I was so embarrassed for her. After a grueling 45 minutes on

the Stairmaster, Kathy rewarded herself with a bag of Ruffles

and a Diet Coke. Yet still insatiable, she drank two breakfast

drinks and finished off little Emily’s last five Oreos.

Kathy’s post workout binges are nothing new. Neither are the

extra 10 pounds living around her hips that she can’t seem to

lose. But once Kathy puts these simple three steps to good use,

she'll smile gaily as her last 10 pounds will melt away.

Step 1: Eat at least 45 minutes before you exercise.

Ok, if you are now envisioning guilt eating and compensation

exercising, stop. This is not about eating a chocolate bar now

and exercising it off later. It’s about, giving your body the

energy it needs to sustain a good 45-60 minute workout.

Eat a light snack consisting of 300-500 calories. This could be

a bagel, with a slice of turkey and a whole tomato. Or it could

be a protein bar.

The point is to get some carbohydrates, proteins and fats in

your system now so that it has something to run on later. With

this pre-workout meal, carbohydrates are critical because you

want energy for your workout. Eating 45 minutes before a

workout will not make you fat. If anything, it will speed up

your metabolism if you do this regularly.

Step 2: Drink lots of water while exercising

Your body should be 70% water and it knows this. When

exercising, you could easily lose up to three pounds of water

during one exercise. Please don’t beat yourself up if you don’t

lose three pounds. I watch women get upset at the gym everyday

after their post-workout weighing ritual, if they haven’t lost

weight. The weight will come off.

If you drink while exercising, you may be able to exercise

longer. But more importantly your body will not have to cry out

for water after you finish exercising.

Also, water can give you the sensation of fullness so that you

can calmly wait for your post workout meal without getting

ravenous.

Step 3. Eat a meal at least 45 minutes after you workout.

Even if you are not hungry after your workout, you should train

yourself to eat within 45 minutes of exercising. The body is

patient and it will take a lot of mistreatment up to a point.

The problem with waiting until you are hungry to eat is that

the body continues doing gazillion operations until you decide

to eat. This usually happens when you get the “Gosh, I'm hungry

now!” feeling.

In truth, at this stage, you’re not hungry, you’re famished and

you have no time or patience to be judicious with what you eat.

What’s more, you’re more likely to overeat.

So, feed your body with a 300-500 calorie meal within 45

minutes of exercising. Again, make sure that this meal has

carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

For the post-workout meal, eating a lean protein proves

critical because your body is in repair mode and it needs

protein to rebuild your body.

If you can avoid post-workout binges for the next five weeks,

yu can certainly melt away those last 10 pounds. Here’s the

secret to never having an excuse for not eating your pre and

post-workout meals: Make your meals simple and place them in

your purse or gym bag.

On occasion, your can even replace a meal with a well-balanced

protein shake. Now, no more embarrassing post-workout pig

fests, you know what to do instead.