Post Workout Snacks
Do you usually eat a post workout snack? I am going to be honest, I typically don’t. I wanted to research if there are any benefits to eating after a workout. I found out that in order to grow your muscles and not damage your body, you need this snack. In this article, I will explain why you should have a bite to eat and tell you what snacks are best.
An article states,“After your workout, your body tries to rebuild its glycogen stores and repair and regrow those muscle proteins. Eating the right nutrients soon after you exercise can help your body get this done faster.” If you don’t have a nibble after you hit the gym, you risk breaking down your muscles faster than your body can repair them.
Not only is a post workout snack good for gaining muscle, but it also helps with getting leaner. You need to replenish the energy your muscles lost no matter what your fitness goal is.
Dietitians recommend that you eat a meal of carbs and protein within 30 minutes of your workout. This helps to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, improve performance for your next workout, and aid your recovery. If you can’t eat 30 minutes after your workout, that’s ok just try to eat within an hour. Some say that a delay of even two hours can cause as much as 50% lower rates of glycogen synthesis.
All in all, eating this essential snack will help decrease muscle protein breakdown, increase muscle protein synthesis, restore glycogen stores, and enhance recovery.
It is said that you should be eating about 0.14-0.23 grams of protein per pound of your body weight. You should also be eating 0.5-0.7 grams of carbs per pound of body weight.
If you had a pre workout snack, then a post workout snack is not essential. You can also skip the snack if you did a light workout and still have the majority of you energy left. Otherwise, here are some great options.
Dates and nut butter: Dates are high in potassium which helps build muscle and protein and consists of an electrolyte that is good for heart health. Nut butter is a great source of protein and healthy fats.
Nuts and fruit or trail mix: Similarly to option one, nuts provide protein and the fruit/dried fruit provides carbs.
Plain yogurt with berries: Yogurt has lots of protein and berries have antioxidants, fiber, and tons of other nutrients. When searching for the right yogurt, try to pick something low in sugar, but high in protein.
Protein shake: With this option, there is a lot of variation that you can choose from. Add protein powder or some form of protein, fruit, and milk.
Carrots and hummus: This is a personal favorite of mine! Carrots will provide vitamins and carbs and hummus will provide the protein.
Nut butter toast/ rice cake with banana: Banana has tons of vitamins such as potassium and manganese which helps with skin. Nut butter is the protein and fat and the rice cake or toast is the carb.
Avocado toast with and egg on top: This has all the fats, protein, and carbs you will need for a great recovery snack.
Cheese and crackers: If you want a change from options with nuts, this is super simple and yummy.
Granola bar
Cereal or granola