Best Things to Eat After a Workout

The Perfect Pre-Workout Snack? Here’s What You Need

Whether you are working out to lose weight or simply to stay in shape, what you eat before, during and after your workout is very important.

Before you work out it is a good idea to fuel your body with carbohydrates as a quick source of energy.

During exercise, hydration is important and, after you finish your workout, your body will need to refuel.

In order to get the most out of your workout, take the time to learn the basics of what your body needs, how it utilizes energy and how you can provide your body with that energy.

If you can learn these things you will be able to make your workouts more effective than ever.

Before a Workout

Before engaging in strenuous activity, it is important to fuel your body with a source of energy. To provide your body with the energy it needs you will need to eat a meal or snack that contains carbohydrates, healthy fats, lean protein and fluids (ideally water).

Foods like bread, pasta, cereal, rice and vegetables are a good source of carbohydrate that can be used as a quick energy source just before a workout. Lean protein is important for helping your body to build muscle and to produce healthy blood cells – during your workout, those blood cells will be put to work delivering oxygen to your muscles.

Best Things to Eat After a Workout

In order to get the most out of your pre-workout meal you should eat a meal that contains moderate levels of protein and carbohydrate, low levels of fat, low levels of fiber and some liquid. Stick with something your body is used to like a grilled chicken sandwich rather than fried fast food and a soft drink.

The Importance of Hydration

Hydration is incredibly important for exercise, both before and after the fact and during the workout itself. As your body works, you will be sweating – water is the body’s cooling system and, without it, your body could easily overheat.

To ensure that you are properly hydrated for your workout, you should drink at least 16 ounces of water about two hours before you exercise. To ensure maximum hydration, weigh yourself before and again after your workout—drink 16 ounces of water for every pound lost during the workout (this will be water weight).

Regarding hydration, during and after a workout, you may wonder whether it is better to go with water or a sports drink. If you plan to exercise for more than 60 minutes at a time or are working out in hot or humid conditions, you may want to opt for a sports drink.

Sports drinks provide you with fluid and the carbohydrates and sodium your body needs to rehydrate. If you are only doing recreational exercise, plain water should be sufficient.

Eating/Drinking Protein After Exercise

If building muscle is your goal, consuming a significant amount of protein immediately after exercising will be especially important. While eating a high-protein diet in general will help you gain muscle, that protein will be most beneficial after exercise.

Protein is what your muscles need to recover from the workout and grow – after a workout is the optimal time to deliver that protein. Ideally, you should consume at least 10 to 20 grams of protein after a rigorous workout or bout of weight training to provide your muscles with the protein they need to grow and recover.

Where to Get Protein

After a workout, your body doesn’t care where the protein comes from as long as it gets it. Many athletes and bodybuilders opt for protein shakes, which are designed to deliver the ideal balance of protein and carbohydrates to your post-workout body.

If you don’t like protein shakes, eating a few hardboiled eggs or downing a glass of chocolate milk will serve the same purpose. If you opt for a protein shake, look for a product made from either whey protein or milk proteins. Drink the shake within 30 minutes after exercising to get the most benefit.

Carbohydrate Plus Protein

Consuming some kind of carbohydrate in conjunction with protein within 15 to 30 minutes after exercise has been shown to speed recovery. As you exercise, your body uses carbohydrates (or glycogen) for energy.

After an intense workout, you need to consume enough carbohydrates to produce a substantial insulin release, which will encourage glycogen storage and protein repair. The ideal amount of carbohydrates to consume after a workout is between 0.8 and 1.2 grams per kilogram of bodyweight.

Unless you engage in a particularly long or strenuous workout, 1.2 grams per kilogram of carbohydrates may be excessive, and the extra carbohydrates could be stored as body fat. In combination with carbohydrates, experts recommend consuming between 0.2 and 0.4 grams of protein per 1 kilogram of body weight after a workout.

Best Foods to Eat

Stir-Fry = Chicken or shrimp stir-fry is an excellent post-workout meal because it provides the ideal proportion of carbohydrate to protein without a high-fat content. Load up your stir-fry with fresh vegetables and rice to give your body the necessary carbohydrates to refuel.

Hummus is a tasty snack that is also high in protein and carbohydrates. It is an especially good option for individuals who do not eat meat because it is completely vegetarian. Check your local grocery store for flavored hummus, or make your own at home and serve it with whole-wheat pita or sliced veggies.

Bagel with Peanut Butter =  A whole wheat bagel is a great source of complex carbohydrates while peanut butter provides a number of essential minerals. If you want a low-fat option, switch to almond butter rather than peanut butter. Almond butter contains monosaturated fats and potassium, which help with electrolyte balance.

Tuna and Crackers = This option is a great solution for individuals on the go. Tuna is low in fat but high in protein and omega-3 fatty acids, while crackers provide plenty of carbohydrates. Rather than going with prepared tuna salad that may be heavy on the mayonnaise, whip up your own tuna salad using a little olive oil, lemon juice, and mustard for flavor.

Seafood and Mashed Potatoes = Seafood is known for its high protein and omega-3 fatty acid content, which makes it a superfood. Paired with carb-rich mashed potatoes, fish is a great post-workout meal. To switch things up occasionally, try substituting a baked sweet potato for the mashed potato.

Cereal and Milk = While you should generally steer clear of sugary cereals like Lucky Charms, a good whole-grain cereal with skim milk makes a great post-workout snack. Whole-grain cereal is an excellent source of fiber and carbohydrates, while milk provides easily digestible protein.

Egg White Omelet == Eggs are an excellent source of protein, but whole eggs are also fairly high in cholesterol. In order to get the benefit of the protein from eggs without the fat, make yourself an egg white omelet after a workout. Fill the omelet with fresh veggies like spinach, which has been shown to speed up muscle growth.

Protein Fruit Smoothie = Even if you don’t purchase a post-workout drink mix, you can still whip up something yourself. A fruit smoothie with a scoop of whey protein is a delicious way to provide your body with the carbohydrates and protein it needs to refuel after an intense workout. For the fruit, go for bananas or mango, and for the protein, choose whey protein, Greek yogurt, or skim milk.

Chocolate Milk = Because chocolate milk is fairly high in calories, it is not something you should consume in large quantities on a regular basis. Immediately after a workout, however, it is a great choice. Chocolate milk drinks formulated for post-workout recovery provide the optimal blend of carbohydrates and protein your body needs to recover.

Engaging in regular exercise and strength training is important to keeping your body fit and healthy. However, if you do not know what to eat before, during, and after your workout, you may not get the full benefit of that exercise.

To ensure that your muscles recover properly and grow from your hard work, you must provide your body with the optimal balance of carbohydrates and protein within 30 minutes of finishing your workout.

Perfect Pre-Workout Snack

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