OK now that you know what to eat before your workout.
Let’s see what’s best after your workout.
Your post workout meal is meant to supply your body with everything it will need to repair and recover the muscle tissue that was broken down during your workout.
Specifically the goal of the post workout meal is to accomplish the following:
Replenish muscle glycogen that was depleted during a workout.
Reduce muscle protein breakdown caused by exercise.
Increase muscle protein synthesis.
Reduce muscle soreness and fatigue.
Enhance overall recovery.
And reduce cortisol levels.
How can you achieve this?
By giving your body the same exact macro nutrients that you did in the pre workout meal!
Carbs and protein.
Again Your primary goal with your post workout meal is to consume a good amount of both carbs and protein and some forms soon after your workout.
How much and how soon exactly you ask again?
around 0.2 to 0.5 grams per pound of your target body weight.
If you’re really hungry you can also increase the carbs these are just some general values to keep in mind.
Timing should be around 30 to 60 minutes after your workout.
And pre and post workout meals shouldn’t be separated by more than three to four hours.
That means if you had a large meal an hour before your workout you have more time afterwards to prepare your post workout meal.
One tip on days when you don’t have the time to prepare an entire meal right away, is to pack a post workout shake.
I explain how to do this in a later lesson and it’s super simple.
