What to Eat After a Workout (and What to Avoid)

Medically reviewed by Karina Tolentino, RDMedically reviewed by Karina Tolentino, RD

Your overall diet, including what you eat before a workout, affects athletic performance. And getting the proper nutrients after a workout can help you recover faster and reach your fitness goals.

This is especially true of macronutrients, which provide the body with energy and help muscles recover. The intensity and length of your workouts will determine how many specific food groups you need.

How Macronutrients Aid Post-Workout Recovery

Macronutrients are food your body needs in large quantities. The primary macronutrients are proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. They provide energy and essential components to sustain life. You don't necessarily need a big meal after a short, low-intensity workout. However, the more intense the workout, the more important it is to refuel in a healthy way.

Protein Helps Repair and Build Muscle

Protein is a collection of amino acids crucial to muscle growth and tissue repair. It's also a source of energy after you use up your store of carbs.

Exercise triggers muscle protein breakdown. However, research suggests that as little as 9 grams of high-quality milk protein may boost muscle metabolism and help muscles recover after resistance exercise. Doing so within two hours after exercising stimulates significant increases in muscle protein synthesis.

If you don't consume protein after high-intensity exercise, your muscles may not get enough amino acids to recover and rebuild.

Carbs Help Muscles Recover

Carbs are simple sugars that provide glucose. Carbs are a main source of energy and fuel for muscles. When you work out, your body relies on glycogen, a form of glucose stored in the liver and muscles.

Eating carbs after exercising helps rebuild muscle energy stores. Try to get a combination of protein and carbs within an hour after working out. If you exercise more than 90 minutes, try to consume carbs about two hours later.

The type of carbs you eat matters. Choose unprocessed or minimally processed whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans over highly processed or refined foods such as white bread and pastries.

Not replenishing glycogen after an intense workout can lead to further muscle breakdown and fatigue.

Healthy Fats May Help

Fat is made up of glycerol and fatty acids. Unsaturated fats are an essential part of a healthy diet. Unsaturated fats provide energy and help your body absorb nutrients, among other things.

Avocados and nuts are sources of healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids in fatty fish contain powerful anti-inflammatory properties. Examples include:

• Anchovies

• Herring

• Mackerel

• Salmon

• Sardines

• Striped bass

• Tuna

Adding some of these foods after working out may help your overall recovery. However, evidence on timing and amounts of fats to eat post-workout is lacking.

The Importance of Timing Your Post-Workout Meal

Replenishing macronutrients within the right time frame optimizes recovery and helps you get the most out of your workouts. Experts recommend eating protein and carbs within 45 minutes to an hour of exercise. Research suggests that timing the pre-workout meal closer to the workout could widen the postexercise window to five or six hours.

Eating protein and carbohydrates within a few hours of a workout should be adequate for most people. However, endurance athletes or people with underlying health conditions may have different needs.

Foods to Eat After a Workout

The following are some examples of high-quality protein, carbs, and healthy fats to consider eating after a vigorous workout.

Tip: Make Sure to Drink Plenty of Water

Water and other fluids keep the body hydrated and at the right temperature. During an hour of intense exercise, your body can lose several liters of fluids through sweat. In addition to hydrating before exercise, replacing fluids lost during exercise is essential. Within six hours of working out, drink 16 to 24 ounces of fluid for every pound lost during exercise.

Post-Workout Meal and Snack Ideas

Whether you need a snack or a whole meal depends on the intensity of your workout and when you last ate. With so many high-quality protein and carb foods, you can get creative and lean into your favorites. Examples include:

• Apples and peanut butter

• Avocado or almond butter on whole-grain toast

• Chicken or turkey, brown rice or quinoa, and vegetables

• Egg and whole-grain toast

• Milk-and-fruit smoothie

• Oatmeal with fruit

• Rice cakes with nut butter

• Roasted chickpeas or pistachios

• Salmon and sweet potato

• Trail mix with nuts, seeds, and dried fruits

• Turkey or tuna on whole-grain bread

• Whole grain crackers with cheese and fruit

• Yogurt with fruit and granola
  

What Should You Never Eat or Drink After a Workout?

Certain foods can feel satisfying but do nothing to aid workout recovery. After a workout, it's best to avoid calories from solid fats, such as butter, beef fat, shortening, and added sugars. These are considered "empty calories" because they're high in calories but provide little nutritional value.

Examples of foods that offer up mostly empty calories include:

• Baked goods such as cakes, pastries, donuts, and cookies

• Fried chicken and other fried foods

• Ice cream

• Meat products such as hot dogs, bacon, and sausage

• Pizza, potato chips, fries, and other processed snack and fast foods

• Sodas and some fruit drinks, energy drinks, and sports drinks

• Sweetened products such as applesauce, canned fruit, and cereals

Summary

What you eat before and after exercise matters. Eating protein and carbs within two hours of working out helps muscles recover and rebuild. Of course, it's also important to replace lost fluids.

You can include some healthy fats, but avoid foods with solid fats and added sugars. These high-calorie foods provide little nutritional value and won't help your post-workout recovery.

Whether you need a light snack or a full meal depends on many factors, including when you last ate and the intensity of your workout.

Read the original article on Verywell Health.