You’re probably starving when you come home from the gym. All the sweat, burned calories, and spent energy make you feel exhausted — and more importantly, hungry. Don’t worry, you’re not alone. Plenty of people could eat the whole kitchen after they get back from a weightlifting session or a long run. This is normal! Your body has gone through some tough work, after all. It needs replenishment and nourishment.
However, it’s all too easy to overeat or choose something unhealthy when your body is tired and rundown. This would nearly outdo all the hard work you did during your session. We’re going to provide you with some information so you don’t make that mistake. Your body needs a high level of replenishment after you sweat and get your heart rate up, so keep reading for more details on how to give yourself the very best.
What’s the Best Thing to Eat After a Workout?
First of all, let’s get the obvious out of the way. It’s important to eat after a workout, so don’t skip out on it! Your glycogen energy stores are depleted after you train and your muscle proteins also get damaged. You need to refuel yourself.
Experts recommend you eat a combination of complex carbohydrates and protein that are rich in minerals and vitamins. Something like sweet potato and peanut butter, whole wheat toast with avocado, carrots with hummus, or a smoothie with plant-based protein powder. These kinds of foods will speed up the process of rebuilding your glycogen stores and restoring your muscle fibers; plus, they’ll give you the energy to get through the rest of your day.
What Foods Should You Avoid After Your Workout?
You already know the answer to this question. Stay away from refined sugar, processed and packaged foods, and anything that contains ingredients you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce. These foods will make you feel sluggish and they won’t provide your body with the necessary nutrients and minerals required to recover from your workout. They’ll also make you feel hungrier later, which will likely lead to overeating.
How Many Calories Should You Eat After Your Workout?
There isn’t really a “right” answer to this question. It depends on whether you want to eat a meal or a snack after your session. If you’re going for a snack, aim for something around 200-300 calories. If you’re going for a meal, the calorie intake is dependent on you, your macros, and your goals. But whatever you do, do your best not to overeat. No matter how healthy your food may be, eating an excess in calories will result in weight gain.
So What’s the Perfect Post-Workout Meal?
We have two excellent suggestions. The first is a smoothie or acai bowl that contains high-quality plant-based protein powder, like Healthy Truth GO PRO Protein Powder Blend, which has 20 grams of protein at only 150 calories per serving. You can throw in a banana, unsweetened almond milk, frozen berries, a quarter of an avocado, and some fresh spinach for a great-tasting smoothie. Add in some raw organic acai powder and ice for an ice-cold acai bowl.
The second perfect post-workout meal would be a fresh salad topped with all kinds of plants and complex carbohydrates. We love spinach, kale, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and green onions, all topped with Organic Pizza Nut Clusters. They’re absolutely delicious (reminiscent of pizza-flavored Goldfish!) and a great source of complex carbs and protein. Toss it all with some olive oil and some balsamic vinegar and you absolutely can’t go wrong!