Post Workout Foods: What To Eat And How Much To Eat?
Working out and exercising is the key to a healthy life. Working out a good amount helps you utilize the energy and channel the resources in the development of your body.
At the same time, workouts are important to lose and maintain weight. Consuming the right food at the right time plays its cards as well.
It is always suggested to follow a diet plan alongside exercising to get good results. Different food routines are to be followed in all the diet plans we follow.
Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are the stipulated amount of food you need. Besides this, we have a pre-workout meal and a post-workout meal.
Both these food items are as important as other means of energy during the workout. Remember that you can consider the stipulated food routine as a post or pre-workout meal, but they must serve their purpose well.
This article will discuss all the post-workout food items you can consume after your workout session. All these food items depend upon the intensity of your workout.
Therefore they should be consumed only when required. Unnecessary consumption of such foods will not give you desired results.
Contents
Post Workout Nutritional Consumption
Proteins
Adding protein to your diet is very important when working out. Protein is considered to be the building block of the muscular system. This is why they are very important for your diet.
Protein helps to repair and build muscle extensively. Exercise usually triggers the muscles of your body. Hence it breaks down the muscle protein.
Once the exercise has broken down the proteins and exhausted them, you will need to refuel your body with proteins for further requirements.
Therefore protein is a must for most intense workout sessions. It is recommended to consume 0.5 g of protein per kg, depending upon your body weight, soon after your workout.
Protein can be consumed from chicken, tuna, salmon, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, eggs, and protein powder.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates play an important role as fuel to your body post and during a workout. The body uses carbohydrates the most while performing any workout.
That is why carbohydrates tend to exhaust the fastest in any workout. The glycogen present in carbohydrates is the core fuel used during exercise or any activity that you perform.
Hence it is important to keep your body filled up with carbohydrates in the required amount. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates can be problematic as well.
Therefore, the consumption of carbs needs to be limited to a certain amount. In the case of regular excessive workouts, one can consume plenty of carbs for glycogen stores.
In all the other cases, carbohydrates need to be limited. For example, people who tend to rest for one or two days after a workout need to consume fewer carbohydrates than the ones who indulge in intensive workouts regularly.
Consuming protein and carbohydrates together can give you better strength as well. This is why you must refuel your body with plenty of carbohydrates post-workout sessions.
The reason behind it is the requirement of carbohydrates as fuel in your daily life. The difference is that two people consume good carbohydrates instead of bad ones.
Both types of carbohydrates differ in different foods. Bad carbohydrates are present in fast food items which will give you an unnecessary amount of carbohydrates that will be hard to shed.
On the other hand, good carbohydrates consumed from regular home food will give you the right amount of carbohydrates. This type of carbohydrate is easy to break. Hence, they are good fuel for your body.
Carbohydrates can be consumed from plenty of nice and tasty food items. These food items consist of-
- Sweet potatoes
- Chocolate milk
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Rice cakes
- Pasta
- Whole grain bread
- Oatmeal
- Fruits like bananas, kiwi, pineapple, and berries
Fat
Alongside many workout myths, a myth about fat being bad for workout sessions is very popular. People usually claim fat slows down the digestion of people who work out.
This is majorly triggered by post-workout meals. This claim is absurd and wrong. Many studies have debunked the theory that fat slows down your post-workout meal absorption.
A study has proven that low-fat milk is more effective for muscle growth than many energy drinks available on the market.
Also, fat consumption in higher amounts does not affect the fuel consumption of the body during workout sessions.
This is because fat is used as a substitute for fuel during workouts or any exercise in case of carbohydrate deficit.
Sometimes, substituting carbohydrates with fat can give you better and faster results in bodybuilding and losing weight.
While fat consumption is recommended as a pre-workout meal, it can also be consumed in limited amounts as a post-workout meal.
Because in case of carbohydrate deficit, fat is used as a substitute fuel of the body, fat is recommended to be consumed before any workout session for better results.
Fat can be consumed from many sources, but good quality fat is recommended for a healthy body because bad fat can be harmful to your system.
Consumption of the bad fat can cause disturbance in insulin resulting in diabetes. Fat can be consumed from avocado, nuts, nut butter, seeds, and a trail mix of dried fruits and nuts.
Food Items For A Post Workout Meal
Scrambled Eggs
Scrambled eggs can be the best food item for your post-workout meal, giving you an adequate amount of protein. You can add some low-sodium spices for good taste and heavy nutrition.
Power Smoothie
Power smoothie is an excellent beverage for the protein, fat, and fiber requirements of your body post any intense workout. This smoothie tends to fill your body’s nutrition and fiber requirements after a workout.
Add Greek yogurt, water, fruits, and ice to prepare this nutritious smoothie.
Wraps
Whole green wraps can be a great start for a recovery meal. These wraps are very high in fiber, giving you an adequate amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates in one meal.
Add avocado, beans, green vegetables, and lean meat to prepare this delicious and nutritious recovery meal.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is probably the tastiest food item that you can consume post-workout. Spreading peanut butter on whole-grain toast can be the best way to consume protein, healthy fat, and high fiber to recover from an intense or intermediate workout.
Tart Cherry Juice
Tart Cherry Juice is a great source of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds that can give you good recovery after an intense workout.
This Cherry juice will improve your systolic blood pressure and provide good amounts of fiber and protein to stay healthy and full after a workout.
This juice has been consumed by athletes for ages for recovery after intense training.
Hence, it can be consumed in place of a power smoothie if you want variety. On the other hand, tart cherry juice has also been claimed to give you a good sleep.Jerky
Jerky is a very famous food item consumed by bodybuilders to add taste and nutrition to their diet.
Beef, bison, turkey, or salmon can be consumed in the form of jerky to increase the amount of protein in your body after any workout session.
The good part is that jerky provides your body with dehydrated protein, which is very healthy. Remember that the jerky should be high in protein and deficient in carbohydrates and sugar.
Manufactured jerky should be consumed with caution because of its sugar glaze and high carbohydrate.
Conclusion
Working out alone is not enough. You might mess up your results if you miss the crucial role of post-workout food.
Keeping the body healthy and matching the overall body goals with a post-workout diet is the primary step in ensuring results.
The main aim should be to eat balanced meals with healthy fats and proteins. Trans fat and junk food should be avoided throughout, especially after a workout.
Choose wisely, as the right food after a workout can make all the difference.