8 Best Foods to Eat After a Workout
If exercise plays a key role in the success of weight goals, diet is also part of the whole process and mustn’t be skipped. Indeed, after a powerful session of sport, most of us are hungry. It’s normal because the body worked a lot and took much energy. Energy is like the fuel of your body. When it’s short, a healthy and balanced diet can manage to help you recover and reach your goals. As you may assume, healthy foods need to be chosen thanks to their high nutrients. However, there are specific foods that must be taken into account after your session.
Have a look at 8 best foods to eat after a workout.
Quinoa
The best way to recover after a tough session of workout is by eating carbohydrate. This is an essential nutrient that mostly helps you boost your physical performances and results, and also restore your muscle cells. Carbohydrate is the main fuel for your muscle.
Many foods contain carbohydrates. But one of the best foods to eat after a workout are mainly rice, quinoa, pasta. Quinoa, for instance, can provide you quickly vitamins, carbohydrates as well as fibres and protein.
Therefore, don’t hesitate to create many healthy meals containing these high-carbohydrates foods.
Fruits
Fruits are full of good nutrients. Their large number of antioxidants prevent your body from irritating physical activity. They contain also a great quantity of vitamin and mineral that provide your body with the right nutrients. Therefore, fruits are foods to be consumed a lot.
The little tip is to have full fuel after a workout is to make smoothies. They have an uncountable amount of great nutrients.
Read –> The top best healthy smoothie recipes
Eggs
Eggs are one of the best foods to eat after a workout. For a good reason, it’s one the most high-nutritious foods, either of protein or many other nutrients such as vitamins (vitamin D and B) and minerals (magnesium, iron, calcium, etc). Their protein intake helps build your muscle. Besides protein, vitamins and minerals offer many benefits as we already tackled this on several previous posts that you can have a look.
Fire, scrambled, boiled, poached, eggs are definitively a great food to enjoy after a workout.
Chicken
Protein is also great nutrients to consider in your diet after a workout. Indeed, protein is particularly beneficial for your muscle. We’ve already seen the key role of protein in the egg paragraph. Proteins help repair damaged muscle tissues and build muscle. Chicken contains especially lean protein. On the contrary of other meat, chicken intake won’t necessarily create weight gain as it’s hugely poor in bad fat.
Nuts and dried fruits
Nuts and dried fruits are one of the best foods to eat after a workout. Like many other foods, they are particularly good because they help your muscle recover physically. For instance, nuts are full of protein. Besides protein, they are a great source of essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals, but most importantly of carbohydrates. These delicious foods are great if you need to refuel your whole body after a workout.
Cottage cheese
Dairy products are perfect after a workout because they contain protein that allows muscles to recover more quickly. Cottage cheese or milk would be perfect if you’re searching for foods to eat after a workout. But what is most beneficial in drinking or eating dairy products is muscle strengthening and maintaining. It’s especially experienced after huge tough resistance exercise. It’s thus a non-negligible element that repairs your damaged muscle.
Read –> Healthy fight 101: Plant milk vs Animal milk
Salmon
Salmon is a fatty fish that contain a lot of protein, especially lean protein. This superfood is, thus, great food to repair and build your muscles and also regenerate your muscle cells. This is also a great source of omega-3 fatty acids that helps reduce muscle inflammation. After a workout, muscle cells can be damaged. Salmon can become your greatest ally after a rough physical session.
Read –> What are superfoods and their benefits for your health?
What is an antioxidant and its property?
Water
Finally, water is one of the most important products to drink after a workout, but also before and during your exercise session. After your session, drink much water as possible. Does not only your body is rehydrated but it’s also recovered, and your muscles tissues are repaired. For more information, we already tackled this topic on a previous post.
Read –> How much water should you drink a day and why?
Healthy fight 101: Water vs Orange juice
Conclusion
What you eat or drink after a workout can be an essential matter. Indeed, your body has no energy left, the tissues of your muscles are probably damaged, you’re dehydrated. In order to regain energy and make your muscles repaired, it’s vital to consider a healthy and balanced diet. Inside this diet, you need to favour certain foods that contain many nutrients. Protein and carbohydrates are among the best one when you need a good and healthy diet after a workout. Enjoy, thus, high-protein and carbohydrate foods
Sources and further readings
Healthline: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-after-workout
Photos
Main pic of best foods to eat after a workout Trang Doan on Pexels.
Photo of Quinoa by Ella Olsson on Unsplash.
Pic of Eggs by Jenna Hamra on Pexels.
Photo of Salmon by Pixabay on Pexels.
