A question I often get from my clients is “what should I eat before training?”  Since most of my clients have weight loss as their primary goal they should follow this advice.  To Burn more fat during your workouts you should avoid eating fructose (fruits) or high glycemic carbs to burn more fat.   The best types of meals to eat before training are ones that have protein, good fats and low glycemic carbs.  The amino acids from the protein eaten prior to training will prevent muscle breakdown during training.  If your body needs protein and there is none available then your body will start to break down muscle tissue for it’s protein requirements, which will in turn slow down your metabolism.  The smart fats will enhance the anabolic response from your workout.

Avoiding high glycemic carbs prior to working out will make your body burn fat for fuel instead of carbs.  This is even maginified more when fructose is consumed.  Fructose is found in fruits and in most energy/sweetened drinks.

The bottom line is that both the glycemic index and fructose content of the Pre Workout Meal will dictate what is being burned as fuel-fat or carbs.  Even for endurance athletes they should eat like this to burn more fat during their workouts.  This is if their muscle glycogen levels are full.

So for people who are trying to lose fat the bottom line is this:  for your pre Workout Meal eat protein with smart fats and maybe some green vegetables to lose the most amount of fat possible.  I would save eating fruits until later in the evening for maximum fat burning, plus they will help you sleep better at night.