydrates for muscle synthesis and recovery.
What’s the ideal post-workout fuel? Ideally, you want about 25 grams of carbs and 25 grams of protein post-workout. Carbohydrates refuel your muscles’ energy stores, whereas protein supports muscle growth and recovery.
What you don’t want to do after a workout is to consume fat and fiber. As part of The Virgin Diet Plate, fat and fiber crush cravings and keep you full. After a workout, they can stall absorption of the protein and carbs to support muscle growth and recovery.
The solution is to break your fast — and your workout — with a protein smoothie. (This video shows you how to make the perfect one.)
Protein smoothies are the ultimate post-workout fuel. They’re fast, filling, support immune health, lower inflammation, and help you be the best fat burner.
Whether you’re vegan, keto, vegetarian, or Paleo… I am loving this post-workout recovery smoothie. Simple, fast, immune-boosting, and delicious.
One More Thing: Stay Hydrated
You want to be drinking plenty of water around your workout, too. That doesn’t mean you should be gulping water during exercise, but you don’t want to let yourself get dehydrated, either. Even mild dehydration can stall performance and recovery.
Here’s my water schedule:
- When you get up: 16 ounces
- 30 to 60 minutes before each meal: 16 ounces
- During a meal: limit to 4 to 8 ounces
- Start drinking water again 60 minutes after each meal
- Before bed: 8 ounces
P.S. More intense exercise will probably demand more water, so adjust this schedule above accordingly.
I recommend keeping a BPA-free canteen nearby while you’re working out and drinking as you need. Remember that once you get thirsty, your body is already dehydrated.
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The views in this blog by JJ Virgin should never be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. Please work with a healthcare practitioner concerning any medical problem or concern. The information here is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or condition. Statements contained here have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
References
- Foright RM, Presby DM, Sherk VD, Kahn D, Checkley LA, Giles ED, Bergouignan A, Higgins JA, Jackman MR, Hill JO, MacLean PS. Is regular exercise an effective strategy for weight loss maintenance? Physiol Behav. 2018 May 1;188:86–93. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2018.01.025. Epub 2018 Jan 31. PMID: 29382563; PMCID: PMC5929468.
- Zouhal H, Saeidi A, Salhi A, Li H, Essop MF, Laher I, Rhibi F, Amani-Shalamzari S, Ben Abderrahman A. Exercise Training and Fasting: Current Insights. Open Access J Sports Med. 2020 Jan 21;11:1–28. doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S224919. PMID: 32021500; PMCID: PMC6983467.
