Foods That Decrease Your Stamina And Endurance (Surprising)
Stamina and endurance- these are the two superpowers for a healthy, active, and working body. Be it sports or a sedentary lifestyle, stamina and endurance are much needed everywhere.
To keep up with this, your body needs fuel. And that fuel is your ‘food’ and to the core, the nutrition you get from food.
Now, every food does not fulfill what you desire for your body nor all foods are your way towards getting better stamina and strength.
The key here is to consume the ‘right food’. If you eat wrong, you may face many health complications including curbed strength and early fatigue.
If you are in dilemma as to what are the ‘wrong foods’ here, we bring to you a list of some of the surprising foods that can kill your stamina and endurance.
You might be unaware of many of these foods actually harming you but here’s the catch- You can’t control everything in your life but you can definitely control what you put in your body.
Foods that can kill your stamina and endurance
- Milk
Dairy products, especially milk is a no-no when it comes to your pre-workout drinks. The sugars in milk are slow-digesting and thus can lead to an upset stomach during the game.
When your breathing becomes heavy during exercise, the mouth-coating sensation left by dairy may also be unpleasant. The same goes for yogurt and curd as well.
However, the good part is, optimum amounts of milk, yogurt, and other dairy products can be of great help in post-workout recovery due to the good amounts of protein, fat, and carbs in them. Thus it can be an integral part of your post-workout nutrition plan.
Also Read: Best Pre-Workout Meal : 10 Best Foods to Eat Before Workout
- Pasta
One of the most loved food and also a “called-so” source of pre-workout carb load, pasta is on a bit downside here.
Carbohydrate loading aims to boost your muscles’ glycogen reserves, a fuel that your body can convert to glucose as needed for energy. Too many carbohydrates too close to go-time will make you feel sluggish, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
For an endurance activity to kick off, you need to start two weeks prior. Increase your carbs slightly than instantly- to roughly 70% of your daily calories, while reducing fat consumption to maintain the same total calorie count.
It’s better to try out carb-loading beforehand in your game. And that does NOT mean just a day before or an hour before. Your body might respond differently in either condition.
- Fried food
Fried foods, however not a surprise addition to the list, are still something that quickly attracts the taste buds of people.
These foods are very high in fat and thus, they are very slow digesting. Moreover, fat molecules take a longer time and are difficult to be broken down and be used up for energy.
It’s evident that eating them soon before an exercise is a bad idea, but you should avoid them altogether.
Fast foods and fried foods make you feel way too heavy and sluggish and you might not want to indulge in a workout that day, clearly your loss.
- Orange Juice
Orange juice is a well-known detox drink and is considered a refreshing choice to boost your immune system but turns out, it is not an impressive idea to consume it pre-workout.
Orange juice is loaded with many natural sugars which can spike the blood sugar levels and leave you all tired. Generally, instead of fruit juices, whole fruits are a better option as a before-workout diet regime.
- Avocados
Avocados are a powerhouse of all the major nutrients that are wonderful for your fitness, but they also contain rich amounts of fiber and fat, which are not really a good option for your pre-workout munching.
You can eat avocados as a post-workout snack for sure since it contains a lot of B vitamins, minerals, and healthy fat, just what a recovering body would want to binge on!
- Alcohol
The most obvious and unsurprising food to make it into the list, alcohol is literally bad for everything related to your body and mind.
The nervous system is required for muscle fiber coordination and activation. While caffeine wakes it up, alcohol slows it down.
Booze comes along with many side effects, especially dehydration, which can linger far into the next day. To know the connection between dehydration and alcohol, checkout: Does Alcohol Dehydrate You?
Put the bottle away the night before if you know you’ll be doing a long run, bike ride, or training session the next day.
- High-fiber foods
High-fiber foods are an excellent gateway for good digestion and maintaining blood glucose levels but they fail as a pre-endurance activity food.
Eating foods high in fiber before a hard workout can lead to GI problems and a bad stomach. The incidences can be worse if you are consuming insoluble fibers which already do not dissolve in water making them hard to digest.
Also Read: 10 Foods High In Potassium You Don’t Want To Miss
Bottom Line
The whole point of consuming the right foods is to look after the time and amounts you are consuming the diet for.
I wouldn’t suggest you skipping or avoiding any food in your life, but I will definitely make a note that you don’t consume an excess of what you shouldn’t be consuming and don’t go for less of what is the most required in your diet.
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