When it’s about your workout, excuses don’t get you the results; commitment does. To remain committed towards your workout goals you need to provide your body with the right kind of fuel. Eating after your workout is not an option. It’s a necessity that you mustn’t ignore if you care about your body and want to be in shape. There are a few things that you need to keep in mind as far as post-workout eating is concerned. Outlined below is all that you should know about post-workout eating.
Why is it important to eat after a workout?
For anyone who feels famished after a grueling workout session, the obvious answer is to satisfy the hunger pangs. But sometimes you may find those hunger pangs missing even after a particularly exhausting session of sweat and grit. Instead of craving food, your body may feel like skipping out altogether on your post-workout nutrition. Even under such circumstances, it is essential to feed yourself the right kind of snack. This is because workouts often cause loss of electrolytes, glycogen, and fluids in your body. You need to replenish such deficiency through food. Also, workouts leave your muscle tissues in a strained condition. To help repair the damaged tissues and to develop new tissues for a toned body, proper nutrition is of utmost importance.
When is the ideal time to eat after your workout?
Once you are done with your exercise routine, your first priority should be replenishing the energy levels of your body. You need to act with urgency towards accomplishing this objective because the faster you refill your energy stores the faster your body will be able to recover. Ideally, if you intake your post-workout snack within 15 to 60 minutes of your workout session, you will help your body to develop more metabolism-boosting muscle even as your body breaks down the food to restore your energy levels. Also, you will enable your body to rebuild muscle instead of storing the calories as fat. This will result in burning more calories. So, make it a habit to eat your post-workout snack within an hour of your workout.
What do you need to eat after your workout?
After your workout session, you don’t have to eat more or eat less. You just have to eat right. That is why you shouldn’t indulge in something like a huge piece of chocolate cake or a cheesy cheeseburger as your post-workout snack. The wrong snack can simply cancel out the hard work you put into your workout and may even add unwanted calories to your body. Depending on the duration and difficulty level of your session, you need to eat a healthy and nutrition filled snack. For instance, if it was a quick session, you may recover the lost energy through a protein drink. But you may need something more filling after an extended workout session. Having a clear knowledge of what to eat after a workout today and implementing that knowledge will help you to achieve your desired body in the long run.