Post-Workout Nutrition

[Aoiluna]

For those more knowledgeable than I in nutrition science, what is the best thing to eat after a workout? I used to be extremely fit (freshman year at college kind of brought me down) and now im trying to build myself up again.

Right now I only have time to workout 3 days a week (which will increase to 5-6 in a few weeks when the semester is over) and I dont usually workout until late at night. My workouts are generally an hour and a half long and consist of running, weightlifting, ab workout, and another run to end. By the time I get back i'm usually hungry and go to bed about 4 hours later.

So... what is the best food for post-workout?

[Jgib5328]

Right after your workout you need fast digesting protein and a source of carbs. Your body is in a great need of both right after you work out. Generally what I have is a protein shake at the gym and then I go home an have a sandwich. You want to aim to have your meal in withing 30 minutes of your workout, if you don't your body won't be as efficient when it's trying to rebuild itself, thus it minimizes your gains. Protein is good for rebuilding and carbs are good for refueling, you also want to avoid fats. If you are really serious, buy some protein powder, it's actually cheaper than any other source of protein and it digests faster than any other source.

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[Aoiluna]

thanks

[Jgib5328]

No problem, make sure you pay close attention to your nutrition, if you have a poor diet or just don't eat properly (e.g. at the wrong times of the day, too small intervals, too large intervals) your workout will largely be negated.

[Aoiluna]

Well I graze, eat very little meat (but make sure I get the protein I need) and load up on veggies, fruits, and carbs. I eat in small amounts many times a day. I never skip breakfast but feel that I eat too late.

[BallentineChen]

A meal eaten before workout can help close the nutrient timing window too. The bigger the meal, the more time you should give yourself to digest. For post-workout, I would recommend fast digesting carbs before consuming protein. Protein will slow digestion of otherwise fast carbs. You can find more info by Alan Aragorn on the bodybuilding.com forums, but don't pay much attention to anything else there.

What are your goals?

[Solaris]

Kicking up my workouts made me notice what my body craved more. I've learned to listen to it, as it seems to know what it needs.

I find eating just before to be as important, but then I do go out for 10 mile runs. (that still sounds kinda crazy to me)

[Aoiluna]

Well I'm almost always craving carbohydrates like pasta and bread, especially when I actually had time to run every day. 10 mile runs do sound crazy.

As for goals, I dont really have a weight goal because I will be gaining a ton of muscle and will probably only drop 5-10 lbs. I would like to be able to run 3 miles a day at least by mid-May (which is completely doable) and work my way up from there. I dont have specific goals as far as muscle strength goes, but every time I go to the gym I add more reps, more time, ect. I know im not going about it in the most organized way, but I would like to eventually get a journal to keep track. Eventually I would like to be able to run a marathon when I have the time to train for it but right now I just want to get back in shape.

[bucolic_]

I think one of the biggest things about PWO nutrition is finding out what works for you. Some people respond to different things in different ways..

Some people recommend taking simple sugars PWO (gatorade, something like that), personally the only time I take sugars PWO is when I have some workout drink leftover, I just finish it off immediately following my workout. Otherwise, my PWO meal (30 minutes - 1 hour later) tends to be some oatmeal derivative. I do sometimes use my PWO window to "cheat" though and drink a soda or something ;)

Also, when referring to "quick" proteins, the most common one is whey, which is found in milk. If you get a protein powder for PWO, whey or milk protein is the best, and in a pinch, milk itself isn't a bad choice, or even chocolate milk.

[Aoiluna]

Also, when referring to "quick" proteins, the most common one is whey, which is found in milk. If you get a protein powder for PWO, whey or milk protein is the best, and in a pinch, milk itself isn't a bad choice, or even chocolate milk.

Well Ive never really had the urge to take protein powder because I hate the taste, but its much healthier (for me ) than milk. I could always steal some of my brother's BSN lean dessert protein. If I am not used to a lot of animal protein in my diet do you think it will make me sick?

[Jgib5328]

Well Ive never really had the urge to take protein powder because I hate the taste, but its much healthier (for me ) than milk. I could always steal some of my brother's BSN lean dessert protein. If I am not used to a lot of animal protein in my diet do you think it will make me sick?

You can get decent tasting protein and if you think about it protein powder is A LOT cheaper than milk or another source.

[bucolic_]

Well Ive never really had the urge to take protein powder because I hate the taste, but its much healthier (for me ) than milk. I could always steal some of my brother's BSN lean dessert protein. If I am not used to a lot of animal protein in my diet do you think it will make me sick?

Lactose intolerant? I think some people with lactose intolerance have reported issues with various protein supplements, it depends on the brand though, I'm personally not LI, so I haven't had to research this.

I don't know about animal protein making you sick, I wouldn't think so, but who knows. Perhaps you should gradually increase your intake to be safe?

