Should You Eat Before or After a Workout? Here’s What to Know

That workout slump? It might be starting in your kitchen.

What you eat before and after exercise plays a huge role in how energized you feel, how hard you can push, and how fast you bounce back. The right snack can power you through a tough session. The wrong one can leave you dragging halfway through your warm-up.

Timing matters too. Fueling your body around your workouts can help you train smarter, recover faster, and feel stronger — without adding stress to your already busy routine.

Want to make every workout count? Here's how to sync your meals with your movement and unlock the benefits of fueling with intention.

Is it Better to Eat Before or After a Workout?

The answer depends on your goals and training preferences. If you're doing high-intensity workouts or long sessions, then eating a light meal or snack between one and three hours before your workout is a good idea. 

For shorter, more moderate workouts, it's generally better to train on an empty stomach and eat after your workout, especially if you're interested in fat loss.

How Meal Timing Can Shape Your Workout Results

You already know what you eat matters — but when you eat can be just as important, especially if you’re aiming for specific fitness goals. The relationship between food and exercise is more nuanced than the old-school “protein shake or bust” mindset. In fact, timing your meals with intention can help you get more from your workouts and support your overall wellbeing.

Let’s break it down.

Your Body’s Clock Affects Your Progress

Your body runs on a circadian rhythm. You likely know this internal clock as what tells you when to fall asleep and when to wake up. But it also influences how your body metabolizes food, builds muscle, and uses energy.

A study published in Current Diabetes Reports tracked 3,362 adults and found that those who ate dinner earlier in the evening lost more weight and body fat than those who dined late. The takeaway? Eating earlier may help your body burn calories more efficiently and reduce fat storage.

That doesn’t mean you need to overhaul your schedule completely. But if you tend to eat big meals late at night, it might be worth experimenting with earlier dinners to support your fitness goals.

What About Protein and Muscle Gains?

Here’s some good news for your gains: When it comes to building muscle, the timing of your protein intake may not matter as much as you think.

Protein consumption supports muscle performance whether it’s eaten before or after exercise, according to a 2024 study in Frontiers in Nutrition. That’s a big relief if you’ve ever felt pressured to gulp down a shake seconds after your last rep.

In other words, it’s the total protein you get throughout the day that makes the biggest difference — not the exact minute you consume it. Focus on getting a steady stream of high-quality protein, and your muscles will thank you.

Timing Your Meals Around Workouts

Figuring out whether you should eat before or after a workout and how to get the timing right for both shouldn't be complicated. Just knowing that your body has different needs depending on when you exercise and how long you train can make all the difference in your fueling. 

The Ideal Window for Post-Workout Meals

The famous anabolic window, which refers to the period immediately after a workout when your muscles are recovering, isn’t as short as health gurus once claimed. Most research suggests that eating within two hours after your workout gives you the best results for muscle repair and glycogen replenishment. 

To personalize your post-workout nutrition, you’ll want to pay attention to how your body responds to different approaches. MyFitnessPal is a convenient mobile app that helps you track meals and follow a simple macros guide to see how your nutrition supports energy and performance goals. This app is available for free to Wellhub members and can help you identify patterns and optimize your timing.

Adjusting Meal Timing Based on Exercise Intensity

Different types of workouts demand different nutrition strategies. Here’s how to adjust your meal timing based on workout intensity:

• Low intensity: You can exercise comfortably on an empty stomach or with just a light snack beforehand.
   
• Moderate intensity: Eat a balanced meal two to three hours before or a lighter snack one to two hours prior.
   
• High intensity: Eat a carb-rich meal three to four hours beforehand.

Through Apple Fitness+, Wellhub members can access guided workouts that teach them how to align their nutrition choices with different training intensities for better results.

The Benefits of Eating Before a Workout

Fueling up before you start moving is generally a good way to improve your training sessions and get more out of the time you spend working out. 

Eating the right foods at the right time can help you avoid sluggish workouts so you show up energized and ready to push your limits. These are the most important advantages of eating pre-work out:

• Boosts energy levels: Your muscles rely on glycogen stores for fuel during intense workouts. When these stores are topped off from a recent meal, you’ll have steady energy throughout your workout instead of hitting that dreaded wall halfway through your training session. Think of it like filling up your gas tank before you go on a long road trip.
   
• Enhances performance quality: Eating a carb-heavy meal about two hours before exercise helps athletes burn more carbs for energy, increase their effort level, and improve their breathing efficiency during workouts, according to a study from the Advanced Exercise and Health Science journal. This means you’ll be able to lift heavier weights or maintain sustained intensity for longer, which can make a massive difference in your results.
   
• Improves focus and motivation: Low blood sugar can leave you feeling foggy and unmotivated, making even simple workouts feel excruciating. A balanced pre-workout meal helps you keep steady glucose levels so your mind and body are ready to hit the gym at full throttle.
   
• Maximizes workout quality: Whole foods like oats, rice, honey, and bananas can boost workout performance, according to a 2023 study from the Nutrients journal. These natural options give you plenty of steady-releasing energy without the crash that comes with processed pre-workout supplements high in refined sugar. Real food also gives you extra nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fiber that support your overall health.
   
