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Should you eat before or after a workout? It depends on your gender
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If you want to lose weight when you work out, youre in luck: a new study has found the perfect time to eat if you want to burn fat. - photo by Herb Scribner
If you want to lose weight when you work out, youre in luck: Science has just found the right time for you to eat when you want to hit the gym and burn fat.

For men, the best time to work out is before eating, where as it's after working out for women, the study says.

In the study, which was featured on BBCs recent Trust Me Im a Doctor program, men who worked out before eating burned 8 percent more fat than those who did so after, while women burned 22 percent more fat after eating than those who ate before.

The study said this is because men, who tend to be more muscular than women, will use carbohydrates as fuel. So when men eat before exercising, the exercise only uses the energy from the carbohydrates, which doesnt allow them to burn fat, Daily Mail reported.

Meanwhile, whatever a man eats after exercising will only be used to store more energy for the next workout, the study said.

Men get a better effect if they exercise fast [as in don't eat] as they're putting more stress on the muscle to burn more fuel, so the muscles burn more fat, Dr. Adam Collins, lead researcher of the study, told Daily Mail.

But women will more often burn fat as a way to conserve carbs, Daily Mail reported. When women eat carbs, the energy is stored in the body, unlike a mans. So a workout immediately targets their fat, not the energy and muscle produced by the carbs, Daily Mail reported.

Women have more fat around hips, bums and tums, better release of fatty acids into the blood, hormonal differences which mean they can be better and more frugal at conserving glucose [sugar from carbohydrates] and burning fat, Collins said. This is probably an evolutionary advantage to do with pregnancy. If women are better at managing their fuels they have glucose to spare for the foetus.

Though this study offers a guiding light for people on when and when not to exercise, its not a solid answer. After all, theres been an ongoing debate for years about when is the best time to work out and eat.

Some recommend always eating after a workout, especially food that can help people grow muscles and recover the body after exercise. As Mens Fitness suggests, it can be especially important to eat a meal 45 minutes after exercising when your body is the most responsive with absorbing carbohydrates and protein.

But theres also been some suggestions about eating before a workout, mostly to provide energy for physical activities. Rebecca Scritchfield, a sports nutritionist, said food often acts as energy to give people the push they need to perform a workout.

It's this simple, she wrote. Cars don't go far without adequate gas. Planes don't fly without jet fuel. Why would our body machine operate without food fuel?

Even though there seems to be a divide, the best method may be eating before and after a workout.

Dr. Nancy Cohen, the head of the nutrition department at the University of Massachusetts, told Time magazine that when you exercise and eat depends on what youre trying to gain out of a workout. And sometimes your exercise routine requires you to tweak your diet.

For example, she said it might be a good idea to pack in some carbs, especially complex ones, like whole grains and vegetables, before hitting the gym, since they will act as fuel to increase your workout potential. Other carbs, like cookies and processed foods, will only increase your weight and not your energy, Time reported.

In general, youll want to eat a meal high in carbs and protein and low in fat roughly three to four hours before you exercise, Cohen told Time.

After your workout, eating is also recommended, depending on what youre trying to accomplish.

Cohen suggests eating or drinking some protein to help build muscles. Though its also important to limit the amount of protein you consume, as too much can lead to kidney damage and weak bones, Time reported.
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Have You Seen This? Street musician slays with clarinet
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Better than almost every face-melting guitar or drum solo. - photo by Facebook video screenshot

THE BIG EASY — Yeah, yeah, we all know that New Orleans is stuffed to the gills will incredible musicians.

But knowing that fact and then hearing that fact are two different things. You can step into any number of jazz clubs on any given night on Bourbon Street, and you’ll probably be impressed with virtually every act. Or you can sit at home on your comfy couch and watch this featured video.

In the video, you’ll see a woman who is in the groove. She is swinging hard, and wailing on her clarinet with a practiced expertise that makes it sounds so easy.

From note one you’ll be drawn in; your appreciation will grow with every second, and then your face will melt off when you realize how incredible she really is.

If you’ve never played a woodwind or a brass, you may not know everything that comes with a performance like this. Lung capacity and breath control are huge factors in keeping your notes clear and loud, and hitting those high notes is especially difficult.

So when this woman hits that high note and holds it for several seconds, you know you’re dealing with an exceptional musician. It means she has worked hard for years to develop skill on top of her natural talent, and we get to benefit.

It kinda makes you wonder how we let people get away with mumble rap and autotune when talent like this exists in the world.

I wish this video were longer, and I wish I had more information about this woman, but as it is, we’ll just have to appreciate the little flavor of New Orleans jazz posted by the Facebook group Clarinet Life.

Martha Ostergar is a writer who delights in the ridiculous that internet serves up, which means she's more than grateful that she gets to cruise the web for amazing videos to highlight for your viewing pleasure.
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