What You Should Know About Workout Nutrition
By Sara Butler
If there was a list of areas of life people had a lot of misinformation about, then nutrition and exercise would be in the top of the field. Combining the two into workout nutrition? You probably aren't really sure what to think. If you have some questions about how to nourish your body after a workout, then here's what you need to know.
Should You Skip a Snack?
When it comes to eating after a workout, there are a couple of times when it's OK to wait until your next meal and simply hydrate until then. You can safely skip your post-workout meal when:
- The workout wasn't as intense - Doing some yoga or going for a walk are great ways to get your body moving, but they don't mean you need to load up on carbohydrates and protein afterward. Any light to moderate workout in which you aren't building muscle doesn't require a snack or meal as a part of recovery.
- The workout lasted less than one hour - If you're trying to reach and maintain a healthy weight, then you may not need to refuel even after a more difficult workout if it was less than an hour. Remember, refueling is about replenishing the glycogen stores in your muscles and chances are that shorter workouts aren't really doing that.
When Not to Skip
If your goal is to build muscle with intense, long workouts, then you definitely need to refuel smartly when done. If you're doing a workout that is breaking down muscles, then you need to jump start the rebuilding of those muscles by providing them with a snack high in protein.
Eating protein after an intense, muscle-smashing workout helps to rebuild and repair muscles. Failure to provide adequate recovery for your muscles in the form of nutrition will only slow your progress and make your gains smaller.
Try a post-workout smoothie or protein shake to help your muscles rebuild. These are popular because they're easy to digest and the body can gobble up the protein quickly to help the muscles begin to repair.
Timing
Research suggests that the window to eat protein lasts for a few hours after you've completed your workout, so if you don't want to work in a snack, then you don't have to. If you're going to have a balanced, protein-forward meal in the few hours after your workout, then you can probably skip the protein shake.
Questions about post-workout nutrition? Talk to the chiropractors at The Joint!
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Rowlett, Tex.