Workout Foods

These foods promote muscle growth and aid in recovery after a hard workout

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking about rewarding yourself for a good workout with a nice, juicy cheeseburger? Well, don�t. The food you eat after hitting the gym just may be the most important food you eat all day. See, muscles store excess energy in the form of glycogen and protein and, when you work out, the body burns fuel from your pre-workout meal, then it breaks down glycogen stored in muscles. Within a few hours of working out, muscle protein drops and muscles begin to break down. However, within a 45-minute window, your body is the most responsive with absorbing carbohydrates and protein. Here are the best foods to fuel and reload the depleted muscles.

 

 

Greek Yogurt Greek yogurt has double the amount of protein compared to regular yogurt and is a great source of carbohydrates. �Mix it with cereal or fruit,� recommends Dr. Louise Burke, head of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport and coauthor of The Complete Guide to Food for Sports Performance: Peak Nutrition for Your Sport. Fresh berries pack micronutrients, which have been proven to help fight muscle soreness.

Sandwich wraps �Wholegrain wraps are loaded with wholesome carbohydrates,� says Burke. Make yourself a turkey or chicken sandwich and add a bowl of soup on the side. This is a particularly great meal if you work out during your lunch break. �Wraps are portable so you can eat them on the way back to your office!� she adds. If you�d rather have a salad after the gym, make sure you add some grains. �You need at least 1/2 cup of whole grains, so add some quinoa, brown rice, beans or pasta,� says Manuel Villacorta, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and founder of Eating Free.

Fruit salad Fruits are not only loaded with carbohydrates, they also contain enzymes to help your body break down nutrients so they can be delivered to your tired muscles. Pineapple is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties to help your muscles recover. Kiwi aids with digestion and helps break down amino acids. �Plus, fruit offers a rainbow of anti-oxidants,� Burke adds.

Wholegrain breakfast cereal Cereal is good any time of day: In the morning for breakfast or later in the day as a snack. Select a high protein, high fiber cereal, like Kashi Golean, which offers 30 grams of carbohydrates, 13 gram of protein and 10 grams of fiber. It�s perfect for reloading the muscle energy stores. Make it more of a substantial snack and add dairy�milk or yogurt�suggests Burke.

Rule of thumb �It all comes down to the carbohydrates and protein,� sums up Villacorta. �They�re the two key things your body needs�and right after you work out is when your blood circulates best.� If you�re main goal is to build muscle, eat at least 30 grams of protein and 30 to 35 grams of carbs within 15 minutes of your workout. If you�re just trying to stay in shape or shed a few pounds, you can take your time and eat within 45 minutes or an hour after your workout.

 

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Workout Foods

These foods promote muscle growth and aid in recovery after a hard workout

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking about rewarding yourself for a good workout with a nice, juicy cheeseburger? Well, don’t. The food you eat after hitting the gym just may be the most important food you eat all day. See, muscles store excess energy in the form of glycogen and protein and, when you work out, the body burns fuel from your pre-workout meal, then it breaks down glycogen stored in muscles. Within a few hours of working out, muscle protein drops and muscles begin to break down. However, within a 45-minute window, your body is the most responsive with absorbing carbohydrates and protein. Here are the best foods to fuel and reload the depleted muscles.

 

 

Greek Yogurt Greek yogurt has double the amount of protein compared to regular yogurt and is a great source of carbohydrates. “Mix it with cereal or fruit,” recommends Dr. Louise Burke, head of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport and coauthor of The Complete Guide to Food for Sports Performance: Peak Nutrition for Your Sport. Fresh berries pack micronutrients, which have been proven to help fight muscle soreness.

Sandwich wraps “Wholegrain wraps are loaded with wholesome carbohydrates,” says Burke. Make yourself a turkey or chicken sandwich and add a bowl of soup on the side. This is a particularly great meal if you work out during your lunch break. “Wraps are portable so you can eat them on the way back to your office!” she adds. If you’d rather have a salad after the gym, make sure you add some grains. “You need at least 1/2 cup of whole grains, so add some quinoa, brown rice, beans or pasta,” says Manuel Villacorta, R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association and founder of Eating Free.

Fruit salad Fruits are not only loaded with carbohydrates, they also contain enzymes to help your body break down nutrients so they can be delivered to your tired muscles. Pineapple is also known to have anti-inflammatory properties to help your muscles recover. Kiwi aids with digestion and helps break down amino acids. “Plus, fruit offers a rainbow of anti-oxidants,” Burke adds.

Wholegrain breakfast cereal Cereal is good any time of day: In the morning for breakfast or later in the day as a snack. Select a high protein, high fiber cereal, like Kashi Golean, which offers 30 grams of carbohydrates, 13 gram of protein and 10 grams of fiber. It’s perfect for reloading the muscle energy stores. Make it more of a substantial snack and add dairy—milk or yogurt—suggests Burke.

Rule of thumb “It all comes down to the carbohydrates and protein,” sums up Villacorta. “They’re the two key things your body needs—and right after you work out is when your blood circulates best.” If you’re main goal is to build muscle, eat at least 30 grams of protein and 30 to 35 grams of carbs within 15 minutes of your workout. If you’re just trying to stay in shape or shed a few pounds, you can take your time and eat within 45 minutes or an hour after your workout.

 

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Build Muscle - Top Post-Workout Foods to Build Quality Muscle Mass and Gain Weight

 

If you're heavy into your workout program that's designed to help you build muscle and gain weight,
chances are you've looked into the nutritional factors that will come into play with this goal.

Unfortunately though, many people are still struggling to get their post-workout meals right,
 which can in fact cost them success when trying to build muscle.

The post-workout meal is going to be so critical because essentially it's at this time that the body is 'primed' to be building muscle
and is least likely to gain fat. Therefore, you want to optimize this opportunity to build the new mass, without seeing a corresponding fat gain.

Furthermore, your anabolic hormones are also optimized at this point, which will really serve to enhance your weight gain.
This said, here are some top post-workout carb sources you should be considering for right after you finish your workout.




Sugary Cereal

While many people think you need to stay away from sugary cereal, right after a workout it can actually be a fantastic
 source of fast acting carbs that will replace your muscle glycogen. In addition to this - it's fun!

Any time you can increase the desire to eat when trying to build muscle, it's a very good thing.

Perogies

Next up is a common food you eat during holiday dinners, but often gets overlooked for post-workout
meals. Perogies are actually a fantastic source of carbohydrates and don't contain all that much fat themselves.

This makes them an optimal choice - plus they're fairly easy to transport to have on the way home from the gym.

Sushi

For all you sushi lovers out there, this is also a good food to eat after your workout.
 Again, that sticky rice is going to be a fast-acting source of carbs, which is essentially the primary thing you want at this point.

While some varieties of sushi will have some protein,
this is definitely not a bad thing as you need a good amount of protein in the post-workout meal as well (in fact, you likely will want to add an additional source of protein to be really sure you meet your needs).

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Finally, the last uncommon post-workout food that people overlook that does work well is ice cream sandwiches. Believe or not,
these can definitely help with your muscle building abilities as they are also relatively low in fat but high in glucose - which refills that muscle glucose quickly.

Further, these are nice since they're cold, which is typically what someone who's just finished a hard workout will want.
So, next time you're stuck for ideas for post-workout meals, be sure you keep these in mind.
Learn [http://www.muscleadvantageplan.com] more about methods that help build muscle as fast as possible.
For more information on muscle building, workouts, and nutrition please visit http://www.shannonclarkfitness.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Shannon_Clark

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