Sculpt A Better Body With Proper Post-workout Meal Planning.
I’m sure that you’ve heard in the past that your post-workout meal may very well be your meal that is the most important of the entire day.
The explanation for this is that when you’re done with an intense workout session, you’re entering a catabolic condition where your muscle glycogen is used up and your cortisol levels have increased and are beginning to break the tissue of the muscle down excessively. In other words, this means that your body’s in the “get energy from breaking down tissue” state… you don’t want your muscles to end up broken down, you want to establish balance so that you gain muscle instead. So what you should do, is to take in an easily digestible meal after your workout (can be a shake or smoothie) as soon as possible after exercising.
The purpose is to choose a meal with quick carbs that are easy to digest, as well as easily digestible protein to supply what’s needed to trigger muscular restoration. The flow of carbohydrates and amino acids from this quickly digested meal promotes an increase of insulin from the pancreas, which sends nutrients into the cells of the muscles.
The after exercise meal should usually contain between 300-500 calories to get the best advantage. Case in point, a 120-lb woman may only need a 300-calorie meal, where a 200-lb man may need a 500-calorie meal after exercising. Your post-workout meal should also include anywhere from a ratio of 2:1 and 4:1 for carbs:proteins. While the other meals you consume should include a supply of healthy fats, keep the amount of fat in of your after exercise meal to a minimal amount, since fat slows the speed of absorption of the meal, which is the the last thing you want after a workout.
When you choose what to make for your after exercise meal, the first thing you should know is that you DON’T need any of these pricey post-workout supplement formulations that all of the popular commercials you see everywhere will tell you that you just have to have! I would rather to make my own post-workout smoothies from wholesome ingredients rather than using a premixed formula, since many of them are lacking in quality.
A good source of easily digestible natural carbs such as organic maple syrup, honey, frozen bananas, or pineapples are ideal. The more you can encourage the muscle restoration process, the faster you boost your metabolic rate and this helps your weight loss too.
The best resource of easily digestible protein is a quality non-denatured whey protein isolate and/or a non-fat or low-fat yogurt. These are some ideas for appetizing post-workout shakes that will trigger your recuperation process:
Chocolate Banana – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup skim milk, one and a half frozen bananas, 2 tbsp organic maple syrup, and 30 grams chocolate whey protein powder 38 g prot, 72 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 440 calories.
Pineapple Vanilla – blend together 1 cup water, ½ cup vanilla yogurt, one cup frozen pineapples, 2 tbsp honey (preferably raw), and 30 grams vanilla whey protein powder 35 g prot, 71 g carb, 0.5 g fat, 425 calories.
An additional bonus of post-workout meals is that you can please even the strongest cravings, since this is the single of the day where you can get away with taking in extra sugars without adding to your belly fat. This is true only in the case of a high intensity resistance exercise training routine though, so avoid this if you’ve merely been doing some modest cardio.
Enjoy!
A more thorough and inclusive dietetic analysis with additional various powerful dietary plans are found in the best seller #1 rated diet ebook in the world, The Truth About 6 Pack Abs.
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