What to eat after exercise?

Strength training is a huge waste of energy. On average, about 600-800 calories are spent in an hour in the gym. This creates a strong energy deficit, and in the body, catabolic processes begin to prevail over anabolic ones. With catabolism, muscle tissue breakdown begins. To prevent this, after training, you must definitely follow a meal rich in all the macro and micronutrients necessary for recovery and growth. It can be both sports nutrition and natural products. Of course, food should be healthy and wholesome, because this is the only way you can achieve an athletic and aesthetic physique. In today's article, we will figure out what to eat after training, which foods are best for this.

Post workout nutrition for weight loss

The secret to losing weight is simple: during the day you need to spend more energy than you get from food. Calorie deficits are created through strength training and cardio training. Therefore, post-workout meals should follow two principles:

1. Give you enough energy to recover and function normally;
2. Do not take you out of energy deficit.

Energy deficiency is also achieved through a balanced diet - here is detailed information on proper nutrition for weight loss. The daily calorie content is reduced by reducing the consumption of fats and carbohydrates. Most of the carbohydrates during the diet are eaten in the morning and / or shortly before training to keep the body more efficient. After that, most of the diet is protein foods. At the same time, the amount of protein reaches two to three grams per kilogram of body weight to improve recovery and satisfy hunger.

What do you need to eat after exercise to lose weight? Of course, muscles need amino acids for repair, so it's important to get quality protein. Sources of protein are many: white and red fish, seafood, chicken, turkey, egg whites, low-fat dairy products, and protein shakes.

Fiber is needed for complete assimilation of protein. It is found in large quantities in green vegetables such as cucumbers, broccoli, celery, spinach and others. The calorie content of these vegetables is minimal, there are almost no carbohydrates in them, and you can eat them almost without restrictions. Celery is generally considered a "negative" calorie product - you will spend more calories chewing and digesting it than it contains.

When it comes to sports nutrition, it is best to use a whey protein isolate or hydrolyzate. This type of protein is the fastest to digest, does not contain excess fats and carbohydrates, and provides saturation for several hours. To further protect muscle tissue from breakdown, complex amino acids or BCAAs can be used immediately after exercise.

Here are some delicious and healthy post-workout meal options for your weight loss period:

What to eat after training to gain mass?

If your muscle mass is in full swing, you need to supply the body with energy as much as possible so that your workouts are more productive and your working weights grow. Remember that the principle of progression of loads is the basis of mass gain. For all this, you need carbohydrates. Therefore, the answer to the question - do you need to eat after training - is definitely yes.

Of course, if your goal is to maximize muscle tone while minimizing subcutaneous fat, it may be better to have complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index form the basis of your post-workout meal. It can be durum wheat pasta, rice, oatmeal, buckwheat and other cereals. Traditionally, cereals are measured dry to make it easier to quantify nutrient intake. The protein portion is also important for recovery and growth, so don't forget about meat, eggs, fish, or protein shakes. The food intake itself turns out to be quite plentiful and satisfies the feeling of hunger for at least 2-3 hours.

If you have a fast metabolism and an ectomorphic body type, fast carbohydrates with a high glycemic index are also suitable for quick recovery after exercise. It will be better if you receive them not from confectionery, but from fresh fruits or dried fruits. Specially for ectomorphs who want to gain weight, such a sports nutrition product as a gainer was developed. It is a mixture of whey protein and simple carbohydrates (sugar, maltodextrin, dextrose, or amylopectin). However, the expediency of buying a gainer is questionable, because you can easily do it yourself: a portion of whey protein and two bananas or a bag of dried fruits will cover the need for "fast" energy just as well.

If your metabolism is slow enough, it is best to refrain from taking simple carbohydrates after exercise. This puts a lot of stress on the pancreas and increases the production of insulin, which promotes the formation of adipose tissue. In addition, appetite is greatly impaired from simple carbohydrates, and after that it will not be possible to eat the amount of food necessary for gaining muscle mass.

You don't need to make your post-workout meal rich in fat. This will complicate its assimilation. Fats, of course, must be present in the diet during muscle gain, this is important for the synthesis of hormones and the normal functioning of all body systems. The so-called unsaturated fatty acids are especially beneficial. They are found in flaxseed and other vegetable oils, red fish, seafood, nuts, and avocados. But it is advisable not to consume more than 25-35 grams of fat at a time after training.

