The Best Food To Eat After a Workout
By Doaa Samir
To fuel and refuel working muscles, hard workouts necessitate proper nutrition. In reality, what you eat after a workout is just as important as what you eat before you exercise. It’s critical to comprehend the value of proper nutrition in supporting your workouts and understanding how the body reacts to the demands of physical activity.
Energy reserves (glycogen) are exhausted, muscle tissue is weakened, and fluids and electrolytes are lost through sweat during an exercise session. The best foods to eat after a workout and how long should you wait to eat are common questions.
What To Eat After Working Out
To understand how the right foods will help you recover from exercise, you must first understand how physical activity affects your body. Your muscles use up their glycogen reserves for fuel while you exercise. Your muscles would be partly drained of glycogen as a result of this. Some of the proteins in the muscles are also weakened and broken down.
Following a workout, the body attempts to replenish glycogen reserves as well as repair and regrow muscle proteins. If you consume the right nutrients soon after you workout, the body will be able to complete this mission more easily. After your workout, it’s especially important to eat carbs and protein.
Protein From Milk
According to a 2017 study, as little as 9 grams (g) of milk protein may be enough to promote protein synthesis in muscles, assisting in recovery after exercise. Some researchers discovered in 2007 that milk-based proteins are more effective than soy-based proteins at promoting muscle protein development after resistance exercise. Although both milk and soy proteins help people sustain and develop muscle mass, the researchers found that milk proteins were more effective at promoting rapid lean muscle mass development.
Water
Before, during, and after a workout it’s important to drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated means that you get the most out of your workout. Sweating allows the body to lose water and electrolytes. Drinking water before, during, and after a workout helps with successfully recovering from your fitness training. The amount of water needed after a workout depends on the type of exercise completed, how much sweat was lost and other factors. As general rule, drink as much as you can handle.
Eggs
According to the findings of a study published in 2017, eating whole eggs after resistance exercise increased protein synthesis more than eating egg whites with the same protein content. The nutrients in the yolk, according to the researchers, helped to activate the muscles more effectively.
Food Containing Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids, according to a Research Source from the Washington University School of Medicine, aids in the synthesis of muscle proteins and increases the size of muscle cells in healthy young and middle-aged adults. Omega-3 fatty acids are found in fatty fish, such as salmon. Tuna is also rich in fatty acids. It has 41.6 grams of protein and 5.4 grams of fat per 6 ounces (oz) of tuna packed in water.
Food Containing Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates consumed as part of a post-workout snack also aid in glycogen storage. Sweet potatoes, grains, vegetables, as well as quinoa can provide a lot of healthy carbohydrates. Glycogen is used by the body as fuel during intense physical activity. Your body will deplete these resources when you workout, so these foods will help restore those levels.