5 Foods to Fuel Your Cold-weather Workout
It's true any time of year: In order to do work, you've got to have fuel. If you leave for a morning run with an empty stomach, your body will eventually act the same way a car with no gas behaves; it'll attempt to do what it's being asked to do, but instead it'll sputter and stop. The same is true of swimming, weightlifting or cycling. Without fuel, it can't be done effectively.
This exercise truth is magnified in the winter due to the fact that you need heat to survive. Fortunately, the digestion process not only distributes energy throughout the human body, it creates heat as it does so [source: Clark]. It's the physiological equivalent of putting coal in a furnace. In fact, approximately an hour after eating, the body will create 10 percent more heat through a process known as thermogenesis [source: Clark].
The key is to find the fuels that burn quickly and easily but continue to provide energy for extended efforts. That energy can come from fats, protein or carbohydrates. About half of the energy used while exercising comes from carbs. Fats are also needed but in much smaller amounts. Finally, protein is crucial for rebuilding the microscopic tears in muscles during workouts [source: Snyder].
Click ahead to learn about the most effective foods to push you through a tough workout and keep you warm.
5: Oatmeal
This one is hard to beat for several reasons. You don't have to eat much of it -- less than a cup of oatmeal prior to your workout will do the trick. It's all natural, so you don't have to worry about harmful processing and unnecessary chemicals and additives. It's packed full of carbohydrates, which is exactly what your body needs for almost instant energy that'll also sustain you.
Oatmeal also has the feel of a comfort food. Since it's warm and it's often associated with childhood meals, it provides actual heat to a cold body and has the potential to give you a psychological boost as you head into the wintry elements.
If oatmeal seems a little bland for your tastes, remember that it doesn't have to be served plain. One of the tastiest oatmeal toppings is a sweet treat. It's honey.
Click ahead to learn more about the reasons honey is a great cold weather workout food.
4: Honey
Honey, like oatmeal, is a natural food that can give the body a delicious surge of energy. It's easily digestible, helping it enter the bloodstream quickly. And its sweetness makes it taste like candy!
The added benefit of honey comes in the number of ways it can be served. It's a perfect topping for hot oatmeal or as an ingredient mixed into hot tea. Better yet, many runners squirt a couple ounces of honey into their water bottles. If they drink two bottles an hour -- an ideal amount -- they'll also consume several hundred calories to keep their momentum going [source: Made to Run].
Honey also works well on our next food item: whole wheat bread.
3: Whole Wheat Bread
Notice how the natural component runs throughout these foods? There are many different types of bread you could toast prior to a winter workout, but they are not created equal. The husks are often removed and the grain is bleached.
By the time it reaches your mouth in bread-form, it lacks the nutrients it originally had [source: Ighani]. Whole wheat bread provides carbohydrates plus protein and lots of nutrients. Whole wheat toast is an ideal vehicle for other helpful workout fuels like honey or all natural jams and jellies. Add peanut butter for an added protein kick.
Next up, a fruit that's powered many a winter workout.
If you need potassium and carbohydrates -- and we all do, especially people exercising in extreme conditions -- then bananas can meet that need. The nutrition provided by bananas makes them one of the very best options for exercisers, whether it's a before or after workout food [source: Snyder]. Its handiness is often overlooked. What food, in its original form, comes with a covering that allows you to eat a little at a time without even getting your hands messy? Just be careful not to throw the peel in the path of a trailing cyclist or runner.
Our next food is also quite handy, but it doesn't grow in the wild.
If you've ever tried to eat while breathing hard and moving about in the cold air -- and we're guessing you have -- you know that it can be a challenging sport in and of itself. You also know that the nutritional value of a food doesn't matter if you can't get it into your stomach. Perhaps it's no wonder energy gels have become so popular. The tiny pouches, which go by a variety of names, offer amino acids and carbohydrates to sustain prolonged efforts. Be advised, however, some energy gels are little more than sugary candies. Label reading is key to getting a healthy boost [source: Esmont].
It's not easy to get out on a cold day for a tough workout, but there's no need to do it on an empty stomach when you have these healthy and handy options.