Post Workout Meal Nutrition -what to eat after a workout

The post workout meal (the meal you eat after a workout) is probably the most important meal of the day for anyone who is into nutrition and fitness. However, in a lot of cases this importance also leads to confusion. Maybe it's because of the many ready-made shakes available. Maybe it's the trouble with fitting it in with the rest of your diet. Maybe it's just generally not knowing whether you should even eat anything after you've worked out. Whatever it is, something about it confuses people.

The truth is, once you understand the basics of what nutrients your body needs and doesn't need after your workout, and what the best sources are to get this nutrition from, the post workout meal will probably become the most simple and quick meal of your day. And, luckily for you, I just so happen to be explaining all of this information in this very article.

What you should and should NOT eat after a workout.

Simply put, aside from water (which you should already know you need) your post workout meal needs to contain 2 things, and it needs to not contain 1. You should be eating protein and carbs. You should NOT be eating fat. More on the protein and carbs you need a little later. First, let's start with a quick explanation of why you shouldn't eat fat after a workout.

Many times throughout this website I explain why fat is NOT a bad thing (when it's the "good" fat) and why it is an important part of everyone's diet. However, there just happens to be a certain time when fat (good or bad) wouldn't be good to eat. This of course is in the post workout meal. Simply put, fat slows down digestion. In this case, it would be slowing down the digestion of protein and carbs. This, as you're about to find out, is the exact opposite of what you want to happen.

At this point you should really have just 3 questions about your post workout meal:

1 - How soon should I eat it?
2 - How much protein and how many carbs should I eat?
3 - What foods should the protein and carbs be coming from?

Hey, what a coincidence, here comes the answers to all of those questions...

How long after my workout should I eat my post workout meal?

Soon... really soon. As soon as you can. I don't mean put-down-the-dumbbells-and-start-eating. It doesn't need to be quite that soon. However, there is this "window of time" that exists after your workout during which it would be the most beneficial for your body to receive it's post workout nutrition. Typically you'd want to try to get this meal into your body within 1 hour. If possible, within 30 minutes would be even better. I personally have my post workout meal about 5-10 minutes after my workout. What's that you say? How can I do it so fast if I'm at the gym? Don't worry, more on that later.

Post Workout Protein

Now that you know that time is of the essence when it comes to your post workout meal, this part is going to make a whole lot of sense. See, eating this meal soon after a workout is important, but just because you are putting the food into your body quickly doesn't actually mean the food is being digested and used by your body equally as quick. While egg whites, chicken and tuna fish are fine sources of protein that I personally eat daily, they aren't the ideal type of protein for the meal after your workout.

These foods are whole foods, and the protein in whole foods digest pretty slowly. You may have eaten a high protein food in your post workout meal, but by the time the protein is digested and finally ready to be used by your body, a whole lot of time would have passed. This is why the ideal source of protein to eat after your workout is a whey protein powder mixed with some type of liquid thus creating a whey protein shake.

A whey protein shake will be digested by your body much quicker than a whole food because it will be a liquid. And, not to mention, whey protein is the fastest digesting protein there is. This is what makes whey protein pretty much the official choice of most people as their post workout meal protein source. Most people try to consume anywhere from 20-50 grams of protein at this time. I'd say 30 is probably a good number to shoot for.

As for the whey protein powder itself, I personally use Designer Whey Protein Powder.

Post Workout Carbs

Yeah yeah yeah. "Carbs are bad! Carbs are the devil! I am scared to death of carbs! Get them away from me!!" Settle down. First of all, they aren't so bad. Secondly, after your workout they are actually an extremely important part of your post workout nutrition. Carbs will be used by your body to restore muscle glycogen. If your post workout meal doesn't contain carbs, your body may actually instead break down muscle tissue for this same purpose. That would be a bad thing. Carbs also create an insulin spike which helps to move nutrients into your muscle tissue quicker.

So, now that you know you need them after a workout, what kind do you need? Well, you know all about good carbs and bad carbs by now, right? Funny enough, this is actually the only time when "good carbs" and "bad carbs" switch roles. This doesn't mean start eating cookies, this just means that typical good carbs (whole wheat bread, brown rice, etc) contain fiber, and fiber slows down their digestion. This is actually what makes them "good" any other time of the day. But by now you know the post workout meal is all about speed. And when it comes to speed, simple carbs beat complex carbs.

A food like a baked potato is an okay choice for a carb source after a workout. However, just like protein, whole foods in general aren't really the most ideal choice at this time. This is where a little something called dextrose comes in. Dextrose is not a supplement... it's actually just a type of sugar. I know, I'm basically saying you should eat sugar. While that would be insane any other time of the day, your post workout meal is the one exception.

Along with whey protein, dextrose has also become almost an official choice for a post workout carb. Most people usually consume between 40-80 grams of carbs at this time from dextrose. I think 50-60 is probably a more average number to shoot for. As far as dextrose goes, I personally use NOW Foods Dextrose.

My Post Workout Meal

To finish this article up, here is what I do. Before I leave for the gym, I put everything I need inside of a shaker bottle. A shaker bottle is just a plastic cup with a cover and some type of "blending" piece inside. You just put something in it, add water, and shake it for about 5-10 seconds. It is simple and extremely convenient for your post workout meal. I put in the whey protein powder, dextrose, and 5 grams of L-Glutamine (more about L-Glutamine) and take a bottle of water with me.

After my workout I get into my car, open the shaker bottle, pour in the water, shake for 5-10 seconds and drink on the ride home. The whole process takes less than a minute and the whole "meal" is finished in a matter of minutes if I take my time. There you have it... quick, easy, convenient and contains the best sources of everything my body requires post workout.

What I use:
Designer Protein Powder
NOW Foods Dextrose
EAS L-Glutamine
Shaker Bottle
Water

Source:intense-workout.com

this is a great post - alot of people get confused about what to have pwo..

Waxy Maize Starch is ideal for your cards source pwo - is a complex, long-chain, super-high molecular weight, sugar and lactose free carbohydrate.

WMS has a much higher molecular weight than dextrose and maltodextrin so therefore passes through the stomach much faster. Since WMS is absorbed so rapidly it can easily be consumed directly before or even during workouts without upsetting your stomach!

WMS acts like a pump, pulling the nutrients along with water into the muscle and at the correct speed and osmolality for your body to fully utilise.

WMS also acts as a shuttle with other nutrients helping them to be absorbed quicker than they normally would.
So if your pwo drink has WMS put in some BCAA's - glutamine and leucine - this will help shuttle them and replenish your stores alot quicker...

There are studies that show protein/whey can slow the absorption of WMS so its best to have your protein drink 5-10 mins after your Waxy Maize - carbs first then protein pwo

Really helpful message my frnd. Many totally confused with food taken by them whether it is safe or at what time which type of food should be taken is all of unknown things. I am also one of the person who has no control on diet and diet tips. This message may useful for every one.