[Aoiluna]

Well I just want to be safe because I dont eat a lot of animal products (I just have a hard time digesting large quantities and the thought of red meat gives me the feeling that my arteries are hardening). As long as I could gradually increase the intake using the powder that would be fine.

[Solaris]

Lactose intolerant? I think some people with lactose intolerance have reported issues with various protein supplements, it depends on the brand though, I'm personally not LI, so I haven't had to research this.

I don't know about animal protein making you sick, I wouldn't think so, but who knows. Perhaps you should gradually increase your intake to be safe?

I've known several people with kidney issues who cannot eat animal protein. If the problem is low-grade enough, it may just result in some sort of ill feeling and nothing that would really send a person to the doctor.

[bucolic_]

I've known several people with kidney issues who cannot eat animal protein. If the problem is low-grade enough, it may just result in some sort of ill feeling and nothing that would really send a person to the doctor.

Hm, I hadn't thought of that, if it's a kidney problem, she should talk to a doctor.

[Aoiluna]

Well as far as I know I dont have any kidney problems. I drank a lot of milk as a kid and after reading up on how much pus is found in it I stopped drinking it about a year and half ago. I skip the red meat for the most part (unless my dad makes steak, because it is delicious) because heart problems run in my family. Ive never really had a taste for meat ever since I was a baby, so the fact that my body is not used to it (especially lately) is probably the reason I get sick when I have too much.

Ill read up on it anyways though, you have me curious.

[Solaris]

Well as far as I know I dont have any kidney problems. I drank a lot of milk as a kid and after reading up on how much pus is found in it I stopped drinking it about a year and half ago. I skip the red meat for the most part (unless my dad makes steak, because it is delicious) because heart problems run in my family. Ive never really had a taste for meat ever since I was a baby, so the fact that my body is not used to it (especially lately) is probably the reason I get sick when I have too much.

Ill read up on it anyways though, you have me curious.

I went 14 years without red meat (hot dogs don't count, and I don't eat them often anyway). One day, I decided to eat it again, and had no side-effects -- well, unless you count wanting more red meat again.

[Muse]

There's a plethora of different kinds of proteins from different sources out there. To be simple, look into whey, egg, and soy proteins and see which appeal to you.

[Tenacious B]

I went 14 years without red meat
That's impressive. When I was young my mom tried to make the family vegetarian. That lasted about 3 days, my dad and I snuck out for some burgers. My body needs meat.

[BallentineChen]

If you are going to get whey protein, I recommend purchasing from trueprotein.com. They can also make custom mixed supplements. I just stick to whey protein and simple carbs for time critical nutrition and whole foods for everything else.

[acyckowski]

For supplementation advice and selection, check out To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. . Tons of advice and analysis, sometimes contradictory, but all sports-performance focused, unlike a lot of other nutritional advice.

Eating more frequent, smaller meals is definitely the way to go, so you're on the right track. BallentineChen raises an important question: what are your goals? Appearance based (lose fat, build muscle)? Function-based (get stronger/faster, play sports better)? This will nuance your overall nutrition plan, especially with respect to protein and total-calorie considerations.

[Tfreezin]

Optimum Nutrition whey protein. And if you are going fairly hard on the weightlifting portion, I recommend creatine monohydrate. For me it gave me much more energy and allowed me to go harder on my workouts allowing me to achieve better results.

[Aven]

Hey I have a question, I have low-blood pressure, I'm a fan of running [yeah....>>...] but I don't want to do it too much because I read that for one, it's bad for your knees, and two, it's better to do high-impact for a few then low-impact stuff like walking, in intervals, etc.

I have issues though, in the middle of the workout I tend to get shaky [low-blood sugar], I have noticed that eating fruits before [carbs] just makes my stomach cold and doesn't really help with the workout, not even bananas. So I try to eat some carbs [mostly wheat bread] an hour before [I lift weights too], I still get a bit shaky and have to stop for some instant carbs like a small piece of chocolate in between, how can I stop this from happening? Should I just have a bigger meal with some protein but not too much or ?

[Solaris]

Hey I have a question, I have low-blood pressure, I'm a fan of running [yeah....>>...] but I don't want to do it too much because I read that for one, it's bad for your knees, and two, it's better to do high-impact for a few then low-impact stuff like walking, in intervals, etc.

I have issues though, in the middle of the workout I tend to get shaky [low-blood sugar], I have noticed that eating fruits before [carbs] just makes my stomach cold and doesn't really help with the workout, not even bananas. So I try to eat some carbs [mostly wheat bread] an hour before [I lift weights too], I still get a bit shaky and have to stop for some instant carbs like a small piece of chocolate in between, how can I stop this from happening? Should I just have a bigger meal with some protein but not too much or ?

How long is your workout? I don't know if there is anything you can do to stop it, except what you already do. I like wheat toast with a little peanut butter before a workout, or a multigrain waffle with some peanut butter.

