Have you ever wondered what to eat after a workout? Well, today’s your lucky day.
Post-workout nutrition is a key ingredient in just about every fitness routine: The right post-workout food can speed up your recovery, boost your mood and energy levels (helping you avoid a post-workout crash), and help you achieve more muscle growth more quickly.
Below, we’ll cover what makes a good post-workout meal — plus some common mistakes to avoid to maximize your gains!
When we work out, we burn calories, tear down muscle, lose minerals through sweat, and so on. Our bodies are amazing at overcoming everything we throw at them when we work out, but our bodies still need fuel to do so optimally.
The good news is that there’s no highly specific, difficult secret formula to post-workout nutrition: Simply eat a balanced meal with carbohydrates, protein, and some healthy unsaturated fats, and your body will do the rest.
If you’re working out aggressively — say, intense lifting for 90 minutes or running 13+ miles — you may want to tilt the balance of that meal slightly (protein for weight training and carbs for cardio). But there’s no need to swing to extremes: Weightlifters still sweat and burn calories, and runners still build muscle tissue.
Pro tip: While there is some art and science to when to eat before your workout, the timing of your post-exercise meal doesn’t matter as much. As long as you eat within a couple of hours, your body will get what it needs.
After a workout, your body needs macronutrients in three categories: carbohydrates, protein, and (to a lesser degree) healthy fats to aid in your post-workout recovery.
Here’s what to know about each.
Our bodies convert carbohydrates to glucose (one of the body’s main fuel sources). What your body doesn’t use right away when you eat gets stored as glycogen, primarily in the liver and muscles.
Glycogen is there to step in when we need energy but aren’t getting it from food at that moment — such as when we exercise. So, during exercise our bodies consume some of that stored glycogen.
So consuming carbs after a workout is the way to replenish those muscle glycogen stores so you can bounce back from your workout and have the energy you need the next time you call on your muscles to do extra work.
Not all carbohydrates are created equal: Simple carbohydrates (sugars, processed foods) digest quickly and are processed more quickly as blood sugar. Complex carbohydrates (whole foods, whole grains) digest more slowly.
A few foods rich in complex carbohydrates:
Protein is the building block of muscle, helping us build new muscle and repair existing muscle.
Here again, not all protein is the same. Plant-based proteins are easier on the environment and sometimes the digestive system, but most are low in key amino acids that the body needs to convert protein into muscle. Plants contain a healthier form of iron as well. So if you opt for plant proteins, which is a very healthy option, we recommend getting it from multiple plant sources.
A few great protein sources:
Too often, fat gets a bad rap. We need some healthy fats in our diets to help transport oxygen, bolster the immune system, and maintain the health of our red blood cells. Fat matters post-workout because our bodies can’t grow or recover well without efficient oxygen transport.
Here we want to distinguish between saturated and unsaturated fats: Unsaturated fats are much healthier, so that’s the type you want to aim for. There are other types of fats as well, like trans fat which are really bad and have been banned in the U.S. (but they still occur naturally in some animal foods like cow products).
You’ll find better fats in some plants, nuts, seeds, and fish:
In contrast, foods higher in saturated fats include these:
Of course, there are many foods in the middle too. Some types of dairy, like low-fat Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, are higher in protein and relatively balanced in terms of saturated vs. unsaturated fats.
Follow these steps to create a post-workout meal that makes sense for your fitness goals — and that fits into your routine so you can stay consistent.
It’s pretty common to prepare your meal or part of your meal before you work out, so getting the balance right requires some forethought (especially if you have some variety to your workouts).
Is today a normal gym day? Then a normal meal full of complex carbs and protein will do. Are you pushing yourself with an extended strength training session? Bump up the protein. And do the same with carbs if you’re heading out for a long run or ride.
Remember that the key is balance: plenty of complex carbs, plenty of protein, and some healthy fat. If your meal is pushing really heavy in one direction or another (or is full of stuff that doesn’t fit in any of those three categories), it probably isn’t going to be as effective.
Paying attention to portion sizes and ratios is a great way to keep things balanced. One registered dietitian recommends a 2:1 ratio of carbs to protein for a strength-focused workout and a 3:1 ratio after a long cardio session. It’s also possible to set total targets (such as a number of grams of protein), but these vary widely based on numerous factors (sex, age, activity level, fitness goals, workout type).
What you eat matters at a deeper level than just broad macro categories (protein and carbs). You also want to choose foods that are nutrient-dense.
The simple version: Use whole fruits and vegetables and whole cuts of meat, along with grains that have gone through minimal processing.
Here’s a rule of thumb to hang onto: If you can look at a food and tell exactly what it is (or, once you’ve composed the dish, exactly what’s in the dish), you’re on the right track. No mystery meat, nothing hidden behind a layer of fried dough — you get the idea.
Meal prepping is more than just a trend or fad. It’s a strategic decision that helps you achieve the nutrient-rich balance we just discussed.
Why prep your meal in advance? Because after your workout, you’re tired! You don’t want to head home and cook healthy food from scratch. The neon drive-thru sign is much more tempting.
Another reason: It’s easier to measure out macros when you prep, say, a week’s worth of post-workout meals all at once. If you’re ad libbing in the kitchen after working out, you’re probably more likely to indulge in less optimal additions to the meal than if you prepped it four days ago.
Water is a wonderful thing, and it’s all most of us need to stay hydrated post-workout. If you’re engaging in intense workouts for 90 minutes or longer, you’ll likely benefit from a sports drink to replace electrolytes lost through sweat. But if your workout is less than that, save your money and stick with plain ol’ H2O 💧.
Pro tip: It’s better to take regular sips of water throughout the day, rather than pounding a bottle all at once. Fresh fruit and veggies also have water content, so eating those is a way to get additional hydration.
Avoid these pitfalls related to making (or failing to make) your post-workout meal.
Your body needs fuel to function and recover from the beating it took during your workout. Skipping the post-workout meal entirely deprives your body of the powerful nutrients it needs to recover and build back stronger.
You’re also likely to be hungrier when you skip this meal (profound, we know), which increases the likelihood of grabbing something unhealthy just to quench your hunger.
Supplements should be exactly what they’re called: a supplement to an already-healthy diet. Don’t rely on supplements to do what whole foods can easily do; instead use them to fill in gaps in your nutrition, if there are any.
For example, if you’re struggling to get 80+ grams of protein a day, supplementing with a protein powder is a great way to get over the hill. But you should still get the bulk of your protein from real whole food. Compare that to someone who doesn’t pay attention to their protein intake from food, figuring they’ll get enough out of their protein shakes.
The only supplement we recommend generally is creatine. You can take it at any point in the day; it doesn’t need to be timed to your workout. It has a lot of benefits outside of strength training as well.
You don’t need to drink massive amounts of water, but you do need some — including alongside your post-workout meal.
Hydration keeps your body running well, replenishing cells and tissues from head to toe. It also assists with the digestion of your post-workout meal.
Eating a balanced, healthy post-workout meal is an important piece of the fitness puzzle. But the truth is, it’s only a small portion of your overall training routine.
The most important element of all? Consistency.
The best workout (and post-workout meal) on the planet is useless if you don’t do it repeatedly and consistently, over months and even years.
That’s where trainwell can help.
With trainwell, you work with a certified personal trainer who you choose, and you work out where you want to (whether at home or at the gym). Many of our trainers carry nutrition certifications and can provide some guidance on healthy eating habits. But most importantly, they stick with you as a source of encouragement and accountability.
Personalized virtual training enhanced with next-gen technology: That’s the trainwell difference. Join free for 14 days.
