What you eat before a workout is essential for fueling your body and making sure that you have enough energy for your workout.
People are mainly focused on getting a pre-workout meal in and not giving as much thought about their post-workout meals. What you eat after a workout is just as important.
In order to ensure that you are consuming the correct foods, it is important to understand what happens in your body when you are working out.
Healthline explains that when we exercise, our body uses glycogen which is our body’s preferred fuel source, especially during high intensity training. After your workout session, your muscles are then partially depleted of glycogen. Your body then tries to rebuild glycogen stores and regrow muscle proteins. Consuming the correct nutrients right after exercising can help your body get this done faster.
According to Mayo Clinic, eating a meal that contains carbohydrates and proteins at least within two hours after working out is essential.
According to Healthline, protein is an essential nutrient for muscle recovery. Since exercising promotes the breakdown of muscle protein, it is important to consume enough protein throughout the day. Consuming enough protein gives your body the essential amino acids needed to repair muscle protein.
Examples of protein you can eat after a workout:
- Eggs
- Greek yogurt
- Chicken
- Salmon
- Tuna
- Protein bar
- Animal or plant based protein powder
During your workouts, your body’s glycogen stores are used as fuel and thus eating carbohydrates after your workouts can help to replenish those glycogen stores.
Examples of carbohydrates you can eat after a workout:
- Chocolate milk
- Any fruit of your choice
- Oatmeal
- Whole grain bread
- Pasta
- Potatoes
- Rice
Mayo Clinic suggests having a light snack if your meal is more than two hours away. Forbes Health suggests these snacks to eat after your workout:
- Eggs on whole-grain toast. You can make your eggs exactly how you like them and add them on a slice of toast. Eggs are a great source of protein and toast provides high quality carbohydrates.
- Yogurt, berries and granola. Yogurt is a great source of protein while berries are great to consume for those extra carbohydrates and antioxidants. This combination aids in the replenishment of your muscles’ glycogen stores and it aids in the recovery process as well.
- A smoothie. This is a great option as you can customise what you want in your smoothie. You can add whey protein powder, vegetables, fruits and yogurt.
