Abs are Made in the Kitchen; The Deal with Post-Workout Meals

May 29

Banana + Almond Butter Smoothie: 1 scoop vanilla protein powder, 1 banana, 1/2 tablespoon almond butter, 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk

Phew! You just finished a solid workout, you are drenched in sweat, yet still pumping those happy endorphins ready to take on your day. You are surging with energy, what’s the harm in jumping straight into the shower and on to knocking out that mile-long to-do list for the day?

Believe it or not, your post-workout meal is equally as important as your morning sweat-sesh. Fueling your body properly after your workout is the best and most important time to feed your body. Your workout has depleted your muscles and in order for the muscle to grow and heal from your strength training session, you need to eat! (Hallelujah!)

What does that meal look like? Well, the “perfect” meal is different for everyone and there are a lot of variables to consider; type of workout, goals, convenience, food preferences.

Protein and carbohydrates are the main characters to make up this meal.

When you exercise, your body uses glucose (carbohydrates), stored as glycogen in your muscles, this is the primary source of energy for the first hour of your workout. In addition, muscle is broken down during exercise, thus the need for protein post-workout. For women, aim to eat 20-30 grams of both protein and carbohydrates. For men, aim to eat 30-40 grams of both protein and carbohydrates. This meal will consist of at least 160-240 calories for women and 240-320 calories for men.

Fueling your body is important if you are looking to do any of the following; lose weight, gain muscle mass, tone, gain energy, improve athletic performance, maintain weight. (See what I did there? It’s important for everyone. ;) )

Here are some meal/snack ideas:

Protein powder + banana (make a smoothie or mix your protein with water and eat the naner)
Chicken sausage + rice
Rx bar + protein powder
Smoothie with fruit and protein powder
Whole wheat bread + deli turkey + tomato + mustard
Greek yogurt + fruit
Oatmeal + berries
Eggs + toast (add mashed avocado to make it extra tasty)
Roasted sweet potato and yogurt + cinnamon
Cottage cheese and berries
Protein pancakes
Protein powder mixed with water + cutie (My personal favorite right now.)

I recommend having this meal prepped in advance and bonus points if you bring it to the gym with you! The goal is to eat your post-workout meal within 60 minutes of your workout to capitalize on all of your hard work. This 60-minute window is the timeframe your body is immediately working to replace and repair what was lost and broken down. Ignoring your post-workout meal can leave you feeling fatigued, disoriented from low blood sugar and, can hinder recovery thus, can increase over-use injuries.

To optimize your workout and energy levels, create daily healthy habits and prioritize a healthy meal or snack post-workout. Find snacks or foods that fit within your schedule, making it easy to fuel post-workout.