Post Workout Nutrition – Why It’s So Important

As most of you might know by now, and for the rest that don’t, post-workout nutrition is of highest importance when you are looking to gain real results, lose fat and recover properly after your workout.

 

Why is this you might ask? When you are done with your high intensity training, you are already entering a state a catabolism and your glycogen levels are shot to pieces. There is only one way to get out of this state, and that is in reversing this so you are in an anabolic state. How we do that is is by eating a post-workout meal that can be easily digested as soon after training as possible.

 

The aim here is to have a meal of carbs and protein that is quickly digestible. The carbs will refuel your glycogen levels and the protein brings in the all important amino acids to start the process of repairing your muscles.

 

Your post-workout meal should usually have between 300 – 500 calories. To give you an example, a woman weighing 120 pounds might only need a 300 cal meal, where you would find a 200 pound man needing a 500 calorie meal. In your post-workout meal, you have to do the opposite of all your other meals when it comes to the fat part. Fats slow down the rate of absorption and that’s not what you want to happen with this meal, so keep fat intake to a minimum here.

 

Again you are most probably thinking that now you have to go and shell out some cash to get one of those expensive post-workout drinks that you saw in the magazine. No you don’t. Don’t forget, when it comes to eating, natural foods are always the best route to go.

 

You will need to choose a source of carbs (quickly digestible ones). Go for organic maple syrup, raw honey, raisins, pineapple and frozen bananas.

The best choices you can make when it comes to your proteins would be fat free or low fat yoghurt, or whey protein isolate.

 

Important to remember – Your post-workout meal should be the total opposite of what your normal daily meals should be. Your normal meals have slowly digested protein, low gi carbs and fat. Whereas your post-workout has high gi carbs, quickly digested proteins and hardly any fat. 

 

This kind of plan will help you get the lean muscle with low body fat. 

 

Try these two recipes out for excellent tasting smoothies that will shock your body into recovery after a hard workout.

 

• Vanilla Pine – 35 g prot, 71 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 425 calories. Blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, one cup frozen pineapples, 2 tablespoons raw honey, and 30 grams vanilla whey protein powder.
• Banana-Choc – 38 g prot, 72 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 440 calories. Blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup skim milk, one and a half frozen bananas, 2 tbsp organic maple syrup, and 30 grams chocolate whey protein powder.

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