After a strenuous workout, you may start wondering what comes next, from cool-down activities to taking a shower. But there’s an additional thing you might want to include on your post-exercise checklist: fuelling yourself with a good snack or a meal.
Not everyone needs to eat right away after exercise, but depending on the length and intensity of your sweat session, effective post-workout nutrition can make all the difference in promoting recovery and allowing you to attain your fitness goals sooner.
Eating post-exercise allows your body to restore lost nutrients and repair muscles, making it an important part of your workout. During a workout, you damage your muscle tissues, sweat out necessary electrolytes, and deplete glycogen storage.
It is critical to educate yourself on when to eat, what foods to eat after an exercise, and how long you should wait to eat depending on your activity. Following these guidelines can help.
When Should You Eat After Working Out
There seems to be a sweet spot for timing your post-workout meal or snack [ the anabolic window,] when you’re participating in more intensive activity and want to maximize recovery, muscle growth, and future performance.
Within thirty to forty-five minutes is the ideal window for recovery nutrition. After intense workouts, muscles are more sensitive to stimuli and can digest nutrients more quickly.
For instance, after a workout, muscle cells are more sensitive to insulin for a while. When you eat carbs, this enables your muscles to absorb glucose more quickly, promoting faster glycogen synthesis.
During this post-exercise window, muscles may also absorb amino acids more effectively.
It has been demonstrated that eating protein soon after working out improves muscle protein synthesis, which helps to grow and strengthen muscle.
Your body can continue to absorb glucose and amino acids for up to three hours after exercise, so it’s not as though your body can’t do so outside of this brief window following a workout. No one is turning these processes “off.”
Remember that you shouldn’t worry about your eating habits after a workout if you’re doing lower-intensity exercise for an hour or less. It’s OK to have a healthy meal or snack anytime you feel hungry, even if it’s not for several hours.
What Your Post-Workout Meals Should Contain
Preparing a post-workout meal does not have to be complex. The most crucial thing is to schedule your meals so that you have a plan in place and know what you’re going to eat and drink once your workout is done.
Eat Proteins
Foods high in protein provide the body with amino acids, which improve muscle development and repair, especially after exercise. Your post-recovery meal or snack should contain 10–25 grams of high-quality protein.
To stay healthy and promote muscle recovery, it’s even more crucial to make sure you’re meeting your daily requirements for protein. Don’t only concentrate on protein after your workout, though.
Although your specific requirements will determine how much protein you need, the National Library of Medicine suggests that healthy individuals get 10-35 percent of their daily calories from protein. (an individual following a 2,000-calorie diet would consume around 100 grams of protein a day.)
The best protein sources include protein powders, eggs, tuna salad cottage cheese, Seeds, Tofu, Greek yogurt, Fish lean, meat, Nuts, and nut butter, and Dried edamame.
Add Carbohydrates
To be fully prepared to take on your next strenuous activity, carbs can assist replace those depleted glycogen levels.
In general, complex carbs that have had minimum processing is the best option since they digest more slowly, don’t cause a blood sugar rise, and are higher fiber than refined carbohydrates and added sugars, minerals, and vitamins.
Suitable sources of carbohydrates are:
- Oats
- Yams
- A variety of fruits (bananas, oranges, mangoes, berries, apples, etc)
- Whole wheat or whole grain bread, pretzels, spaghetti, English muffins, and sandwich wraps
Fats
Although protein and carbohydrates are more crucial for recovery after an exercise, fat can also help you feel full, sustain steady energy levels, improve the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and preserve the integrity of your cell membranes.
Additionally, Omega-3 fatty acids can reduce inflammation, particularly when taken regularly. Consuming omega-3 fatty acids may even enhance post-workout recovery.
Just remember that since certain meals high in protein already include fat, you might not need to add another source of fat to your post-workout meal or snack.
Suitable sources of fat after exercise include:
- Salmon
- Eggs
- Flax seeds
- Hemp seed
- Avocado
- Chia seeds
- Nut butters and nuts
- Extra virgin olive oil
You may also consider including specialized anti-inflammatory foods, such as sour cherries, wild blueberries, and turmeric, as a bonus after more strenuous exercises.
Post-Workout Snacks
Are you eager to refuel yet unsure of what to eat following a workout? The combo of healthy fats, proteins, and carbs in the following snacks promotes general health and aids in post-workout recovery.
After completing an exercise that lasted less than an hour and was of low to moderate intensity, think about having one of these snacks:
- Banana with nut butter
- Minimally processed protein bars (nut-based and low in sugar)
- Sliced apple with cheese
- Carrot slices, hummus, and whole wheat pita
- DIY trail mix with dried edamame, nuts, raisins, and dark chocolate
- Dried fruit and a small handful of nuts
- Piece of fruit with hard-boiled eggs
- Serving of soy or cow’s milk with a bowl of high-fiber, low-sugar cereal (other plant-based milks are poor in protein)
- A cup of milk or plant-based milk, a cup of fruit, and a scoop of protein powder mixed to make a smoothie; optionally, add a handful of mild greens, such as baby spinach.
What You Shouldn’t Eat After Working Out
After a workout, make an effort to maintain a healthy, balanced eating schedule.
Steer clear of consuming excessive amounts of low-quality protein and carbohydrates (e.g., baked goods, protein shakes with a long list of strange chemicals, or foods made with a lot of added sugars or processed carbohydrates).
Don’t focus only on eating; staying hydrated after exercise is essential for recovery as well.
When engaging in intense exercise, weigh yourself before and after to see how much fluid is lost through sweat. Aim to consume 20 to 24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost.
