Eating before Training & Netflix's GameChangers Opinion

Eating before Training
Ideally, you should be having one of your meals 2-3 hours before your workout. Realistically, that's not going to be the case. If you train early in the mornings or straight after work, you won't have time for your main meal. And if you do have a big meal within 60 minutes before a workout, chances are that your food will not digest properly and you will struggle through the session. The flip side to that is not eating at all. But in doing that, you MIGHT not have enough energy for the session. 

So what do you do? 

Let's take the morning session first (and, personally, my favourite time to train). You could have a big meal before you sleep the night before so that you won't feel as hungry in the morning. However, as I stupidly did last Friday, having a big carb meal before you sleep can completely mess with your sleep. Feck all sleep and you are losing a lot of benefit in going to the gym. That's not an excuse to not go tho the gym of you have had 7 hours of broken sleep. It's not ideal but work through it. If you only had 2-3 hours. I would rest and avoid the morning session. Some people can sleep through having a large meal and feel great in the mornings to train on little to no food. If that's you, great!

Personally, if I am home late to eat, I will usually have some meat and veg before sleep. In the mornings, I will have my water before the session. It's also the only time I might drink a coffee in the early morning. If I am struggling with energy and food, I might have a protein shake to get something light into me before training. Getting some protein can be useful as it won't be too heavy on your stomach. Maybe porridge and/or a banana. 

With 60 minutes to go to my session and I haven't had food in 3-4 hours, I would have my usual low carb dinner. 'But didn't you just say that a big meal will disrupt your digestion?'. I don't think I said 'disrupt' but words to that effect, yes. I know I can strength train within an hour of a big meal because I have experimented with it. Now, if I were to add dairy to it, I would struggle. How do I know? Nearly getting sick over an astroturf before doing that. I needed food. Bad choice. 

The point is that you have to experiment what works for you. And what works for you may not work for everyone else. If you are always feeling lethargic in your sessions, you need to switch things up and experiment a different way for a few weeks. Don't just try it once (unless you almost have the astroturf moment!). 

And that's the thing with nutrition, there is never one set way. 

Game Changers
Which brings me on to Game Changers on Netflix. I did a full blog recently on the potential problems with meat and vegan lifestyles that you can check out HERE rather than me regurgitating old opinions of mine. 

I really wanted to like this movie. I went in with an open mind on it. But, once the documentary referred to the UFC fight as vegan vs meat, I was out. I wish the movie had just concentrated on vegan athletes and how you can succeed on a vegan diet. There are some unbelievable athletes in the documentary that are vegan. And I get that it is a 'pro-vegan' documentary so that it is not their job to present both sides. But when you easily see that comments and studies are taking things completely out of context it's hard to keep an open mind. McGregor's "two steaks a day was a mistake" was one of my first red flags as it was about strategy for his fight and weight after going up in weight class and abandoning his prep so close to the fight. Which was a shame because just showing how great Diaz (the vegan fighter was) should be enough to show that a vegan diet might not limit you. The vegan fighter won. Focus on his training and his accomplishments. And I don't know the point of lasting longer on the battle ropes scene. If one person goes for 15 seconds on the battle ropes and another goes one minute, who works harder? Well, that depends on intensity, which was not measured in the movie. 

And when dissect different parts of the movie, a lot of things are taken out of context. Ah, I'm starting to feel like one of those movie critics that just bash movies instead of enjoying them for what they are. And as a guy who likes run of the mill action movies, that's not good. I'm sure a quick google search will highlight loads of people complaining about the film. I'll quickly sum up.

Overall, I feel the vegan vs meat argument is a poor way to go. Especially when you are trying to convert people and yet when you're lumping red meat in with processed meat. The World Health Organisation distinguishes the two https://www.who.int/features/qa/cancer-red-meat/en/ with "limited evidence" on red meat being group 1 carcinogenic. There's more details on this in my blog HERE. We have a problem with poor diet, and there is a link that people that have health issues eat meat. But that doesn't mean it's the cause either. 

For all the athletes that do great on a vegan diet, there are a helluva lot more that have succeeded while eating meat. Why didn't the Tennesse Titans win the Superbowl if they have a lot of vegan players? See how stupid that is? But yet it was ok for them to use it during the Diaz-McGregor fight? It's a weak argument. And I'm ranting again... the Titans lost that year to my 49ers, just saying. Ok, I'm done. I wish the movie just celebrated those that have made the changes and found great success. 

Years ago, it would have seemed impossible for a vegan athlete to excel at the highest level. Some have now. It might be for you, it might not. That depends on how you feel and whether you find it sustainable. 

Yep, that's quickly summed up. 

And if you liked the movie, great! If it inspired you to go vegan, fantastic. It did its job, and I hope it works out for you. Me? The next time I watch an Arnie movie, I'll stick with Jingle All The Way or Commando (that should have ranked higher)! 

Speaking about nutrition, I talk more in-depth about Intermittent Fasting (and how much I messed up last Saturday's to-do list) in this past week's podcast. You can check out HERE or by searching 'Coach Sean Fitness Podcast' wherever you download your podcasts.