If you expect to make gains and progress in the gym, what you eat after completing a workout is absolutely critical! It has been said what you eat following a workout is the most important meal of the whole day. When you work out the body is utilising energy from anything you haven eaten before you hit the gym. Once all the nutrients and energy from the meal you have eaten pre gym have been broken down, the body turns to breaking the glycogen that is stored in the muscles.
If you do not replace the glycogen in the muscles after working out, you will find that your muscles actually start to reduce in size and you will not make any progress! In this post we look at what you should be eating immediately after working out.
Living on a diet of bland protein shakes, chicken and rice can become boring to say the least so check out these meal ideas. Not only will your taste buds thank you but your body will to as it prefers to gain nutrients from a wide variety of different foods. Its win win all round so lets get stuck in!
Protein Pancakes
Quick an easy this recipe is simply delicious and give you the protein hit that you need without loading up on unnecessary carbs. Slow to medium digesting proteins assist in keeping the amino acids stay more anabolic. These pancakes are great for anyone who wants reduce body fat without loosing muscle mass.
1) In a container mix 4 egg whites, ½ cup of oats, 1/8 of spoon of baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract.
2) Put a frying pan on a medium to low heat
3) Pour the mixture on – flip and then leave to cool
4) Top with sliced banana or berries
Tuna and Wholegrain Crackers
This meal is ideal for those of you who go for a midday workout and need to eat on the way back to work but don’t want to sacrifice on nutrients. Its uncomplicated and cost effective. Just about the right level of carbs are added by the wholegrain crackers. The wholegrain stimulates insulin levels restoring the nutrients in your muscles.
1) Open a can of Tuna in a bowl
2) Add some wholegrain crackers and start mashing!
3) If you fancy some extra flavour you could add virgin olive oil, mustard or chop up a pickle!
Mega Oats
Ideal for the early bird who likes to train before work, we call this creation mega oats. Mega oats are a twist regular oats, which have been utilised by gym heads since the dawn of existence! Oats can be a bit bland and do become boring very quickly, but throwing in a few sweet ingredients and nuts we take this staple to a whole level! Give this a blast tomorrow morning and you will definitely look at oats something to look forward rather than a source of dread!
1) Take a scoop of protein shake, add ½ cup of oats, add frozen fruit and almonds then either use water or low fat milk to finish it off. Leave it to stand overnight.
2) Add cinnamon powder or a drizzle of honey to add an extra flavour
Scrambled Egg
Sounds like a breakfast right? Time to go wild and turn your world upside down, lets have breakfast as lunch or even as dinner! Don’t risk breaking your protein intake routine by getting bored with your egg white intake and taking a donut instead. For those who fancy breaking away from the workout meal template scrambled egg is a great alternative. The yolks are an awesome source of omega-3 as well as several other minerals. Scramble some eggs and get stuck in!
1) Take four eggs and scramble them with two added egg whites. Add a cup of tasty mixed vegetables. Ideally you should add some red bell peppers for a nice additional kick. Spinach onions and mushrooms are great to add in to.
2) If you want to pump up the protein you can add some diced lean bacon or ham, to increase carbs add piece of fresh fruit.
So there we go, three new meal ideas to revitalise the body post work out. Its impossible to cover every single meal that you would benefit you in just one post, but we hope this has opened your eyes! Remember that post work out food need not be bland and boring, do a little research and you could welcome whole new world of taste and flavour into your life!
