I realized that I have covered a decent amount of ground in terms of using walking as a form of exercise and the tips and tricks that are associated with the physical motions, but I have yet to write about food and how that can influence your walk. Don’t worry so much about the carbohydrates in your diet. True, too much of them will be harmful, but you do not have to remove them from your diet. The same goes with fats; too little fat is also not healthy for your body. Exercising will use up the glycogen storages in your muscles and to replenish them, you should consume complex carbohydrates.

If you work out in the morning, your body’s blood sugar levels are typically pretty low. Before starting your walk, have a banana or a granola bar to keep your blood sugar level up. Go ahead and try some foods to see what makes you feel the best; I personally like bananas or apples.

As far as taking in food during exercise, there are many products that the elites use that we have found work well and are quickly digested by the body. Products such as flavored gels and nutritional bars are proven workout supplements. In general, you will want to look for something that your stomach can handle, is quickly digested by the body, and is easy to manage while on the go.

How long should you wait before going for a walk? Well, it all depends on your level of exercise. If you are going to do a tough walking workout, you may want to wait at least an hour for your food to digest completely; however, if all you ate was half a banana, then that wait time could be reduced to 15 minutes or so. If you are only going for a stroll, you may not have to wait more than 15 minutes even if you had a big meal. It really just depends on the exercise and the size of your meal.