What to eat after a workout
I'm at the very bottom rung of the exercise ladder, so I find myself doing a lot of research about basic questions. Questions like, should I eat something after a workout? When? How much? And what?
The array of answers is dizzying. There are several reasons why what you eat after a workout is important. After exercise, your body wants to replenish its energy supply (carbs) and build muscle (protein). I have heard that the hour after a workout is the critical period for building muscle, but I don't know about that.
A lot of sources advise you to take carbs after a workout. Not just in the form of a sports drink, but we're talking entire plates of pasta. This seems more relevant to people trying to build strength and endurance, rather than people trying to lose weight like myself. I just worked really hard to burn those carbs! The last thing I want to do is eat a bunch more of them.
Protein is the other common suggestion. Puma Athletic recommends you eat something that's 60 percent carbs, 25 percent protein, and 15 percent whatever else. I did some thinking and then a little math and came up with a post-workout meal of an apple and a string cheese. (Both of these items are portable, to boot. I don't imagine many people will want to bring a Cobb salad to the gym for after.) Peanut butter and banana combos are popular too, although peanut butter (even unsweetened) is on my "No List" because it's one of those foods I literally cannot stop eating.
At some point you have to throw up your hands and go with how you feel. That's what I did yesterday: After I finished two hours of medium-intensity yard work I came inside and ate an orange. Not because of any scientific reasoning or study that I had read, but simply because I looked around my kitchen, and the orange sitting on the counter was what looked best.
And you know what? It worked pretty well. I felt better right away, and all through the evening, than I had in previous activity days. I didn't experience nearly as much exhaustion or muscle aches as I have in the past. Crazy!
Image courtesy Flickr/Amber Karnes