Have you ever finished an absolutely rocking workout and then a few hours later either fallen asleep or felt so hungry you could eat a horse?
If you knew what to eat after a workout, you could avoid both of these situations. Learn how to keep your exercise high going all day by fueling your body right!
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In order to learn what to eat after a workout, let’s think first about what happens inside your body while you’re exercising.
Your body needs energy to fuel your workouts. The energy your body uses to fuel your workouts comes mostly in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is metabolized and stored carbohydrates. Some glycogen is stored in your muscles. This is the main source of fuel when you’re exercising.
Exercise requires your muscles to work harder than normal, resulting in microscopic breakdown of proteins in your muscle fibers. This is a good thing! It is in repairing these muscle fibers that you gain strength.
After your workout finishes, your body has two main jobs: replace glycogen stores and repair muscle.
These two main jobs require two different nutrients– carbohydrates to replace glycogen (and keep up your energy levels) and protein to repair muscle.
So, what to eat after a workout is simply a good balance of carbohydrates and protein!
Keep in mind you’ll want to eat a ratio of about 3 grams carbs to 1 gram protein for the optimal post-workout nutrition balance. This ratio changes slightly based on the type of exercise you do. Cardiovascular workouts and strength training workouts make slightly different nutritional demands on your body.
An endurance cardio workout like running, swimming, or biking uses more carbs than a strength training session. So if your favorite workouts are heart-pumping cardio sessions, your body will likely crave carbs when you’re done working out.
(Heads up– if you’re a midlife woman who spends ALL of her workout time on the treadmill or elliptical, you should know that women over 40 really need to be lifting weights!)
If you love to hit the weights, you may want to focus on a little more even balance between proteins and carbs because of the intense muscle repair your body will do after your workout. Giving your body what it wants nutritionally will help you get the most out of your workouts.
Now that we know what your body wants, we can better understand what to eat after a workout.
Need some food for thought? Here are 5 of the best post workout snack options.
- Peanut Butter (or other Nut Butter) on a Banana
- Scrambled egg and whole wheat toast
- Tuna and multigrain crackers (BONUS: top it with avocado)
- Cottage Cheese with fruit
- 8-12 ounces Chocolate milk (Like these little boxes you can take with you!)
Each of those five best post workout snack options gives you a balance of carbs and protein. By eating them within 30 minutes of finishing your workout, you’re setting your body up for a speedy recovery.
If you ate a meal before your workout, you can go as long as an hour afterwards without eating. Your body will still reap the benefits of the glycogen and protein synthesis because you fueled well beforehand.
Don’t forget to hydrate, too! Keeping yourself well hydrated is essential for optimal bodily function. And even if you are exercising in the pool or in a cold environment (like ice skating), your body still loses water while working out. So even if you don’t feel thirsty and aren’t covered in sweat, make sure to drink plenty of water after exercise.
By knowing what to eat after a workout– and eating it!– you’ll stave off the post-workout energy slump and reduce the likelihood of a binge eating session later in the day.
Talk about keeping your body well-balanced!
