My workout meal. Critiques and comments appreciated.

Hello all. This is the meal that I've been eating for a few months now prior - that is about 3-4 hours prior - to any kind of serious workout, "serious" referring to prolonged exercise over at least an hour's worth of time. This is mainly whenever I meet with friends at the gymnasium, go for a swim, etc. For smaller bouts of activity, such as "Hey I feel like doing handstands all of a sudden" I'm usually not running on this meal but on something else that's adequate. In any case, I just felt like sharing this and would like to hear other peoples' thoughts in terms of effectiveness and whatnot. At worst, it's a delicious meal that's worth cooking up if one's so inclined.

All it consists of is a mix of the following (variable amounts depends on time before workout and how hungry I am):

- 1-3 cups cooked rice

- 1-2 chopped carrots

- 1 handfull of small broccoli heads

- 1 handfull of chopped green/red/orange/yellow pepper. If I'm lucky I'm able to do a mix of all of them.

- 1-2 stalks of chopped celery

- 1 handfull of chopped sweet onion

- 2 cloves garlic (I've found out the hard way anything beyond that can be... potent )

- 1-2 pieces of tilapia or some other simple fish

- 1 small handfull of sunflower seeds

- Seasoning - I've been using oregano and basil

I have my own rice cooker, and with this rice cooker comes a steaming tray that sits above where the rice cooks. After letting the rice steam for a bit I put in the tray with all the above ingredients except the onion, garlic, sunflower seeds, and seasoning. After everything is cooked I add these ingredients afterwards that way their flavor isn't lost.

So how does this sound? Is there anything I may be missing that would make this a more effective meal? I've done squash and zucchini in the past and may add that in again. This time around (I'm cooking this very meal as I'm typing this) I'm considering adding a small amount of raisins to the mix to see what happens there. I've been considering some kind of small fruit to add in occasionally as well, such as a tangerine or pineapple - I've had success with tomato in the past.

So yeah, let me know what you all think. I've found myself very well energized with this meal every time I've gone to the gymnasium, even if it may be a bit overkill. If there's any alterations/critiques to be made I'd like to hear them, and again at worst this is a delicious meal for the taste buds - not an unhealthy one either. Thanks for reading!

I don't see much protein in there. You may wanna get some sort of meat

Razz, he may not necessarily need a lot of protein. If he feels energized after a meal like that and is progressing well in his training, then I would bet he's a carb type. I've seen a video or two of Tyler doing the WODs, and his strength is quite impressive. Carb types do very well on very little amount or protein.

There's actually an online test you can take on Mercola.com to help figure out what type you are. Here's the link if you're interested: http://nutritionaltyping.mercola.com/PreTest.aspx

That test will be interesting. Even if he is a carb type, he would probably not be hurt by adding some protein. The type tends to mean which should be dominante. I use high fat smoothies but they still have some carbs. A mix usually helps. It just may not be a lot.

Even carb types still need protein

This is your pre workout meal? Ideally you should be getting more protein.

Talapia tends to be farm raised and corn fed so are higher in omega-6. Sunflower seeds are also high in omega-6. Omega-6 is a pro inflammatory.

If you can ensure that your talapia is wild it will have better omega-3 ratios and the risk of mercury is still low. Or better yet swap it out for sardines (although I'm not sure what that will do for the taste) Go easy on the sunflower seeds or swap them out for maybe shredded coconut.

Just seems overly complicated to me. If you feel good though, who am I to argue? If you're really interested in what makes you tick, it would be worthwhile to systematically add or subtract ingredients to get a feel for what is necessary/unnecessary in a pre-workout meal for you. If effectiveness is your aim, I would imagine that much of this is unnecessary. If taste is what you're after though, keep on making the same thing.

I've often felt that that the meal was lacking protein content, partly because I like having vegetables in variety but also because the meat can be a bit more pricey. I will consider shifting the amount and seeing what that does though, since I would like to increase protein. Unfortunately I haven't been able to have any real kind of post-workout nutrition, or at least not with the semester being out - I usually hit my favorite dining hall immediately after rings or the weight room and eat up there, and I know I'm getting enough protein there.

It's an intriguing point about the inflammation that tilapia can cause, something I'll have to keep in mind and look into. I've run out now, and for meals in the immediate future I'm going to be using chicken or salmon since that's what I have in stock, or possibly venison if my girlfriend is feeling generous. I'll keep the point of the seeds in mind as well, since those were meant to add a bit of crunch to the taste, but also add in a small amount of fat and protein content. Shredded coconut sounds delicious though...

Also, I'll concede that the meal in its entirety is a bit superfluous, but that's primarily for a desire of flavor, as well as to make sure I cover as many vitamins and minerals as possible. I don't just want to chug liquid protein and go do my thing, but I want to be able to have a meal, one that I feel good knowing that I prepared with some time and creativity. I'll also concede that it may not just be the meal that gets me energized, since usually the simple thought of going to the gymnasium to flip around with my friends gets my adrenaline going on its own. That said, I know I have yet to go hungry or gas out very easily. While I'm sure the endocrine system plays a large role in that, I have to think my meal does too.

Thanks for all the input. The perspective's appreciated.