Pre-workout and post-workout meals can both be important. But pre-workout is the meal before your training session, and post-workout is the meal after your training session. A lot of people are confused about which meals they should eat before training and which meal is better to eat after training. In this article however, you will learn what are the best foods to eat after workouts.
In the world of fitness, you need to eat to grow and avoid muscle soreness. It is also vital to have the right nutrients in your system after a workout. Post-workout nutrition is becoming more popular with fitness buffs and athletes. Eating the right foods when you are working out can be crucial in aiding your recovery process. Also, in preventing future injury.
Proteins are one of the main building blocks your body needs. The reason is to repair damaged muscles and to keep the development of new cells. Post workout nutrition should have a sufficient amount of protein for this process. For example, a 6 oz. steak can contain almost 50 grams of protein while two eggs have about 20 grams.
The purpose of post workout nutrition is not just to give your body enough protein. It is also to increase your energy level. This is because you are likely to feel sluggish after a workout if you do not eat the right foods. Also, eating the right type of food after your training session can be crucial in your overall recovery. Hence, leading to less time spent on rehabilitation and more time training.
In fact, post-workout nutrition is a unique and important part of your fitness journey. Properly replenishing your body after you bust your butt in the gym can make a huge difference. Hence, in how well you recover, how soon you can get back to training and how much muscle you can build. The post-workout window is about 30 minutes long. Which means you’ve got about 20-30 minutes to get something into your system. Doing so will help rebuild and repair those torn down muscle fibers. It’s also important to fuel your body with nutrients that will help maintain the fat-burning state of ketosis that you’ve worked so hard to achieve.
As such, compared to the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner meals, athletes should look for snacks and meals made up of high-quality protein. A recommended food pattern is eating a source of protein within an hour after finishing your workout. Doing so keeps the muscle strong and steady. However, nutrition experts agree that the best food to eat after a workout is high in protein and carbohydrates. The food should also contain electrolytes.
To keep it simple, after a workout you want to eat food that is high in carbohydrates, low-fat and low-sodium. The carbohydrates will help restore glycogen into your body. While the fat and sodium levels will help replenish the fat and water loss that takes place during the workout. For example, white rice and toast are great sources of carbohydrates. While fat-free yogurt is very good in terms of protein with little fat or sodium.
Indeed, a post-workout recovery plan can make or break your progress. It can be the difference between getting a six pack or not. You need to replenish carbohydrates, fluids, protein and electrolytes lost during your workout. Eating the correct foods at the right time can maximize your progress. Initial research on post-workout nutrition showed that a 4:1 ratio of carbohydrate-to-protein was ideal for growth and muscle building. This led to the popular “post-workout shake”. The shake was made up of scoops of protein powder and carbohydrates such as dextrose or maltodextrin. But this ratio is no longer considered to be optimal for muscle growth. Research has shown that a 2:1:1 ratio of carbohydrate-to-protein-to-fat is more effective at replenishing glycogen, boosting protein synthesis, and promoting muscle growth following exercise than a 4:1 ratio.
With all of that in mind, here are some general guidelines on post-workout nutrition.
- Don’t rush to eat immediately after your workout. Try to give yourself 45 minutes to an hour after you finish to let your body digest and deliver nutrients to your muscles.
- You don’t have to hit the gym on an empty stomach, but don’t head there with a full stomach either.
- Different workouts will require different nutrition, specifically when it comes to carbs and protein.
- If your primary workout is cardio, then your post-workout meal should be lower in carbs and higher in protein. Think lean meats like chicken or fish, some form of green like spinach or broccoli and a bit of healthy fat to fill you up.
- If your workout was more geared towards lifting weights, you should plan for a post-workout meal high in carbs and moderate in protein. This will help provide the energy your body needs to help repair muscle tissue. A great post-workout meal would be brown rice, sweet potato or oatmeal with berries.
- If your goals are to gain muscle and strength, you need to consume as many calories as possible and you should also consume 10-20g of protein per serving.
- If your goals are weight loss and endurance, your post-workout meal should be low in calories and high in protein (around 20g).
As has been noted, after a workout, it’s important to have an adequate and balanced diet to ensure you are recovering properly from the exercise. After any type of strenuous exercise that lasts an hour or more, your body will need more carbohydrates than usual. They’re better able to help refuel tired muscles and replenish depleted glycogen stores in the liver. Depending on when you eat after working out, your post-workout meal should be predominantly made up of proteins along with carbs. It helps to retain protein synthesis and gain muscle tissue mass during recovery post workout.
Late night snacks should consist mainly of high glycemic index foods. For instance, pasta, potatoes, carbohydrate rich cereals etc. While breakfast should include complex sugars or slow digesting carbohydrates like oatmeal. The reason is to release glucose gradually into the bloodstream throughout the day. Consequently, it leads to lower insulin spikes than quickly digested fast acting carbs. For example white breads that send glucose circulating rapidly thus causing weight gain and fatigue.
It’s important that foods eaten before or during exercise are digested quickly. The reason for this is so they’re available for instant use by muscles as needed. And it’s just as important that recovery post-exercise uses the nutrition at a rapid rate to replace depleted energy stores and repair damaged tissues from the workout. Which means new supplies must come at the optimum time. The best idea is to drink something high in carbohydrates about 30 minutes before your workout, with carbohydrates or an oatmeal milk shake blended with almond milk, frozen blueberries, banana
Furthermore, what should you eat after a work out? This answer is not the same for everyone. Persons who exercise regularly need to be wary of what they are eating before and after their workouts. It can build up into an unhealthy cycle. It could be like one day people exercise, but because of poor nutrition choices they pack on more fat than muscle. Maintaining fitness requires diligence in both what you do (exercise) and what you eat.
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