What to Eat After Every Workout – Based on Your Goal

Every workout requires optimal fuel to help the body to function at its best.  Finding what to eat after every workout can present a challenge for many fitness goers. Many tend to find the tastiest and easiest treats after exercise to fulfill appetite, but this may cause issues for your long-term goals.

Finding a balance with your diet is tough, otherwise we would be nutritiously centered with what we eat.  With too few calories consumed after a workout, the body may feel sluggish, tired, and crash hard. Alternatively, too much food can weigh you down after your lifts and lead to sedentary behaviors. Finding the sweet spot in your eating patterns is important for making sure the body has what it needs to remain energized. 

Following a workout, it is very common to have what is known as post exercise appetite. This is when everything you see in the pantry just looks good and you want to eat it all. 

While eating after a workout is warranted, eating too many of the wrong foods can tackle your workout program and undo your hard work. If you want to make progress and have your hard work go somewhere, then peek ahead at what to eat after every workout – based on your goal in the gym.

The Timing of Your Meals is Key

The timing of when you eat versus when you exercise is crucial if you’re looking to gain that little extra advantage.  Eating right before a workout can lead to cramping and sluggishness that isn’t conducive for maximizing your efforts. 

In contrast, eating too far away from your workout can have similar results. Many people like the balance that eating after working out brings and it may have benefit for supplying necessary nutrients to the muscles for recovery.  

Eating a balanced diet with specific macronutrients aimed at recovery can be valuable after exercise. Restoring the body’s main glycogen stores is vital to ongoing energy and is vital to the recovery process. 

What is An Optimal Macro Profile?

Following a plan with specific macros in mind can help you to meet your fitness goals.  Standard diets should aim for roughly a 60/20/20 macro ratio for carbohydrates, fats, and proteins respectively.  The macro plan you follow should really be set based off your exercise goals, whether they are short or long-term. 

With this in mind, let’s dive into eating plans based off exercise goals and what to eat after every workout – based on your goal in the gym.

What to Eat After Every Workout for Weight Loss? 

There are many thoughts on how to achieve successful weight loss, but the overarching goal is to watch macros closely throughout the day.  Weight loss should include a slight calorie reduction, but not so much to where the body cannot meet the demands of being physically active. After a workout, it is important to be smart about what you eat to adhere to your daily macros. Here’s more information about how to arrange macros after your workout for weight loss. 

• Daily macros for weight loss: Aim for a 45/20/25 for daily carbs, fats, and protein respectively to meet weight loss goals. Factor into your daily macros roughly 25 grams of protein and some carbs for your post-workout recovery nutrition. 
• Foods to include: With every diet type, it is important to include fruits and vegetables at every meal and whole grains for fiber.  Look to cut out a few more refined carbs throughout the day and replace them with protein.  Fresh salmon, lean beef, pork, and chicken are great sources to include. Whole grains help to provide lasting energy and are great after every workout. 
• Helpful tips: Be mindful not to drink your to calories when aiming to lose weight. A protein shake should include protein and very little additional ingredients, such as sugar or nut butter, to save on calories. Be mindful that snacking after exercise adds calories that can wreck your macro profile. Consider having snacks prepared ahead of your workout to take the guessing game out of food prep. 

What to Eat After Every Workout for Muscle Hypertrophy?

Building muscle and gaining bigger muscles require a combination of hard work in the gym and dedication at the plate. Building bigger muscles requires more protein and carbohydrates help to aid in the synthesis of protein. Adding carbohydrates and protein after every workout can help to maximize muscular growth and aid in recovery.  

• Macros for muscle hypertrophy: This will be a protein-heavy diet plan and aim for a 40/20/30 carbs, fat, and protein profile respectively. 
• Foods to include: After every workout, aim for a protein shake combined with healthy, slow digesting carbs such as oatmeal, brown rice, or quinoa. 
• Helpful tips: A combination of whey and casein proteins can help to supply fast and slow digesting nutrition. After every workout, consider a half scoop of whey and half scoop of casein, for a total of at least 20 grams of protein, for both immediate and delayed-release muscle support.

What to Eat After Every Workout for Endurance Training? 

Endurance training can involve any kind of exercise that gets the heart rate up for long periods of time.  This kind of exercise requires ample glycogen stores to ensure lasting energy. For this reason, timing of meals after exercise is important for restoring these reserves. 

• Macros for endurance training: After every workout and throughout the day it is important to follow an endurance training schedule to ensure optimal energy.  Following a 50/25/25 carbs, fats, and protein profile respectively should help to ensure glycogen stores are replenished and that there’s enough fat to help meet any additional energy needs. 
• Foods to include: After every workout, consider eating foods that provide quick energy and slow-digesting carbohydrate relief. Quinoa helps to provide valuable nutrients for recovery nutrition. Add quinoa, brown rice, or barley to gain the most value in your endurance training recovery. Also, a protein shake with honey can be a fast way to add protein and carbs for the recovery process. 
• Helpful tips: Many people who take up endurance training perform carbo loading. This method was once popular and involved large amounts of carbohydrates the night before an event. This has all been debunked and instead it is more valuable to aim for about 50-60 grams of carbs before a 30–60-minute endurance training workout. Following endurance training, add 30-50 grams of carbs to help replenish glycogen stores. 

Wrapping it Up

It is easy to want to immediately grab comfort foods following any workout, but when your diet is healthy and consistent, your energy levels will be too. Consider modest amounts of protein of at least 20 grams and some carbohydrates to aid in the recovery process. 

References

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23899756

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18607220