Shaping your Body with Post-Workout Nutrition

Shaping your Body with Post-Workout Nutrition

Tips to help you build lean muscle and increase fat loss with your post-workout meal.

It’s pretty common knowledge that the post-workout fuel you put into your body can make or break a workout, let’s explore the reasons why;

When you complete an intense workout sessions, your body goes into a catabolic state (this is where glycogen stores are depleted and cortisol levels increased, basically this means your body is breaking down muscle tissue). The number one goal is to prevent this process happening by consuming a post-workout meal/shake within 20-30 minutes of finishing your training.

The key with selecting the correct fuel is to ensure it can be absorbed by the body quickly. Carbs are crucial to replenish muscle glycogen and protein to supply the much needed amino acids that kick in muscle repair. This process encourages an insulin spike in the stomach which sends vital nutrients to the muscles.
The post-workout meal should be between 300-500 calories to get the best response. Obviously the bigger frame you have the more fuel you require and the opposite is true if you are smaller frame, you won’t need as much fuel.

A good way to know if your body has been given too much post-workout fuel is simple; you will begin passing wind frequently. This is a mistake you only like to make once!

Your other daily meals should contain healthy fats, salads, proteins and carbs. Just be sure to keep the fat content to a low in your post-workout meal as fat slows down the body rate to absorb, obviously you are attempting to speed the absorption rate up after a meal.

What is a good post-workout meal?

The first thing to you must realize is you DON’T need any expensive post-workout supplements that are pinned on every wall of your local gym. My post-workout shakes generally come from natural ingredients rather than a commercial mixture. So many of the products available are of lower quality and are really in it just to make a buck.

I recommend getting natural and preferably organic ingredients with a good ratio of carbs to protein.

For an at home solution for a quick digestible protein is a quality non-denatured whey protein and/or some fat-free or low-fat yogurt.

When choosing a good whey protein, it's important to note that the quality vastly differs between brands and types. Most whey proteins are produced under high heat processes that destroy some of the fragile nutritional components of the whey.

The best whey around are theare sourced from grass-fed cow and contain a higher level of muscle-building and fat-burning CLA’s (conjugated linoleic acids).

Keep in mind that all your other meals for the rest of the day need to be the exact opposite as your post-workout nutrition – if fat loss is your goal. Choose foods indicated to be in the low in Glycemic index, which are slow releasing proteins and slow digested carbs.

To finish be sure to ONLY follow these recommendations if your workout was of a higher intensity. It also should’ve involved resistance training for the large muscle groups. There is no point following this advice for a low level cardio workout.