AsiaSpa - July-August 2017

SpaNutrition

52 AsiaSpa July/August 2017

Writer Elle Kwan

The Good Snack

A well-chosen pre- and post-workout light bite helps you go the distance

FIT WOMAN/THINKSTOCK

If you were to catch Piloxing

teacher and personal fitness instructor

Sandra Chung-Wood mid-dash to her next

workout, you’d likely find in her bag boiled

eggs and a sweet potato. “I have them in my

bag every day believe it or not,” she says.

These nutritious snacks are her pre- and

post-workout standbys.

Because for anyone who works out

regularly, every meal is the most important

meal of the day. And planning what to eat

before and after exercise is essential.

If you want to get the most from any

exercise, prepping like the pros will help

you go the distance. For Chung-Wood, who

teaches high-intensity workouts that burn

up to 1,200 calories over an hour session,

maintaining good protein and carbs intake

is a must. “You shouldn’t overeat before

class,” she says, “because you’ll actually

feel sluggish as you sweat.”

But don’t under eat either. Since carbs

provide the energy that fuels effective

exercise, set yourself up for a good workout

with some rice crackers, toast or a granola

bar up to three hours but within 30 minutes

of your session, or you could risk feeling

tired or weak. Chung-Wood, gears up with

homemade almond milk, and slow energy

release oatmeal sprinkled with chia and

hemp seeds for protein.

In rigorous exercise like this, the body

can burn through the fuel from an earlier

snack and begin to use energy stored in the

muscles. How you replenish afterwards is

important because your body uses protein to

rebuild the muscle tissue used. Even if you

don’t feel like eating, you should within 45

to 60 minutes after a workout.

“Repair, rehydrate and refuel – those

‘3R’s’ are very important,” says Chung-

Wood, who often chooses protein-loaded

omelettes with wholegrain toast, and

coconut water with fresh-pressed apple,

beetroot and carrot juice spiked with

healing ginger after her last class.

We hear a lot about protein, because

it is so essential in repairing the body after

strain. Current guidelines recommend that

men require 56 grams of protein daily and

for healthy women, 46 grams. But we need

more than just protein to fully serve the

body.

“ B y r e p l a c i n g a d e q u a t e p r o t e i n ,

carbohydrates, fluid and electrolytes, the

body will recover better,” says Susan Chung,

a Hong Kong-based PhD and registered

dietician. Protein and carbs taken together

can supercharge your body’s repair. To get

more precise, Chung advises replenishing

• another R for the list – your body with
  20 grams of protein and 1–1.5 grams of
  carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight
  after outdoor endurance training, preferably
  within 30 minutes of finishing. As a guide
  look to include 3:1 carbs to protein. Sweet
  potatoes with chicken or salmon, tuna with
  pasta or quinoa, and Greek yoghurt with
  oatmeal or fruit all combine good doses of
  both. A protein shake and banana, some
  hummus and pita bread or toast with nut
  butter are good quick-fix solutions, and
  lighter if it’s late and you are concerned a
  big meal will impact sleep.
  Replacing fluids lost through sweat also
  helps the body repair. Weight loss seen
  immediately after a workout session is
  most often attributed to sweat and Chung
  recommends replacing 150 per cent
  worth of any weight loss with fluid and
  electrolytes. Do this by weighing yourself
  before your session and again afterwards.
  So, Chung says, if you were 50kg before
  exercise and 49kg after exercise, you
  should replenish with 1.5 litres of fluid and
  electrolytes – do this within two hours of
  finishing to maximise bodily repair.
  Around January this year, Benjamin
  Tang, a fitness trainer, and Fitness Best
  Asia’s 2017 ‘Group Exercise Leader of