We all know the most important time to get food in is immediately post-workout. Our body is in a prime state to soak up nutrients to help repair muscle tissue. This process begins the early stages of recovery, which helps us to grow bigger and stronger.
What should you eat post-workout? How much should you eat? Whey protein alone, or consume protein with carbs?
Use these six tips to make the most out of your post-workout window.
BCAA contain three major amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine. These amino acids send various signals to our bodies to begin the repair and rebuild process. Consuming just 5-10g of BCAA immediately after your last set can help make you more anabolic and less sore.
2 of 6
LauriPatterson / Getty
Eat Your Protein & Carbs
There is so much debate about having protein only post-workout. Protein by itself after a workout is not as optimal as you may think.
Combining your protein with carbohydrates will increase your recovery process. Carbohydrates are needed post-workout to help replace glycogen levels, and help to shuttle the amino acids from your protein into muscle cells. Carbohydrates are more anabolic than protein, so when combined you give your body a one-two punch for recovery and overall muscle growth.
3 of 6
zoranm / Getty
Go Low-fat Post-workout
The goal of a post-workout shake should be to help shuttle nutrients into your muscle cells as quickly as possible to help repair and grow them.
Fats are a very slow-digesting macronutrient. Fats contain 9 calories per gram, therefore they take almost double the amount of time to digest than protein or carbs. Whenever you add fat to any meal, you are slowing the digestion of your meal down. Keeping fat under 10g post-workout will ensure that the nutrients we consume will arrive much faster.
4 of 6
Hero Images / Getty
Don’t Exceed 100g of Carbs Post-workout
Anything more than 100g of carbs is a waste post-workout. There is a fine line between too much and not enough. Our bodies are primed for nutrients post-workout, but they can only handle so much.
The post-workout window of opportunity does not mean eat as much as you can and get away with it. You will put on fat if you over-consume your calories, even if it’s all post-workout.
For someone trying to lose body fat I would say you want to consume 25-30% of your daily carbohydrate intake post-workout, while someone who is bulking should aim for 50-100g of carbohydrates post-workout.
5 of 6
skynesher / Getty
Take 100-200mg of ALA With Vitamin C
Alpha Lipoic Acid and vitamin C are two powerful antioxidants, which are able to fight free radicals. Free radicals build up when we subject our bodies to certain amounts of stress, such as working out.Â
After we lift weights there’s a build up of lactic acid and oxidative stress on the cells. ALA and vitamin C are known to help aid the body to fit these stresses. In addition to being an antioxidant, ALA is also very useful for helping to increase glucose uptake in the cells. ALA will help shuttle your post-workout meal into your muscle cells.
6 of 6
PeopleImages / Getty
Hydrate
When we lift weights, not only are we damaging muscle cells, but we are also losing electrolytes and our own body fluid. Our body is composed of 60% water, and our muscle cells are made up of 80% water. A 1% reduction in water can lead to a significant loss in strength and performance. It’s extremely important to hydrate and help replace what we lost during exercise.
