Are you cheating yourself out of 50% or more of your hard-earned results?
If you do nothing for your post-exercise nutrition you may be wasting as much as 50% of your effort in the gym.
Immediately after a workout, the body has an enhanced ability to utilise the macronutrients such as carbohydrates and protein (your body's main building blocks) in order to rebuild and recover from exercise.
Post exercise nutrition helps you to recover and gain muscle faster and its keeps your body fueled in such a way that you actually lose fat at a faster rate.
Blender by Joan Fabrégat / Flickr
But what happens if you don't eat immediately following a workout?
If you don’t provide your body with enough calories after your workout, your body breaks down muscle tissue in the ‘undamaged’ areas of your body to get the raw materials to repair the areas you just worked on. Your body will literally catabolise your lean muscle tissues for nutrients (including the tissue in vital organs like the heart). Over time, this will result in a loss of muscle from your whole body. What’s possibly worse is that your body will not break down your stored fat, as its much easier to breakdown that muscle for fuel instead.
So should I just eat protein, or Carbohydrates too?
A mix of protein and carbohydrates is best. Ideally you should have a decent post-workout meal within 30 to 60 minutes of your workout. This gives the body sufficient time to recover from the ‘stress’ of the workout but still be ‘primed’ to optimise the nutrition intake.
This is what I personally follow. If its an after breakfast or lunch work out I’ll normally have some kind of shake / smoothie. (Banana, blueberries, protein powder, yoghurt (unsweetened) milk and occasionally an egg if I want a richer taste.
The only difference comes if I have an intense ‘weights’ workout, then I take on board some protein within 15-30 minutes of completion. The easiest way is in the form of a protein powder ‘shake’ (whey is an excellent choice), though a food source such as milk or yoghurt will do. I don’t personally take protein just before a work out as it sits in my stomach and sometimes feels uncomfortable & can cause bloating. I will then follow this up with an ‘ordinary’ meal of some sort about an hour after the workout.
Don’t forget the carbohydrates as they help the body refuel and your body is most efficient at rebuilding its carbohydrate stores just after a workout. If you’re not keen on taking on a lot of carbs in the evening then you can use ‘slower’ carbs like beans or lentils.
If you're looking to get as much from your workouts as you possibly can, post-workout nutrition is critical. By supplying an ample amount of raw materials right after you're done, you will be preventing the body from breaking itself down in order to recover. This means more results from the effort you put into your workouts and we all love that.
Feel free to comment or ask questions
Rich
Friday, February 10, 2012 at 2:47PM 
