The Post-Workout Meal
The Post-Workout Meal by L.Labrada
Have you ever experienced that drained feeling after a workout? Well, after recently completing an intense back workout I felt just this way. I had performed heavy bent-over rows, deadlifts, and shrugs, and I was a bit light-headed. Truth is, my stomach didn’t feel the best, either.
The thought of eating anything was the farthest thing from my mind, yet I knew exactly that I needed to get my blood sugar back up. I poured myself a little Gatorade and mixed it with equal parts of water and started to sip it slowly. As I sat there sipping my drink, I started feeling refreshed.
My light-headedness disappeared, my nauseous stomach settled, and I actually began to feel hungry. Now before you get the idea that this is a Gatorade commercial, understand that there is nothing magic about what I did. The fact of the matter is that my body was trying to recover the energy that it had lost during the workout. The sugar in the Gatorade (which could have also been been a Powerade, fruit juice or any other high sugar, non-carbonated drink) went into my system and allowed me to begin recovering from my workout.
Feeling better, I packed my bag and went home. By the time I got to the dinner table my appetite was in full swing. I sat down to a hardy meal of chicken breast, potatoes, steamed vegetables and a big salad. And greedily gulped it down. About half an hour after my meal, I felt like a million bucks again.
A question that I am frequently asked is “”What do you eat immediately after a workout?”" To answer that question, we have to look at a few things. Right after a workout the first thing your body wants to do is to recover the energy it expended during the workout.
Blood sugar levels are depleted. This is a good time to ingest some simple carbohydrates. I recommend up to 100 grams of simple carbohydrates immediately following a workout. Liquid carbs in the form of a sports drink are an excellent source of simple sugars.
By sipping a sports drink cut with water slowly, you begin to replenish the blood sugar and glycogen that your muscles crave. Another thing; during a work out, your body produces catabolic (muscle wasting) hormones, such as cortisol. Cortisol levels rise. This is part of the natural response to stress.
The subsequent insulin response (your body secretes insulin in response to sugar intake) that simple carbs (sugars) elicit, help to bring cortisol production to a halt and allow the recovery process to begin. If you don’t like sports drinks, you could have a couple of bananas or a granola bar, along with some cool water. These carbohydrates should be ingested within 30 to 45 minutes of training.
Stay away from fat-laden foods at this point, as it will slow down the emptying of your stomach and will affect the uptake (assimilation) of the carbohydrates. Hydration is also a concern after a workout, so be sure to drink plenty of fluid.
The next thing that the body wants once it has recovered its immediate energy, is to begin recovery of the muscle tissue that has been stressed during the workout. To help your body accomplish this, you should consume a balanced meal consisting of a high-quality protein source plus a source of complex carbohydrates (slow release, starchy carbohydrates).
Adequate protein sources include: chicken breasts, fish, turkey, low fat cottage cheese and meal replacements.
Adequate complex carbohydrate (starchy carbs) sources include: potatoes, yams, rice and beans, oatmeal, lentils, and whole grain cereals. Starches are broken down to glucose (blood sugar) slowly by the body. The rate at which carbs are broken down is important. If the carbs are broken down too quickly, then the excess could be deposited as fat.
Here is a sample post-workout, balanced meal:
-
8 to10 ounces of chicken breasts or lean fish
-
10-12 oz baked potato
-
4-6 oz of steamed vegetables
-
Salad with non-fat dressing
-
Iced tea
Stay away from high-fat foods for your post workout meal. That’s right, no spaghetti and meatballs, guys! The spaghetti is OK in moderation, but as for the meatballs… well, unless they’re made from ground turkey or an otherwise lean protein source, they’re a no-no. Stay away from beef, pork, french fries, fried foods, and other high-fat foods.
What if you normally work out after dinner time and just don’t have time to have a “”second dinner?”"
Well, a bowl of instant oatmeal or whole grain cereal, along with a meal replacement drink makes a perfect late night post-workout meal. This is one of my favorites.
The idea for the post-workout meal is not to pig out, but to give your body an adequate amount of protein and complex carbohydrates to speed along the process of recovery. Eating heavily during the post-workout meal only slows gastric emptying which means that it prolongs the time before you can consume yet another meal.
In other words we want the post-workout meal to be lean so that our stomach will empty out and we will be ready to eat another post workout meal 21/2 to 3 hours later. Or go to sleep on an empty stomach, as the case may be. I hope these guidelines help to speed your progress along.
