Whether you’ve been on a hike, swam laps at your local pool, or lifted heavyweights, completing your training session isn’t the end of the challenge.
Knowing what to eat afterwards to aid your recovery and replenish energy stores can be daunting. After all, the last thing you want to do is undo all your hard work in the gym because you haven’t fueled correctly after your workout.
Similar to what you eat before you train, what you eat after you train is important too. In this article, we explore everything you need to know about what you should be consuming after your workout.
Why It’s Important To Eat Post-Workout?
After exercising, our bodies need to replenish the energy stores they have lost during the workout.
Many nutritionists recommend consuming something that is high in quality protein afterwards to help aid recovery and stimulate muscle growth.
Consuming the wrong types of food after a workout can be tempting – after all, you’ve worked hard so why not eat what you want?
If you’re serious about your training though and want to ensure you’re getting the most out of your workout, then you need to make sure you’re eating the right balance of macronutrients after each session.
Carbs and Proteins
The foundation of any post-workout meal is a combination of protein, carbohydrates, and fluids. It’s recommended that after a workout, you should aim to consume 10-20g of protein and between 0.5-0.7g carbs for every pound of bodyweight.
What Foods Should I Eat After A Workout?
Fueling with the right number of proteins and carbs post-workout is incredibly important as it helps you to recover and aids muscle growth.
Below we look at the top 5 foods you should consider adding to your post-workout routine.
Biltong
If you’re passionate about your health and fitness, then you may already be aware of Biltong. It’s a cured, dried, meat-based snack that’s low in fat, full of lean protein and is packed full of all the essential vitamins and minerals your body needs to recover.
Available in a variety of flavours to satisfy all palettes, a 35g serving packs in almost 20g of protein making it the perfect choice to keep in your gym bag for after a workout.
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Bananas
Bananas are a great, portable snack you can enjoy straight after your workout.
With plenty of carbohydrates and potassium, which are both needed after an intense session, Bananas can be eaten by themselves, added to your post-workout shake or enjoyed with peanut butter and wholegrain rice crackers.
Chocolate Milk
You might not think it, but chocolate milk is actually the perfect post-workout drink. The combination of fluid, protein, and complex carbohydrates has been proven to give the body everything it needs to recover after an intense exercise session, whilst the calcium content helps to support bone strength.
Quinoa
If ever there was a perfect post-workout food, it’s Quinoa. Not only is it full of carbohydrates and proteins which help to replenish your depleted glycogen levels after a workout, but it also contains all nine essential amino acids for building muscle too!
If that wasn’t enough Quinoa is gluten-free too, making it easy to digest.
Blueberries
Blueberries are full of complex carbohydrates and water. They digest slowly so you get a steady stream of energy after a workout. They also contain concentrated amounts of anthocyanins, which help reduce the effects of muscle soreness after working out.
You can eat blueberries by themselves or add to your post-workout shake with some Greek yoghurt and milk. Be sure to not eat too many though, or you’ll get far too much sugar!
This article is published by our independent team of health and wellness pundits that publish original and informative content to empower readers to take charge of their health and embark on a physically, mentally, and emotionally balanced lifestyle.
I love having bananas and blueberries post workout. Sometimes in smoothie form. I can’t have anything heavy after. I am too relaxed at that time.