20 Post-Workout Foods for Optimal Recovery

Consuming the proper foods after a workout is just as vital as the workout itself. If we do not refuel our bodies for recovery after a good workout, then the workout will not take root and serve its full purpose. So filling our bodies with nutritious and beneficial foods after exercising is extremely important. This post offers twenty great suggestions for post-workout foods. Check it out!

“Whether your goal is to lose fat, get faster, be healthy, or gain performance, the foods you consume post-workout can be crucial to helping you reach your potential. While a hotly-debated topic in fitness land, there is one solid, unchanging truth about post-workout fueling that applies to everyone:

Optimal post-workout fueling is different for everyone.

Profound, I know. The reality is, we are all cocktails of varying genetic and ethnic backgrounds, and we each received individual upbringings (nutrition and stress levels throughout gestation, childhood, and puberty) that set the stage for how our human machine would operate in adulthood. So, just as people respond differently to specific types of workouts or programming, every human body responds differently to specific macronutrient ratios or types of food in post-workout fueling.

To figure out what works best for you, you can follow a few general guidelines while experimenting with what you eat. In general, post-workout fuel should consist of protein, carbohydrates and smaller amounts of fats based on the volume and intensity of your workout and your goals. Generally, the higher the volume and intensity of the workout, the greater the need for carbohydrates and the more important post-working fueling becomes to recovery.

Focus on getting more protein after sessions that are focused on muscle building (lifting), and more carbohydrate after sessions that focus on endurance activity, including sprinting and interval training. If your goal is to lose body fat, you’ll want to include less carbohydrate in your post-workout meal. If your goal is to gain performance, you’ll want to include a higher ratio of carbohydrate. Also, for those with performance goals, eating a post-workout meal within 30 minutes of completing a workout is important to overall recovery.”