Why it's important to choose the right post-workout foods for weight loss
Why does what you eat after a workout matter when it comes to weight loss? To get a better understanding of how post-workout foods can help you lose weight, you should also understand how working out affects your body.
When you work out, your muscles use up your body's preferred fuel source, glycogen, particularly during intense workouts. This depletes your muscles of glycogen¹. Some of your muscles' proteins can also become damaged and broken down.
After exercising, your body attempts to rebuild its glycogen stores. It also gets to work repairing and regrowing those damaged muscle proteins. Consuming the proper nutrients after a workout not only helps rebuild your glycogen stores and muscle proteins quicker, but also helps with new muscle growth stimulation. To keep the burn going, a good post-workout snack or meal is important.
Whether you're doing cardio or strength and endurance training, your body uses up all its energy during a workout. Therefore, it's vital that you nourish your body properly with all the essential nutrients it needs after you work out. Most individuals only consider their pre-workout meal. Now you know that your post-workout meal is just as important.
What to eat after a workout to lose weight
A proper post-workout snack or meal is essential to help with weight loss and keep your body healthy. Some post-workout meals you should incorporate into your workout plan include the following:
1. Water
While water isn't necessarily a meal, it's still an important part of your post-workout meal. Being properly hydrated will ensure your body gets the most benefits from your workout.
Your body loses electrolytes and water while you sweat² during exercise. Drinking water before, during, and after your workout can help promote performance and recovery. According to experts³, you should drink 17-20oz of water two hours before working out, 7-10oz every 10-20 minutes during your workout, and 16-24oz after your workout, for each pound you lose due to sweating.
Everyone's particular water intake needs will vary depending on:
How much they sweat
The type of workout they do
How thirsty they are
Other factors
2. Dairy protein
Published research in 2017⁴ shows as little as 9g of milk protein is enough to stimulate muscle protein synthesis, which aids in post-workout recovery.
Other than milk, other protein-rich dairy products include:
Cottage cheese
Greek yogurt
Kefir
Ricotta cheese
One cup of low-fat kefir has 9.2g of protein⁵. These proteins help with new cell growth and repair, particularly the cells in your muscles. They also contain essential amino acids that you can only get through your diet.
In 2007, researchers found that the new growth of muscle proteins⁶ after resistance exercise was better with milk-based proteins versus soy-based proteins.
While both soy and milk proteins help you build and maintain muscle mass, the fast growth of lean muscle mass was better achieved with milk proteins.
3. Protein, carbohydrates, and fats
The post-workout recovery process of your body involves each macronutrient (protein, carbs, and fats). This is why it's essential to have the proper mix of them.
Protein
Protein helps build and repair muscles.
Consuming a sufficient amount of protein post-workout provides your body with the required amino acids⁷ for repairing and rebuilding these proteins. It also provides your body with the building blocks needed for building new muscle tissue.
Some protein-rich foods include:
Eggs
Cottage cheese
Plant or animal-based protein powder
Tuna
Chicken
Greek yogurt
Tuna
Protein bars
Salmon
Carbs
Carbohydrates assist with recovery. The glycogen stores of your body are used as fuel while you work out, and consuming carbohydrates post-workout helps in replenishing them.
Your activity will determine how much of your glycogen stores are used. For instance, your body uses more glycogen during endurance sports than during resistance training. If your workout focuses on endurance sports (i.e. swimming, running, etc.), you may require more carbs than a person whose workout focuses on weightlifting.
Consuming 0.5g-0.7g of carbohydrates per pound of body weight in a 30-minute timespan after training will result in proper glycogen resynthesis⁸.
Some carbohydrate-rich foods include:
Chocolate milk
Sweet potatoes
Fruits (i.e. banana, pineapple, kiwi, berries)
Oatmeal
Rice cakes
Pasta
Rice
Edamame
Potatoes
Whole grain bread
Quinoa and other grains
Fats
Fats aren't always bad. Many individuals think that consuming fat after working out inhibits nutrient absorption and slows digestion down. While fat may slow down the absorption of post-workout meals, it won't reduce its benefits. For instance, research shows that whole milk helps promote muscle growth post-workout⁹ better than skim milk.
Other research¹⁰ shows that even when you ingest a high-fat meal — which is 45% energy from fat — following a workout, it doesn't affect muscle glycogen synthesis.
Some fats include:
Nuts
Seeds
Avocado
Trail mix (dried nuts and fruits)
Nut butter
Easy post-workout meals you can try
Here are some quick and easy post-workout meals:
Cottage cheese with berries
Avocado spread on toast with an omelet
Scrambled eggs
Berries and Greek yogurt
Chickpea salad and edamame
Quinoa with avocado, nuts, and dried fruit
Pita and hummus
Oatmeal with almonds, a banana, and whey protein
What not to eat after a workout
If you consume oily, fatty, and fried food after working out, it could be counter-productive¹¹. All your efforts in trying to lose that stubborn belly fat go down the drain when you consume all the unwanted calories from these foods.
Foods you should try to avoid after working out include:
Coffee
Fried food
Spicy food
Beans
Desserts
Fast foods
Carbonated drinks
Alcohol
Raw veggies
Sugary juices
Overall, you want to stay away from post-workout foods that are low in protein, and high in sugar and fat, particularly if you're trying to lose weight. Cutting back on unhealthy foods helps you achieve your fitness and weight-loss goals quicker, while also improving your overall health.