You don’t need to be an elite athlete to optimize your performance. Regardless of your level or experience, you just need to make sure your nutrition aligns with your specific goals. If your goals are aimed at optimizing performance and recovery, your priority should be eating the right amount to fuel your training and your recovery. Today’s post will give you some of the basics on what to eat, when to eat it, and how food plays a role in your performance in and out of the gym.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “EAT FOR PERFORMANCE”?

When focusing on fat loss, we want to keep things simple. There is no need to focus on what to eat and when. However, if you’re looking to feel your best during workouts, it is important to consider the role your nutrition plays in maximizing your performance and recovery. 

Eating for optimal performance means you should be eating at maintenance calories or in a calorie surplus, and that your intake should change in conjunction with changes in your training.

MAINTENANCE CALORIES || eating as many calories as you burn

CALORIE SURPLUS || eating more calories than you burn

If you want to get stronger, you must eat more in order to build muscle mass. If you want to get faster, train harder, or perform better, you must eat more in order to fuel your training and your recovery. If you have performance goals, it is NOT the correct time to be in a calorie deficit (or eating fewer calories than you are burning)!

While you can still see changes in your body composition when eating for performance, you probably won’t be at your very leanest if your training is a priority. And while you may be healthy because you’re prioritizing high-quality food and staying active, you may not be at your 100% healthiest if you’re training with a lot of volume.

Our goals are constantly evolving. Rather than worrying about being your leanest, healthiest, and strongest, make sure you’re doing all you can to focus on your primary goal and achieve the best results possible. You may not focus on improving performance forever, but if that is your current goal, making sure that your dietary approach matches that goal will help your hard work pay off.  

PERFORMANCE NUTRITION: WHAT TO EAT AND WHEN TO EAT IT

While eating the right amount of calories for your specific goals is the biggest priority, making sure your diet is balanced in macronutrients is also important to optimize your performance. Each macronutrient plays a distinct and essential role in our bodies:

PROTEIN ||  helps us maintain and build muscle mass and repair tissues after training

CARBOHYDRATES || are our main source of energy and aid in helping our bodies recover

FATS || help us regulate hormones and keep our nervous systems functioning.

An athlete with performance goals should also prioritize quality foods, quality sleep, and recovery. Meal timing isn’t the biggest factor that will affect your performance, but eating the right food at the right time will help you stay properly fueled and recovered, and paying a little more attention to the makeup of pre- and post-workout meals can be beneficial.

YOUR PRE-WORKOUT MEAL

On training days, your pre- and post-workout meals should be tailored around your workouts. Eating the right food at the right time will help you stay properly fueled and recover. Your pre-workout meal should be consumed within 1-2 hours before your workout. If you work out early in the morning, consider your last meal consumed as your “pre-workout meal.” Whether it is dinner or a nighttime snack, try to consume ~30% of your carbs with your last meal of the night.

CARBS: Aim to consume ~30-35% of your total daily carbohydrates in the eating window before your workout. Choose fast-digesting carb sources such as fruit, potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, or cereal. 

FAT: Try to keep your pre-workout meal lower in fat.

PROTEIN: Your pre-workout meal should be moderately high in protein. When choosing a protein, opt for lean sources like chicken breast, egg whites, or a protein shake.

YOUR POST-WORKOUT MEAL

The macro breakdown of your post-workout meal is similar to that of your pre-workout meal. This meal is essential for refueling and recovering and should be eaten within a few hours of completing your workout.

If you find it difficult to eat after a workout, this is a great opportunity to add a shake to your day. A protein shake with added oats or paired with a banana are both quick and easy options that give you the nutrients you need after a workout. 

CARBS: Consume another ~30% of your total daily carbs right after your workout. Again, stick with fast-digesting carb sources such as fruits, potatoes, rice, pasta, oats, or cereal. 

FAT: Fat should stay low in your immediate post-workout meal.

PROTEIN: Make it a priority to consume some lean protein right after your workout.

BALANCED PRE-WORKOUT AND POST-WORKOUT MEAL AND SNACK IDEAS

• Protein Oats

• Oat Muffin, bagel, or English muffin + Greek yogurt

• Turkey sandwich

• Rice and some chicken

• Sweet potatoes and lean ground turkey (like our fave BBQ turkey hash)

• Smoothie (protein powder, berries, frozen banana) or Smoothie Bowl

• Fruit + Greek yogurt

• Banana or dried fruit + cottage cheese

• Protein bar (look for ones that have at least 12-15g protein and less than 10g of fat - RX bar, Clif Builder's Bar, Built Bar)

• A list of our top easy workout meals and snacks

We often feel frustrated when we are seeing positive composition changes but not feeling 100% in the gym, or when we are constantly setting PRs but see the number on the scale stay steady. While it is absolutely possible to see some improvements in performance while actively losing body fat, eating for optimum performance and eating for aesthetics do not necessarily go hand in hand. 

Pause and consider your performance and nutrition goals and make sure that there is alignment between the two so that you can perform your best, feel your best, and ensure that all your hard work is paying off.

Grab our free guide on Fueling for Performance to learn how to optimize both your nutrition and your time in and out of the gym.