What should you eat before a workout, and how long before?

How long before a session should I eat?

Leave two to three hours between eating and exercising. That is the guide from the British Dietetic Association: a light meal or a snack, high in carbohydrate and low in fat, two to three hours before you get moving.

In a real day, it works like this. A 6pm session after work: lunch at 1pm is a long way back, so a snack at about 3.30pm or 4pm bridges the gap. A 10am session on Saturday: breakfast at around 7.30am is enough.

The timing is a general guide. Some women digest quickly, others need longer. Use your first two or three sessions to find what suits you.

What should go on the plate or in the bag?

Starchy foods first, with little fat. Carbohydrate is the main fuel for working muscles, the same association points out, and the foods that provide it are already in your kitchen.

• As a light meal: a small plate of rice with a tomato sauce that is easy on the oil, boiled yam or plantain with an egg, attiéké (fermented cassava couscous) with a piece of grilled fish.
• As a snack: a banana, a piece of bread, a bowl of millet porridge, a sweet potato cooked the day before.

Alloco (fried plantain), fritters and rich, oily sauces still have their place, preferably at the meal afterwards. You do not need to buy a bar or a powder: if you exercise for general fitness, a normal balanced diet covers your carbohydrate needs, according to the UK dietitians.

What if I train very early, very late or during Ramadan?

The two-to-three-hour guide bends to fit your day. Before a brisk walk or an easy jog at sunrise, a full meal is not compulsory: a piece of fruit, a glass of lait caillé (soured milk) or a few spoonfuls of porridge are worth trying. Test them on a low-stakes day and keep what your stomach accepts.

Late session? Move your snack to mid-afternoon and save the proper meal for when you get home.

During Ramadan, the World Health Organization’s Eastern Mediterranean office advises being active in the evenings, with a daily walk for example, eating a light suhoor every day and drinking plenty of water between breaking the fast and dawn. A gentle session after iftar follows the same logic.

What should I drink before I set off?

Water, a little at a time through the day. The NHS in the UK offers an easy check: pale yellow urine means you are drinking enough. It also notes that you need more when it is hot or when you are active for long periods.

A lightly sweetened bissap (hibiscus drink) or home-made lemonade counts towards what you drink. Energy drinks are another matter. France’s food safety agency recommends avoiding them before or during physical activity: in its assessment, they have no nutritional value during exercise and increase losses of water and mineral salts.

One last habit: put a water bottle in your bag, even for 40 minutes of sport.