Post Workout Nutrition
By: Zach Colangelo
This week’s newsletter, we will be discussing the importance of post-workout nutrition, the myths connected, different options, and macronutrient breakdown.
What is the reasoning behind post-workout nutrition?
Post-workout nutrition to aid in the recovery process. We know when we train, we break down the muscle tissue and then repair and build new tissue! Everyone needs to consider a post-workout meal or snack, no matter their age, gender, height, weight, fitness level, or goals. The only component that will need to be considered would be the types of foods or supplements you consume and how much. The type of foods will depend on personal preferences, allergies, ideological beliefs, and religious practices. The amount will depend on whether or not you are trying to gain, lose, or maintain weight and/or the goal is performance.
Myths
The anabolic “window”: Some individuals believe there is a small window for when you must consume the post-workout meal or else you will lose all of your “gains”. This is not true, the rate of protein synthesis is elevated about 48hrs post-workout in a beginner and 16-24hrs in a well-trained person. This means that from the time you are done exercising, the calories you consume, depending on experience level may aid in recovery ranging from 16-48 hours post-workout. If you want to learn more about the anabolic “window”, read: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3577439/ and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5214805/
Our body can only digest 20g of protein at once: It doesn’t matter if you consume 20 grams of protein or 100 grams in one sitting, your body will digest it, all of it. The difference is that it will take longer to digest the 100 grams than just the 20 grams. Although we do recommend consuming your protein needs for the day, between 3-5 meals will be easier on the digestive system. If you want to learn more about relative protein intake, read: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31552263/
Protein is bad for your kidneys: Protein consumption can harm an individual's kidney who has a type of kidney disease. Without going too much into detail, plus being out of my realm of expertise, individuals with different types of kidney disease should consult with their doctor about high-protein diets. Otherwise, high protein diets are perfectly safe and promote positive health outcomes for otherwise healthy individuals.
Macros
Our pre and post-workout meals should look very similar from a macronutrient breakdown. Ideally, we’d want to have a moderate amount of protein, moderate to high amounts of carbohydrates, and low in fat. Depending on the individual's goals, whether that be body composition and/or performance the only macro that would fluctuate would be carbs.
Protein: 20-40 grams
Carbs: at least 15 grams but more is generally better to maximize glycogen resynthesis (rebuild muscles). If you want to learn more, read: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35215506/
Fats: less than 15g because it will make it easier to digest the protein and carbohydrates.
Below are 6 examples of post workout nutrition, we recommend choosing foods that have at least 20 grams of protein, easy carb to digest, low in fat.
Goals
If you remember last week's article on the 800 Gram Challenge I talked about how you wouldn’t eliminate anything, you could just limit or add more. In my example, I talked about adding more rice or sweet potato for when I want to gain weight and reducing those portion sizes for when I want to lose weight. The same rules apply, depending on the individual's goals, sport, and/or activity level would determine how many carbohydrates they’d consume post-workout, practice, event, or game.
Takeaways
Moderate protein, moderate to high carb, low fat
Pick carbohydrates that digest easily, this could be fruit, white rice, cereal, etc
There is no a “window” to consuming protein
High-protein diets create positive health outcomes, especially if the individual is active.
Carb and overall post-workout calorie intake are determined by activity level.
In health,
Protocol10 Team