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The Best Foods For After You Exercise, It’s More Important Than You Think.

9th February, 2009 - Posted by health news - No Comments

We have all heard that your post-workout meal may very well be your meal that is the most important of the entire day.
This is because when you’re done with an intense exercise routine, you’re entering a catabolic status where your muscle glycogen is used up and your cortisol levels have increased and are beginning to cause your muscle tissue to break down excessively. In other words, this means that your body’s in the “get energy from breaking down tissue” mode… you don’t want your muscles to get broken down, you want to establish balance so that you gain muscle instead. What I suggest you do, is to take in an easily digestible after-exercise meal (can be a shake or smoothie) as soon as you can after working out.

The objective is to choose a meal with carbs that digest easily, as well as easily digestible protein to supply what’s needed to initiate muscular rebuilding. The flow of carbohydrates and amino acids from this quickly digested meal promotes an increase of insulin from the pancreas, which propels nutrients into the muscular cells.

The meal you eat immediately after working out should usually contain between 300-500 calories for optimum results. Case in point, a 120-lb lady may only need a 300-calorie meal, where a 200-lb man may need a 500-calorie meal after working out. Your post-workout meal should also have anywhere from a ratio of 2:1 and 4:1 for carbs:proteins. While the rest of your meals throughout the day should consist of a supply of healthy fats, keep the amount of fat in of your first meal after working out to a minimal amount, since fat decreases the rate of absorption of the meal, which is the the last thing you want after a workout.

When you choose what to make for your meal after working out, the first thing to understand is that you DON’T need any of these costly post-workout supplement formulas that all of the popular commercials you see on television will tell you that are absolutely necessary! I have a preference to make my own post-workout milkshakes from pure ingredients as an alternative to using a premixed formula, since many of them are lacking in quality.

A good source of easy to digest natural carbs such as organic maple syrup, honey, frozen bananas, or pineapples are ideal. The more you can encourage the muscle rebuilding process, the better you raise your metabolic rate and this can assist with weight loss too.
The best way to get of quick to digest protein is a quality non-denatured whey protein isolate and/or a non-fat or low-fat yogurt. These are a few ideas for appetizing post-workout shakes that will trigger your revitalization process:

Chocolate Banana – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup skim milk, one and a half frozen bananas, 2 tbsp organic maple syrup, and 30 grams chocolate whey protein powder 38 g prot, 72 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 440 calories.

Pineapple Vanilla – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, one cup frozen pineapples, 2 tbsp honey (preferably raw), and 30 grams vanilla whey protein powder 35 g prot, 71 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 425 calories.

An additional bonus of post-workout meals is that you can please even the strongest cravings, since this is the single of the day where you can get away with consuming extra sugars without adding to your waistline. This is true only in the case of a high intensity resistance exercise routine though, so stay away from this if you’ve merely been doing some moderate cardio.
Enjoy!

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