Did you know that what you eat after exercising is very important in order not to take back the calories you burn during your work out and in order to avoid muscle loss? Your post work-out meal is as important as your work-out itself.
Awesome, you exercise, you burn calories, and you want to keep it that way and not want to take them back. But how?
Let's see what your post work-out meal should look like!
Your muscles break down the most during work-out. With the right nutrition and meal plan, you can stop the muscle break down and facilitate muscle protein synthesis.
You should go for carbs and proteins before exercising.
For example, if you have burnt 600 calories during your work-out, your post work-out meal should have 300 calories. If your intake is more than what you burn, you will gain weight.
During this period of time, your body fills your energy stocks and prepares you for your work out. Give it time.
A good source of carbs, such as bananas, will help you get better results.
Within the first 45 minutes following your work out, you HAVE to eat something. During these 45 minutes, your heart rate will continue to be higher; and therefore your electrolytes will be renewed quickly and the muscles will start healing.
You can go for yogurt, fruits and fat-free milk.
You can prepare a fast chicken sandwich using whole-grain bread, which will provide you with enough necessary carbs and proteins to build muscle.
Consuming water after your work-out will be enough to make up for the water loss. You have to keep your water intake and use in balance in order for your cells to continue their vital activities and for your bodily functions to be carried out properly.
A light meal that is rich in proteins is more than enough. Grilled chicken meat with minimum oil and lots of greens or a plate of seasonal fruits will restore the energy and proteins you have lost.
Drinking mineral water during your work-out may cause you to feel stuffed. Go for mineral water only after you finish exercising.
You can have an omelette or a smoothie in the mornings after a morning work-out.
Those will not only do you no good, but also reverse all your effort.
It is a good idea to satisfy your sweet tooth with chocolate milk. It will both resupply the energy you used during your work-out and satisfy your calcium need!
