How 5 Of London’s Best Female Fitness Bloggers Refuel

They have ripped abs and an insatiable appetite for protein, but these five leading ladies work hard for their fuel. Whilst we’re working out our fingers scrolling their Instagram feeds for fitspiration, London’s best female fitness bloggers are meal prepping, bench pressing and snapping healthy selfies in their favourite leggings. 

For these results-oriented bloggers, food and fitness go hand in hand. So we went behind the scenes, recruiting five of London’s favourite fitness ‘grammers, bloggers and vloggers, to find out what time of day is best for a workout, how to refuel post-sweat and why it even matters.

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Hazel Wallace | The Food Medic

1. What time of day do you prefer to workout?

During the week, I like to workout in the late evening as it helps me unwind after a busy day of work. On the weekends, however I like to train in the mornings and tend to take my sessions outside – particularly now that the summer weather is creeping in!

2. How and when do you refuel post-workout?

After I work out, I always have a protein shake and a banana or a handful of raisins. I have recently launched my own protein range with The Natural Whey Co. – my favourite flavour is chocolate peanut!  Following this, 2-3 hours post training I eat a balanced meal which is high in protein and complex carbohydrates such as grilled chicken, roasted vegetables and roasted butternut squash.

3. Why is refuelling post-workout so important for you?

I train really hard but I like to refuel even harder! It’s really important to me that I eat, not only the right type of food, but enough food to ensure I’m supplying my body with enough energy to build and repair my muscles. This is why I choose a mixture of simple and complex sugars such as dried fruit and oats, to help replenish my glycogen stores and allow my muscles to grow!

www.hazelwallace.co.uk

Follow Hazel on Instagram and Twitter 

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Carly Rowena | Personal Trainer and Fitness Blogger

1. What time of day do you prefer to workout?

For me my workouts have to be completed when I have my most amount of energy, motivation and head space, so for the past year it’s been post breakfast around 7:30 to 8am. I also have to fit workouts around clients and mealtimes to make sure I don’t flake out or lose energy levels, plus, the gym is so quiet in the morning which enables me to really make the most of my routine and with little rest for maximum results.

2. How and when do you refuel post-workout?

Post workout I normally refuel with a banana and litre of water. Once I’ve showered I’m straight back into teaching clients. If I’m feeling extra hungry I’ll make myself a green tea and blueberry smoothie and sometimes add a spoon of peanut butter for days when I’m craving everything in sight.

3. Why is refuelling post-workout so important for you?

During exercise your body breaks down tissues and uses energy (primarily carbs) stored in the blood, liver and muscle. Replenishing the energy lost in the muscle is essential for muscle recovery and eating properly post-exercise is crucial to ensure that your workouts are productive.

www.carlyrowena.com

Follow Carly on YouTube, Instagram and Twitter

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Cat Meffan | Imperfect Matter

1. What time of day do you prefer to workout?

I’m definitely more of a morning workout bunny. Especially when it comes to running, I have to get that done before I eat anything. Other forms of fitness I’m happy to slip in whenever I can throughout the day, but I do feel so much more energised when I’ve done my workout first thing.

2. How and when do you refuel post-workout?

I don’t really get hungry straight after a workout, so I just rehydrate with water or coconut water and then about 30-45mins after, depending on how peckish I’m feeling, I’ll either have some fruit or a bowl of homemade granola with greek yoghurt and berries. When I go running in the early hours, I’ll always have my green breakfast smoothie afterwards, which gives me that extra energy boost for the day ahead.

3. Why is refuelling post-workout so important?

It’s key to refuel, so that our muscles don’t feel as fatigued as time goes on. I know that if I leave it too long after a workout to eat something, not only will my body start to suffer, but I’ll start to feel mentally tired too. What we eat, and how soon we should eat it, is always being argued by experts depending on what form of exercise is being done, so if you’re not sure, then it’s good to stick to something light and nutritious.

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Lucy Mountain | The Fashion Fitness Foodie

1. What time of day do you prefer to workout?

I am one of those annoying morning people. Yep, I know – we are a rare breed.

My body-clock refuses to let me have lie-in’s so I usually hit the gym before work, starting my sessions at 7am. I aim to train 3-4 times week with each work-out lasting roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on what I’m doing.

For me, there’s no real science to it. I know that I function better in the morning before work rather than after so I made it my routine. I always go by the belief that the best time to train is a time which you know you will stick to. At the risk of sounding like your stereotypical fitness blogger, spreading #fitsporation at every given opportunity, consistency really is key.

2. How and when do you refuel post-workout?

I keep a high protein diet and track my food intake (‘macros’ ) everyday via the My Fitness Pal app. I try to base every meal around a source of protein which is actually the only supplement I use. Because I train in the mornings, I usually have a protein shake afterwards whilst on my commute to work. On the whole, I have a couple of scoops per day to help keep my intake high. This is in addition to getting it from actual real life food, of course!

I tend to be fairly flexible in my approach to health and fitness. By flexible, I mean there are generally no fixed meal timings in my daily routine. No two days are ever identical in my day-to-day life, so it seems backwards to try and enforce this approach on my nutrition.

Rather than focusing on when I am eating, I prefer to listen to my body. If I feel hungry right after a work-out, I’ll eat something. If I don’t, I won’t. It can often be the case that people find themselves stressing out over meal timings to such an extent that they lose sight of why it’s important; what they are actually putting in their mouth and how effective that work-out they just had was.

3. Why is refuelling post-workout so important for you?

It’s imperative to your progress that your diet never feels restrictive. Of course, exercise takes its toll on the body so feeding your body with good, nutritious food post-workout is important, but personally I feel it’s much more beneficial to focus on what you eat within your day as an entirety rather than at set intervals.

I am a huge advocate of being inclusive rather than exclusive. I would never cut any food I enjoy out of my diet simply because it’s not deemed ‘healthy’, I just try to have it in moderation. My advice for anyone looking to improve their diet is to start by focusing on feeding the body with the right foods in general as opposed to formulating strict meal timings and windows.

www.thefashionfitnessfoodie.com

Follow Lucy on Instagram and Twitter

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Lottie Murphy | Pilates Instructor and Fitness Blogger

1. What time of day do you prefer to workout?

I prefer to workout around mid morning time. My body is never ready first thing when I wake up and I have to have breakfast first so once that’s digested, my ideal time is 10/10:30am. I also prefer to wind down in the evenings so I’d only do yoga or Pilates rather than anything high intensity.

2. How and when do you refuel post-workout?

If once I’ve finished a workout it’s close to lunch or dinner than I’ll wait for that meal and have a good balance of protein, carbs and fats. I love things like avocado or eggs on rye toast with chilli flakes. If I’m on the go, then a smoothie is perfect with greens, banana, almond butter and coconut water.

3. Why is refuelling post-workout so important for you? 

I’m not that strict with post workout refuelling, I’ll just do what feels right for my body. I’m not going to shove a protein drink down my throat post workout just because everyone else is. I just eat what I fancy to be honest as I tend to only do Pilates, yoga, short runs and some interval workouts rather than lifting weights, after which I think it’s a lot more important to refuel.

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