Post-Workout Nutrition

I've seen tons of athletes  who train extremely hard in the gym, only to fuck up their results in the kitchen. They skip meals, under or overeat, and generally just eat crap. I also know a lot of guys who go for hours after their workouts without food. This is a huge mistake. To optimize your results in the gym, a proper  meal within the post workout window is a necessity. 

The post-workout window is a period of time where your body will partition nutrients more favorably. This period of time lasts for roughly one hour. This means that whatever nutrients you put in your body will be more likely to be stored as muscle than fat. In addition, the carbohydrate requirements of your peri-workout meals are higher. As a rule, one should consume a shake or solid food meal that is higher in carbohydrates as soon as possible after heavy exercise. The carbohydrate content for the post – workout meal should generally be one portion of carbohydrate larger than the requirements for your metabolic type.

            For example, a protein type who would usually consume 30% carbohydrate, 50% protein and 20% fats might have 30 grams of carbs, 50 grams of protein and 10 grams of fat in a meal (fats contain roughly twice the amount of calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates). For the post workout meal, this individual would consume twice the amount of carbohydrate with the same amount of protein and fat. Therefore, the post workout meal would contain 60 grams of carbohydrate, 50 grams of protein and 10 grams of fat.

            The best sources of carbohydrate during the post workout meal are healthy options for higher glycemic carbohydrates. Specific foods recommended include bananas, potatoes of all varieties, dates, figs, rice, and oats. The sources of protein and fats in the post workout meal are of little long-term importance (no matter what the supplement companies try to tell you!).

            A word on fats in the post – workout meal: There is some controversy over whether or not fats belong in the post workout meal at all. This is due to several factors. First of all, insulin sensitivity is higher after exercise; meaning that whatever nutrients are consumed post-workout will be shuttled into the tissue at a much higher rate of absorption. This is a good thing when considering protein and carbohydrates because glycogen stores need to be rapidly replenished post-workout. However, shuttling fat strait into the tissue will not replenish glycogen, and will (in theory) have a negative effect on body composition. Also, fats tend to slow down the insulin response of a meal, meaning that when fats are consumed in the post-workout meal the overall absorption rate of the meal will be slower. Since the post workout window is roughly one hour (depending on the individual’s hormonal makeup), consuming fats in the post-workout meal will slow the absorption of the meal and potentially miss this one-hour window.

            Having said that, it is my opinion that in the real world, consuming some healthy fats in the post workout meal will not affect your progress in the least. The meal will be healthier as a result if you do choose to consume some healthy fats in this meal due to the fact that the insulin response will be lower and you won’t experience such a dramatic blood sugar crash. You also shouldn’t have a problem replenishing glycogen stores due to the fact that most trainees will only burn roughly 60 grams of carbohydrate in a workout. I personally consume 10-15 grams of fat in my post workout meal, usually from flax, coconut butter, or avocado.

            Here is a simple post workout shake you can make to greatly accelerate your progress in the gym: 

30-60 grams protein from powder

Mixed brozen berries

2 bananas

2 – 3 dates

1 Tbsp Nut butter or Coconut butter, or ½ avocado, or 2 Tbsp Ground Flax

Several handfuls of spinach (sounds gross, but you can’t taste it at all)

Try it out after your next workout. You can tweak it to fit your needs and metabolic type as well. Also, if you are going to cheat and eat junk food, try to do it around the post – workout window, as insulin sensitivity will allow for a better partitioning of nutrients and therefore less body fat gain from the junk food. 

Train Hard. 

- T