What NOT to eat after a Pilates workout

Avoid red meat, high sugar foods before working out. End it with a healthy salad, porridge or sandwich, says Sheetal J Shah.

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One of the many secrets of staying in shape is to eat right before and after a good workout.

The right balance of food provides you with nutrition that is apt to prepare your body for the exercise and at the same time helps you recover and keeps you from starving after the session.

Pilates trainer Sheetal J Shah suggests the right way to eat and diet.

What should one eat before and after Pilates? 

Since Pilates involves moves that are all concentrated in your centre or core and also sends your legs overhead, big meals are not recommended beforehand but don't work out on empty stomach either. 

If you workout on an empty stomach, it leads to muscle loss.

Loss of muscle mass causes your metabolism to drop, making it much harder to lose weight.

Pre Pilates snacks or meals must have lean proteins, complex carbs and a small portion of healthy fats.

Certainly doing a full set of The Hundred and other abdominal exercises after a heavy meal is not going to feel terribly comfortable and Pilates is all about 'hollowing' and 'scooping' your abdominals, you may feel downright ill.

So make sure whatever you eat, it's a small portion and fairly light.

What you must avoid

Before

• Any food that causes wind, onions, garlic, beans, lentils, oily fish, cauliflower, cabbage and sprouts. 
• Too much fruit can cause fermentation in the gut that can cause wind.
• Avoid anything too heavy that takes a long time to digest such as red meat or heavy carbs
• Avoid high sugar, high carbs food as these are likely to cause a spike and subsequent crash in blood sugar levels 

After

• Post Pilates, you can go for more substantial depending on the time of the day go for a meal that contains quality low GI carbohydrates, protein and good fats. 
• Wholemeal wrap with hummus, beans and salad greens
• Porridge
• Poached eggs on grainy toast 
• Lean meat and salad sandwich 
• Quinoa salad or stir fry 
• Soup with the piece of super grainy bread 

Don't forget to drink plain, clean water before, during and after Pilates. Avoid sugary drinks. 

The right time to eat

A mini snack should be 30 to 45 minutes before class and heavy meal one hour before Pilates session.  

Some suggestions would be:

• Healthy nut mix 
• Banana or anyone fruit with peanut butter
• Low-fat yogurt or Greek yogurt 
• Hard egg boiled 
• Egg white scrambled or omelet
• Green smoothie 
• Hummus with carrots or celery 
• Slice of grainy toast with tomato or avocado

 Image published for representational purposes only.