I am sure everyone who is going through this page today, is definitely someone who has experienced the painful days post a rigorous workout and have felt like if there is any kind of diet or that nutritious food which will help in fastest possible recovery and make you feel ready for the next day workout if not immediately than at least sooner.
Similar thoughts have crossed my brain cells too, when I began my workout routine and trust me it also happens when you start your workouts after a long break. So, the question still remains what is the right food after your workout for recovery?
There is no such super food that will heal our muscles real fast. However, while we struggle to identify what nutritious food or diet plan suits our body I would love to share some basic practices that one can easily follow to overcome this question. Just to let you all know that I have worked my way out to learn the hard way and I might as well say that is a harsh truth that if a diet plan works best for one person or if a food or supplement helps one person recover faster that does not mean it will work on others as everyone is different and everyone of us lives a different lifestyle which also influences your speed of recovery.
So, let’s just learn those basic things that can contribute in our recovery:
1. Protein:
Human muscles are meant to use glycogen during our workout routine as a source of energy. In addition, some proteins also breakdown. Post workout body tends to recover glycogen and research has proven time and again that if you eat the right food soon after our workout it helps the body to regrow the muscle protein faster. It also helps in improving our mood and improves recovery time.
Consuming the right amount of protein is important and to consume protein before and after exercise is what we need to focus on. Several studies have shown that eating a pre-workout and post-workout meal causes a positive effect on muscle strength and its composition. Most importantly ISSN recommends eating good quality protein within the first 2 hours of your workout. As sources of protein you can pick any of these:
- Protein powder
- Cottage cheese
- Salmon
- Tuna or any other fish
- Chicken
- Eggs
2. Carbohydrate:
Depending on the type of workout you do, your intake of carbohydrates would differ. If you follow endurance workouts like cycling and running, you will require to consume more carbs than when you lift weights. ISSN recommends 3.6 to 5 grams of carbs per pound of body weight.
This also enables secretion of insulin promoting glycogen synthesis when carbs and protein are consumed at the same time. Within 4 hours of workout it is recommended to have 0.4 grams of carbs per pound of body weight with 0.1 to 0.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight. However, these recommendation might vary depending on your lifestyle too. You can select any of these options as source for your carb intake post workout:
- Sweet potatoes
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Rice
- Oatmeal
- Other whole grains
3. Fat:
Many of us think or have been told that taking fat immediately after workout would slow down the absorption of protein that one takes as a post workout meal. So, most of us would eat fat along with other meal options. Whereas there are studies that show that consuming good sources of fat as whole eggs or whole milk helps promote muscle protein synthesis than eating only egg whites and skimmed milk. Few good choices to go for as sources of fat are:
- Avocado
- Seeds
- Nuts
- Whole eggs
- Whole milk
With all of the above macro nutrients everyone who practices working out in a regular basis should must make sure to complete their sleep hours. A minimum of 8-10 hours of sleep makes it possible for your muscles get out of that sore mode faster and they look much defined with fulfilled sleep.
Water is another factor that helps in making sure that our body recovers faster as the body needs to stay hydrated to work at its optimal level. Drinking water before and after workout is a must which is also recommended by NATA. Drinking 200-300 ml of water within 20 mins of workout that helps replenishing lost water and 500 ml of water before 2-3 hours of workout would make a huge difference as a re-filling factor for you.
To learn more about healthy snacking or how to make sure that we change our cravings keep coming here and reading more.