• Reduces muscle breakdown: Your body is less likely to break down muscle tissue for energy during your workout when it has readily available fuel from food. This helps you keep the gains you’ve worked hard to build.

Post-Workout Nutrition Essentials

What you eat after your workout, including your post-workout snacks, might be even more important than what you consume before it. This will have a huge impact on how well your body recovers. While pre-workout nutrition helps fuel your performance, post-workout nutrition determines how well your body recovers and grows stronger from the training you just finished. 

Your body is primed to absorb nutrients more efficiently right after exercise, so what you eat and when you eat it can boost your gains.

How Protein Helps Muscle Repair After Exercise

Protein is one of the most important foods to focus on after a workout as it’s what your muscles need to repair and grow. Every time you exercise, you’re creating microscopic tears in your body. That’s why you feel sore after a particularly good workout, and your body reparing that damage is how your muscles get stronger. Providing them with an adequate amount of protein will help them fully heal these tears and grow bigger.

The recommended amount of protein consumption after a workout is 20 to 40 grams of protein within two hours, according to the International Society of Sports Nutrition. This range gives your muscles the amino acids they need to get started with the repair process and begin building new muscle tissue. 

Whether you choose a protein shake, Greek yogurt, chicken breast, or plant-based options like lentils and chickpeas is up to you. The important part is consistently hitting this target after each training session to help your muscles as they help you grow.

Role of Carbohydrates in Recovery

Carbs can easily get overlooked in post-workout nutrition conversations, but they’re absolutely essential for proper recovery. Your muscles store carbohydrates as glycogen, which gets depleted during exercise. A good rule of thumb is to consume 0.4 grams of carbohydrates for each pound you weigh — so 600 grams for someone who weighs 150 pounds. If you don’t consume enough carbs, then your body might actually break down protein for energy instead of using it for muscle repair.

The type of carbohydrates you choose can also be a big deal. Glucose and fructose are two simple sugars that your body processes differently. Glucose gets absorbed quickly into your bloodstream and muscles, while fructose mainly replenishes liver glycogen stores.

You’ll find glucose in foods like white rice and potatoes, while fructose is in fruits like apples and berries. It’s important to eat both glucose and fructose after a workout, as it can improve endurance performance by over 30% compared to eating glucose alone, according to a 2025 study from Sports Medicine.

Factors to Consider for Personalizing Nutrition

Your ideal meal times aren’t a precise science. So, it’s a good idea to focus on creating a system that aligns with your preferences and goals. What works perfectly for your workout buddy might leave you feeling sluggish or uncomfortable. This is why it’s so important to try different things and see what feels right. 

Consider this when personalizing your approach:

• Evaluate your workout intensity: A 20-minute walk requires very different fuel preparation than a 90-minute run. Longer, more intense workouts need more planning for pre-workout fueling and post-workout recovery.
   
• Align your diet with your preferences: Some people feel nauseated when working out with food in their stomach, while others feel weak without fuel. Your digestive system and eating patterns play a role in determining when and how much should you eat before or after a workout.

Build a Balanced Nutrition Plan For Your Workout Routine

Finding the right balance between pre- and post-workout nutrition doesn’t have to feel like solving a math problem. As long as you tailor your approach to your specific goals — whether it's muscle building or weight loss — you can reach your fitness objectives more efficiently.

Having the right tools makes building these habits so much easier. With Wellhub, you get access to MyFitnessPal for tracking your nutrition and macros. Add to the mix Apple Fitness+ for guided workouts that help you understand how fuel and fitness work together. It’s a simple way to take the confusion out of workout nutrition.

You might already have access to Wellhub through your employee benefits. Check here to see if you’re eligible and start building better nutrition habits today. If not, start a petition to bring Wellhub to your company and help make personalized wellness support more accessible for everyone.  

References:

• Davis, Rochelle, et al. “The Impact of Meal Timing on Risk of Weight Gain and Development of Obesity: A Review of the Current Evidence and Opportunities for Dietary Intervention.” Current Diabetes Reports, vol. 22, no. 4, Apr. 2022, pp. 147–155, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-022-01457-0.
• Kerksick, Chad M., et al. “International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Nutrient Timing.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, vol. 14, no. 1, 1 Apr. 2022.
• Lak, Mohammadyasin, et al. “Timing Matters? The Effects of Two Different Timing of High Protein Diets on Body Composition, Muscular Performance, and Biochemical Markers in Resistance-Trained Males.” Frontiers in Nutrition, vol. 11, 23 May 2024, https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2024.1397090.
• Naderi, Alireza, et al. “Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise: A Narrative Review of a Food First Approach.” Nutrients, vol. 15, no. 6, 11 Mar. 2023, p. 1367, www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/15/6/1367, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061367.
• Sports Medicine. “Nutritional Strategies to Improve Post-Exercise Recovery and Subsequent Exercise Performance: A Narrative Review.” 12 Apr. 2025, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02213-6.
• Zdzieblik, Denise, et al. “Effect of a High Carbohydrate Pre-Exercise Meal on Metabolic and Performance-Related Parameters in Male Athletes Following Two Different Strategies to Improve Fat Utilization: An Exploratory Examination.” Advanced Exercise and Health Science, vol. 1, no. 2, 1 June 2024, pp. 129–137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aehs.2024.05.004.