In order for a diet to be successful, it is important that the diet not only helps you to lose weight, but can also be incorporated into your own lifestyle. If your diet plan restricts your calories to the point where you cannot adopt the healthy eating habits as a way of life, your diet will not provide you with the proper nutrition that your body needs to exercise. When creating a diet plan of your own, it is imperative that you have a scheduled pre-workout meal in order to ensure that you not only have the energy to complete your workout without completely tiring yourself, but you will also have enough healthy calories to recover from the workout that you have completed, so that you can work out again quickly.

When designing your pre-workout meal, it is important that you are including nutritious foods in your diet in order to fuel your body during your workout. In order to assist you with creating your pre-workout nutrition, consider the following tips:

- Be sure that your pre-workout meal is low in fat. If you consume too much fat before working out, you will not only find yourself low on energy, but you will not burn as many calories throughout your workout, due to the lessened energy expended.

- Consume protein before any type of workout, in order to fuel your body and allow your muscles to recover. Consuming at least 10 grams of protein before a workout will help to fuel your workout.

- Do not eat fruit before a workout. Although fruit is usually a good food option, fruit can cause indigestion when eaten before a workout.

- Whey protein is always great to consume before a workout. Be careful of eating whey protein powder if you are lactose intolerant, as it is a protein derived from milk. On the other hand, casein protein is digested very slowly, and should not be eaten before a workout.

- Timing is crucial to your workout. In order to fuel your workout, consume your protein packed meal 30 minutes to an hour before your workout.

- Always stay hydrated throughout your workout, but drinking 8 oz. of water before starting, and continuing to drink water throughout the workout.

- Limit your pre-workout meal to around 300 calories. Eating more than this will cause you to feel sluggish, while eating less will not provide enough energy. 300 calories is the perfect amount before a workout.