Every workout plan must include a post-workout nutrition plan. Everything that you do before and after a workout plays a role in reaching your workout goals. This article will help you understand the things you need to consider when creating your post-workout meal plan.
Many individuals looking to lose weight or gain muscle mass pay more attention to their pre-workout nutrition, and the reason for this is quite understandable. Most people only think of how much calories and fat they need to burn during strength training, thereby putting more effort into their pre-workout meals. They forget that the body also needs to replenish lost energy and repair worn tissues and cells.
Fortunately, certain foods provide the body with enough nutrients to help it recover and repair damaged tissue. To achieve the best results for your workout goals, you must consume a balanced amount of protein and carbohydrates after a workout.
What are essential post-workout nutrients?
Protein helps the body repair damaged muscles, and carbohydrates provide the energy that the body needs. However, you have to eat these foods in the right proportions and at the right time.
Protein for building and repairing muscles
During exercise or any physical activity, your body burns calories as fuel and breaks down muscles. These are natural processes that come with all types of physical activity you engage in. The rate at which this damage happens depends on the workout and how intense they are.
Eating foods rich in protein right after a workout will give your body the amino acid it needs to replenish broken down muscle protein. Your muscles gain more mass by building new muscle tissue, and this is where protein comes in.
For muscle recovery, your body needs sufficient amounts of the nine essential amino acids. Three of the nine amino acids called the Branched Chain Amino Acids or BCAA, specialise in muscle protein synthesis. These BCAAs include valine, leucine, and isoleucine. Focus on consuming complete protein sources so that you can get all the essential amino acids. LA Muscles LA Whey Gold is a high-quality complete protein powder that can give you the amount of protein you need for post-workout nutrition.
How much protein you consume depends on your body weight. But the average should be about 20 – 40 grams.
Examples of protein-rich foods include meat, eggs, seafood, and dairy products like milk, yoghourt, and whey.
Carbohydrates for energy and recovery
Your body depletes its glycogen ass fuel during exercise; therefore, consuming carbohydrates after a workout will replace them. The amount of glycogen your body uses as fuel depends on the intensity of the activity. For instance, if you engage in strength training, your body burns less glycogen than if you engaged in endurance sports, so you need to eat more carbohydrates after a person who is into weightlifting.
Since your body tries to rebuild its glycogen levels after a wrokout, consuming a combination of protein and carbohydrates after a workout is essential for maximising glycogen and protein synthesis.
If you exercise regularly, then you need plenty of carbohydrates to replenish glycogen and glucose. A carbohydrate-rich snack or meal will do just fine. You can consume complex carbohydrates such as lentils, beans, peas, and oats for sustained energy. For quick energy, yoghurt, milk, fruit juice, and cereals will get the job done.