[bucolic_]

Protein and fat both will slow down the absorption of the carbs in the bread. You could eat some nuts or an egg or something, that might help you. Also, I'm not sure what kind of bread you're eating, but pretty much all bread is fairly high GI (glycemic index, IE quick absorbing), even whole grain. I personally don't even eat bread unless I'm at a restaurant. You may want to consider a sports drink, which I use sometimes.

I personally do almost all of my conditioning/cardio in the form of intervals or high-intensity, mainly due to my own personal idea of what 'fitness' means, but that's my own personal opinion, although pain in my knees did mostly disappear when I almost entirely abandoned running about 4 years ago. I also like it (high intensity/interval training) because it is more temporally efficient, and isn't as muscle wasting, but is still shown (by a group of Japanese researchers lead by 'Tabata,' inventor of Tabata intervals) to improve anaerobic and aerobic efficiency.

Hey I have a question, I have low-blood pressure, I'm a fan of running [yeah....>>...] but I don't want to do it too much because I read that for one, it's bad for your knees, and two, it's better to do high-impact for a few then low-impact stuff like walking, in intervals, etc.

I have issues though, in the middle of the workout I tend to get shaky [low-blood sugar], I have noticed that eating fruits before [carbs] just makes my stomach cold and doesn't really help with the workout, not even bananas. So I try to eat some carbs [mostly wheat bread] an hour before [I lift weights too], I still get a bit shaky and have to stop for some instant carbs like a small piece of chocolate in between, how can I stop this from happening? Should I just have a bigger meal with some protein but not too much or ?

[Aven]

Protein and fat both will slow down the absorption of the carbs in the bread. You could eat some nuts or an egg or something, that might help you. Also, I'm not sure what kind of bread you're eating, but pretty much all bread is fairly high GI (glycemic index, IE quick absorbing), even whole grain. I personally don't even eat bread unless I'm at a restaurant. You may want to consider a sports drink, which I use sometimes.

I personally do almost all of my conditioning/cardio in the form of intervals or high-intensity, mainly due to my own personal idea of what 'fitness' means, but that's my own personal opinion, although pain in my knees did mostly disappear when I almost entirely abandoned running about 4 years ago. I also like it (high intensity/interval training) because it is more temporally efficient, and isn't as muscle wasting, but is still shown (by a group of Japanese researchers lead by 'Tabata,' inventor of Tabata intervals) to improve anaerobic and aerobic efficiency.
Yeah, well the issue is that when I go over an hour [which I do] the shakes start, I take propel and that does help but not completely, I guess maybe I should try protein bars?

I think I mostly use exercise as a stress-reliever btw.

[bucolic_]

Yeah, well the issue is that when I go over an hour [which I do] the shakes start, I take propel and that does help but not completely, I guess maybe I should try protein bars?

I think I mostly use exercise as a stress-reliever btw.

Ah, well, first of all, propel isn't really what I was aiming for, I was thinking something with more carbs in it, like Gatorade. In your case, carbs would be the most important, but a little protein can help too, with muscle soreness and recovery. The protocol I've heard recommended (as a baseline) is 30g of carbs, and 15g of protein per hour of workout. That's a baseline, you may need more or less, everyone's different, and that's to be sipped throughout the session. I personally use powdered gatorade, and since it has no protein, I use vanilla whey for protein. Now, not everyone is a supporter of sugars during a workout, but it's helped me. I would say getting your diet in order throughout the rest of the day is more important overall.

I personally would avoid a protein bar, simply because they tend to be full of sugars, and since I'm assuming you're going to be eating it an hour or so before working out, it's probably not ideal. If I were you, I'd try adding a decent protein, maybe tuna or something, to your pre-workout meal, and maybe try something besides bread for carbs.

Here's one thing you might want to think about trying, I used to get rather sluggish at various times throughout the day, and changing up my diet has helped quite a bit. I cut out virtually all grains, except for *after* working out. So, the rest of the day (before working out), I basically replace all those grains with non-starchy fruits and vegetables, but mostly vegetables. This means I eat *a lot* of broccoli and spinach especially (well, when I'm actually eating properly, which is maybe...70% of the time). I'll still eat some grains earlier in the day, but not as much as I used to, and it tends to be something like steel-cut oats, and never bread. Generally speaking, the less-refined the carb source, the better it is, and bread is of course primarily a highly refined grain product (flour), not to mention the fact that virtually all commercial breads have corn syrup.

It might take a little getting used to, some people experience problems when they first start eating a lot of veggies with gas and so on, but I switched over relatively easily, and have noticed a pretty big increase in energy since I cut out most grains/starches throughout the day. The biggest issue for me is the fact that it takes longer to eat, and my mouth would get sore from chewing broccoli for so long, heh.

Hope this helps, and makes sense, I'm rather sleep-deprived.