Everyone has to eat. When it comes to living a healthy lifestyle, you have put in too much effort into your workouts to ruin it with a bad diet. In order to perform better, recover, and reach your goals, your post-workout meal is an integral part of daily life. Consuming the right nutrients after you exercise is just as important as what you eat before.
It doesn’t require buying extra groceries or buying plant-based products. You just have to brush up on your knowledge on how to treat your body right. These three key details will ensure that you are conducting the right form of business after that hard workout.
#1. Proteins, Carbs, and Fats
Too much protein can have you looking like a royal panda. Your best bet is to monitor an adequate amount of protein. Protein gives your body amino acids it needs to repair and rebuild these proteins. It also gives your body building blocks to build new muscle tissues, which is extremely beneficial for after lifting weights.
Just like proteins are to lifting, carbs are to cardio related activities. Your body’s glycogen is used as fuel during exercise such as running, swimming, or biking. The rate at which your glycogen stores depends on the activity. After a strenuous cardio workout, replenishing with carbs can be important. Some believe that eating fats can slow down the glycogen process, but it actually doesn’t affect your body as long as you limit the fan intake. A lot of fat can slow down the breakdown of nutrients, but some fats can actually benefit your body.
#2. Timing Is Important
After your workout, the timing of healing starts right away. Your body needs to rebuild glycogen and protein after your workout, so it’s important to consume your protein or carbs as soon as possible after exercising. It’s like restocking a shelf at the grocery store. If you know that you are having a sale on a hot product, the consumer will want to buy a lot, leaving the shelf bare. When you exercise various muscle groups, your muscle tissue gets worn after the activity. You need to heal the area with the proper nutrients, so that it can be used again.
For this reason, experts recommend eating your post-workout meal within 45 minutes. If you are someone that is on the go, bringing a protein shake or a high-protein bar would be the smart bet. Some studies show that eating your post-workout meal as little as two hours after can lead to lower rates of glycogen of 50%.
#3. Drink Water
As an honorable mention, eating as many colors in the day is a sure fire recommendation. However, staying hydrated is just as important. When you stay hydrated, you keep electrolytes that you would lose through sweat. When you sweat, you lose nutrients that are vital to your well-being. It’s important to replenish the fluids you lose within a couple of hours.
A common rule of thumb is to drink at least half of your body weight in ounces each day. Some say that you should drink a gallon of water each day, but that varies depending on the body type. Determine how much water you think you should have, and then go from there.