When it comes to exercising, it is not just your workout that is going to have an impact on how you look and feel. It is everything else that you do, i.e., the build-up to your workout and the recovery as well. The last thing you want to do is undo all of your hard work in the gym because you’re not eating right. It is imperative to ensure you get all of the correct nutrients your body requires after you have exercised. This is just as imperative as choosing the right food pre-exercise as well. With that in mind, in this blog post, we are going to reveal everything you need to know about what you should eat post-workout.

Why do you need to eat after you have been working out?

Before we give you some specific suggestions regarding the different types of meals that you can eat after you have been working out, it is first vital to establish why it is critical to eat after your workouts. When you are exercising, the glycogen stores you have in your muscles are used up for fuel. This means that your muscles are then partially depleted of glycogen. There can also be some damage in terms of the protein within your muscles. So, once you have finished exercising, your body will attempt to rebuild the stores of glycogen and to regrow and repair the proteins. You will assist your body in this process, enabling it to be achieved faster, if you consume the right nutrients after you have worked out. Doing this will aid your body in terms of recovery, restoring glycogen stores, increasing muscle protein synthesis, and decreasing the breakdown of muscle protein.

Getting some carbs and protein into your system

It is imperative to make sure that you get protein and carbs into your system after you have been working out. Let’s start with carbs. Consuming carbs is vital in terms of helping you to replenish those glycogen stores that have been used up for fuel while you were working out. For effective glycogen resynthesis, you are advised to eat between 0.5 and 0.7 grams of carbs for every pound of body weight you have. Do this within half an hour of your workout. In terms of protein, this is important because it helps to build and repair your muscle. As discussed, muscle protein can breakdown during a workout. The rate at which this happens depends on the level of training you’re carrying out and the sort of exercises you are partaking in. Nevertheless, even the world’s fittest athletes experience some breakdown in their muscle protein. This is why you need to make sure you consume enough protein after you have been working out so that you have the building blocks that are needed for new protein tissue to be created.

What sort of foods can you eat after you have been working out?

As mentioned, you are looking to add some carbs and protein to your diet once you have been working out. There are a number of different ways that this can be achieved. For example, when it comes to protein, some of your options include the likes of tuna, a protein bar, chicken, salmon, cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt, eggs, or plant-based or animal-based protein powder. When trying to add some carbs to your meals, you can opt for leafy and dark green vegetables, as well as pasta, potatoes, oatmeal, rice, rice cakes, fruits like kiwi, banana, berries, and pineapple, quinoa, chocolate milk, and sweet potatoes. With that in mind, there are a lot of different and delicious meals that you will be able to enjoy as your post-workout meal. Some examples include a protein shake and a banana, wholegrain toast with some almond butter, tuna and crackers, salmon with sweet potato, or an egg omelette with avocado spread on toast. You could also keep it simple but tasty with some roasted vegetables and grilled chicken. Feel free to use some herbs and spices to make your dishes more exciting!

So, there you have it: an insight into some of the different foods that you can eat after you have been working out for the best possible results. Eating after your workout is imperative because it helps to enhance recovery while also increasing muscle growth. However, this is only going to be the case if you choose your meals with care. Use the advice and suggestions that have been provided above to make sure that your post-workout meals are a success.