The right nutrition after sports is essential for muscle building and for losing weight. However, you don't have to resort to ready-made fitness shakes or protein bars.
It's about consuming good carbohydrates and high-quality protein within a two-hour window. Both nutrients in combination support regeneration and help athletes to meet their increased energy needs.
Drinking after exercise is just as important as eating after exercise. This compensates for the fluid loss caused by sweating and strengthens the build-up of glycogen.
So, if you're an athlete and you want to get the most out of your muscles, you should make sure you eat well and get enough recovery time after your workout.
What is the best food for me to eat after exercise?
Good carbohydrates after exercise are the best food for building muscle and are essential as post-workout nutrition. They replenish the glycogen stores that have been depleted after intensive training. This happens more in endurance sports than in strength sports – because runners consume more glucose than strength athletes.
Oat flakes contain good, long-chain carbohydrates, B-group vitamins, fibre, folic acid, antioxidants and minerals such as magnesium and zinc. Above all, however, they have a high protein content. And that is the perfect combination for all athletes.
The Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition has shown that the combination of carbohydrates and proteins improves the rebuilding of glycogen stores.
The optimal ratio of the two nutrients is 3:1 (carbohydrates:proteins). This is the best way to boost muscle growth and support recovery.
Drinking enough is extremely important after an energy-sapping workout. Still, sodium-rich mineral waters are ideal for healthy athletes.
Sports porridge after training – find out more!
After training – eat to lose fat
Sport can only help the body to lose weight if sufficient energy is available from the right nutrient sources. It is true that to lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you consume.
Effective training is not characterised by how much energy is expended, but includes muscle building.
Trained muscles burn calories during and after training. However, to build muscle, the body needs high-quality protein and carbohydrates.
If the body is not offered any food after a workout, it draws on its own energy reserves and breaks down muscles, among other things. This is counterproductive.
After training – eat to build muscle.
The body needs both proteins and carbohydrates to build muscle. As a rule, amateur and professional athletes need about 1 to 1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight.
Oats are therefore the ideal plant-based source of protein. They have a high protein content (approx. 12 g per 100 g) and also contain vitamin B1, B6, zinc, iron and magnesium.
Minerals are particularly important for athletes to supply the muscles, support muscle building and prevent cramps.
When should I eat after training?
Scientists talk about an anabolic window of opportunity here. This means that the muscles absorb the supplied proteins like a sponge during this period.
American scientists have found that this window of opportunity for nutrients is open for two to a maximum of three hours after a workout.
Even if you are not hungry after a workout, you should still eat a little. During this time, the body is in regeneration mode and urgently needs this energy.
What should I not eat after training?
Food after exercise – these foods are not included: sweets, light products and alcohol. With too much sugar, the blood sugar level goes on a rollercoaster ride, causing you to feel grumpy and have food cravings.
Low-fat foods often contain a lot of sugar and unnecessary additives. Alcohol is also high in calories, but it also contains toxins that have to be broken down first, which requires a great deal of energy. In addition, these foods, due to their high calorie density, can lead to obesity and thus to a high BMI value.
What happens if I don't eat anything after my workout?
Hunger makes you feel strange and, above all, indiscriminate when it comes to food. This phenomenon is probably familiar to everyone and it also applies to athletes. During training, a lot of calories are burned and that makes you hungry.
Trying to delay this feeling of hunger after exercise increases the likelihood of eating much more than you actually need at the end. Food cravings are inevitable and no athlete needs them.
Eat the right thing after training with the VERIVAL Sport range
For the right food before and after sport, we at VERIVAL recommend a combination of carbohydrates and protein. Should it be a shake or would you prefer a proper meal?
It's best to decide that for yourself. As liquid food, a shake is digested more quickly and the much-needed nutrients reach the muscles without delay.
The VERIVAL Protein Shake with strawberry-blackberry flavour, for example, is an ideal solution for quickly supplying the body with good energy.
With a legume content of 46%, the Green Protein Waffles are suitable as a quick, protein-rich snack after exercise.
For sporty chocolate lovers, we recommend VERIVAL Sport Protein Porridge Chocolate-Banana as a plant-based protein source with a high fibre content. P.S.: The porridge is ready in three minutes.