There is a hypothesis called the "anabolic window". Its essence lies in the fact that any food that you eat within 30-60 minutes after training goes to replenish glycogen stores in the muscles and liver and to restore damaged muscle tissue. Research does not support this hypothesis, but many athletes adhere to it quite successfully during the period of muscle gain. However, many interpret it too literally: "After training, you can eat anything and not get fat." With that in mind, they go to the nearest fast food outlet and close that anabolic window. It doesn't work that way.

From sports nutrition products it is best to opt for regular whey protein. This is an optimal product in terms of price-quality criterion. Each serving contains 20-25 grams of easily digestible protein and several grams of carbohydrates and fats.

The table below provides a few examples of post-workout meals during muscle gain:

We also recommend that you familiarize yourself with examples of diets for gaining muscle mass.

What to eat after exercise to build muscle?

If your goal is to maximize lean muscle mass, then post-workout simple carbs are out of the question. You don't need insulin, but growth hormone, which is increased during exercise. And taking carbohydrates will reduce its production to zero.

Therefore, there is no need to rush to immediately load up on carbohydrates, there is no need to. Your task is to prolong the production of growth hormone. It is best to drink a protein isolate or hydrolyzate as they are carbohydrate-free. Egg whites or chicken fillets are also good. It is better to postpone carbohydrate intake for an hour or two, unless, of course, you are exercising late at night. The main thing is not to exceed the total daily calorie content, then you will not gain excess fat.

Growth hormone has many beneficial properties, including: enhanced muscle growth, improved health of joints and ligaments, rapid recovery of microtraumas, enhanced fat burning, and a general anti-aging effect. Agree, it's stupid to refuse all this.

Differences in nutrition after morning and evening workouts

If you visit the gym early in the morning, this is already a kind of test for the body. Not everyone is capable of this. In order not to put the body into a stressful state, it is recommended to immediately consume a sufficient amount of proteins and carbohydrates after a morning workout. This will give strength for further work or study and start the recovery processes. Ideal is oatmeal steamed in water with fruit and chicken eggs. There is no particular need for sports nutrition at this time, since during the day you will eat enough food to recover. It is better to train on a relatively empty stomach, drinking a protein shake before training or eating some fruit, then the post-workout meal will be absorbed much better.

With evening workouts, the situation is completely opposite. Most nutritionists generally do not recommend consuming carbohydrates after 6-7 pm. Meals after a late workout should be completely protein-rich. Almost any protein source will do. If your workout ends very late and you go to bed right after it, then you need a slow-release protein (casein). It will support the body's anabolic processes while you sleep. This will prevent muscle breakdown. Casein is found in large quantities in cottage cheese, and is also sold in the form of sports nutrition. If casein is not available, you can get by with a multicomponent protein - it is a mixture of different proteins with different digestion rates.

Is it okay to eat at night after training?

Of course, you can eat at night, but the food should be as "clean" as possible and meet your goals. In addition to cottage cheese or a protein shake, you can use egg whites with a fresh vegetable salad as the last meal before bed. This is a light and healthy food that will saturate the body with high-quality protein and fiber, without overloading the gastrointestinal tract.

Eating before bed should never be heavy. Overeating impairs the production of melatonin, resulting in poor sleep quality and therefore impairing recovery. And without proper recovery, there will be no growth.

Protein food after exercise

Protein intake after exercise is an important element for further recovery and growth. However, it should be borne in mind that each protein source has a different absorption rate. After a morning workout, we need a "fast" protein, after an evening workout - "slow", after a day - something in between.

• Fast-digesting protein foods include eggs and egg whites, milk, kefir, whey protein isolate and hydrolyzate.
• Protein foods with an average absorption rate include: chicken fillet, turkey, lean beef, lean pork, fish, seafood, whey protein.
• Protein foods with a slow absorption rate include: cottage cheese, casein, multicomponent protein.

Protein products should be as high quality and fresh as possible. Only use products from trusted manufacturers. The fact is that the quality of the protein is just as important as its quantity. In most cases, both cheap and low-quality products, the amino acid composition is rather scarce, and the body does not receive the necessary micronutrients from them.

Watch the video: What I Eat In A day - Pre and Post Workout Meals - Healthy Fitness Meals - Build Lean Muscle (December 2024).