Fuel Your Fitness Routine

Looking for a burst of energy before heading to the gym or hitting the road for your daily run? Here’s what experts say about three popular breakfast options.

Good
Sports drinks, such as R.W. Knudsen’s Recharge, are hydrating, convenient carbohydrate-loaded meals-in-a-bottle, but they are also often packed with megadoses of sugar. And the fructose from the fruit juices can slow gastric emptying and result in intestinal upset. “Not everyone needs sports drinks to stay adequately hydrated, especially drinks that have so many calories,” says registered dietician, Joan Salge Blake, LDN, clinical assistant professor at Boston University.

Better
An organic apple. Portable and easy to eat quickly, Salge Blake says apples are low in calories and provide the carbohydrates needed during a work out.

Best
One cup of fortified, whole-wheat cereal and nonfat milk. Calcium and vitamin D feeds your bones while the protein and carbohydrates in cereal aid the rebuilding of tissue after exercise. “Whole-wheat cereal lowers blood lactate more effectively than energy drinks,” says Lynne Kammer, who led a University of Texas at Austin study on the effects of eating cereal before exercising.