5 Ideas For A Post-Workout Meal

The meal after training is the most important meal of the day, because with it you replenish the spent reserves and help the body to regenerate more easily and quickly from the hard training, which in one way represents physical stress for the muscles.

Food is fuel for our body, so it is especially important what kind of meal we eat during the period when the body recovers from training. It happens 1-3 hours after physical activity. The most important thing is to provide the organism with a quality, healthy, and balanced portion of macronutrients after each training session.

Your post-workout meal should vary depending on your specific goals and type of exercise. If your goal is to reduce body fat, avoid carbohydrates in the post-workout meal, and include more protein in the meal.

If you still want to increase your body weight, you must consume easily degradable carbohydrates (honey, fruit, dried fruit, etc.) after training. Avoid meals that are high in fat, because fat takes longer to release energy. Also, fats slow down the absorption of proteins and carbohydrates, which is not at all beneficial after hard training.

Here are 5 easy and quick ideas for a post-workout meal:

1. Two hard-boiled eggs with green salad

Eggs are an irreplaceable source of protein, and they also contain vitamins and minerals. Egg proteins are easily digestible, so they will give you energy quickly after a meal. Egg white is mostly water, about 85-90%, protein 10-12%, and less than 1% carbohydrates. This makes them great post-workout foods if your goal is to reduce body fat.

There is no cholesterol in the egg white. There is also a lot of water in the yolk, and half of the composition of the yolk is water. 10-15% are protein and about 15-20% fat.

The yolk contains vitamins A, D and E. Eggs are rich in choline, which plays a role in the proper functioning of brain cells. Eggs are a very important source of protein because they contain all the essential amino acids that the body cannot produce and we need to get them with food.

A green salad with two hard-boiled eggs is a great post-workout meal. Eggs will provide you with enough protein, and green salad with vitamins and minerals. Green salad can be lettuce, spinach, arugula, cabbage, cucumber, etc. Also, instead of boiled eggs, you can prepare an omelet with vegetables, while using only a small teaspoon of olive oil. This meal is great if you want to reduce body fat.

2. A piece of meat with tomato and cucumber salad

Just like the egg and meat meal, it’s a great post-workout meal. The meat will provide you with the necessary proteins, and the salad will fill you with vitamins and minerals. Vegetables also contain a lot of water, which is especially important because during training, the body loses a lot of fluids by sweating. Choose lean meat: chicken or turkey.

Prepare it on the grill or bake it on baking paper. Drizzle it with a teaspoon of olive oil, a little salt and pepper. There are about 20 grams of protein in 100 grams of chicken meat, and about 25 grams of protein in 100 grams of turkey meat. It is an excellent amount that will stimulate protein synthesis in the muscles.

3. Cooked quinoa with cheese and spinach

Quinoa is an excellent source of protein. There are 4.5 g of protein in 100 g of quinoa, and unlike other cereals, quinoa contains all the essential amino acids. It is rich in potassium, zinc, and iron, but mostly magnesium.

After you have cooked the quinoa, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan, then heat the cooked quinoa. Pour hot water over the spinach, then drain and chop. Finally, grate some cheese and mix together.

4. Shake with whey protein and banana

This meal is great because whey protein contains easily digestible proteins that are very quickly absorbed by the body. Bananas are also great because they contain a lot of vitamins and minerals and a certain amount of carbohydrates that will help you replenish lost muscle and liver glycogen stores. Apart from banana and whey protein, for this shake, you will also need some frozen fruit of your choice (raspberries, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, etc.) and 200 ml of water or milk.

5. Salmon sandwich

This is a great meal for those who want to gain weight because this meal contains both protein and carbohydrates. A 200-gram piece of salmon contains 40 grams of protein. Salmon is also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which have a very beneficial effect on the heart and blood vessels.

Daily recommended doses of omega-3 fatty acids are about 1000 mg. In a piece of salmon (200 g), there are about 3500 mg of omega-3 fatty acids, which meet the omega-3 needs for several days. In addition to omega-3, a piece of salmon will provide you with 40 g of protein and 100% of your daily needs for vitamin B12.