A good post work out meal should fuel your system, aid in weight loss, nourish your body and help you to build muscles.
For this reason, it’s easy to get confused about what to eat and what not to. I’m sure you don’t want to starve while you’re at it and you don’t want to add more calories either.
Instead, you want to eat foods that will help you recover and give you the energy and nutrients needed to get through the next workout session.
Therefore, since you already have an idea of what you should eat before and after a workout, let’s have a look at what foods to avoid after working out.
1. Fatty foods
As long as it’s fried or full of spice, stay away from it during a post workout. Fatty and spicy foods are slow to digest and they delay the delivery of nutrients to the muscles. Besides, Since your body is low in glycogen levels and the proteins are broken down after working out, you don’t want to load up on calories found in fatty foods.
2. Carbonated drinks
It’s normal to feel thirsty during and after a workout. But while water may be safe carbonated drinks are quite the opposite. Studies show that drinking carbonated drinks during and after a workout could lead to kidney damage. Besides if you want to rehydrate and quench your thirst, water is more refreshing. Carbonated drinks on the other hand can cause dehydration and could result in blood glucose problems in the long run.
3. Caffeinated drinks
Just like soda, caffeinated drinks are equally bad for you if taken immediately after a workout. Caffeine increases cortisol production causing your body to be more responsive and hence increased performance when you’re working out. However, after a workout, you want to replenish the glycogen stores which have been used up and reduce cortisol production rather than increasing it. Caffeine being a stimulant doesn’t only counter this, but it can lead to dehydration and fatigue if taken immediately after a workout.
4. Alcohol
It’s recommended that you take twice the amount of carbs to proteins if you wish to recover from a post-workout session. But even though beer and other alcoholic drinks are high in carbohydrates, consuming such after working out leads to more damage than good. Alcohol inhibits the function of hormones such as testosterone, affecting the post-recovery process.
5. Raw vegetables
After a workout session, you want to prioritise on refueling your system with high energy foods so you can boost your glycogen levels. Although high in nutritive value and fibre, raw vegetables like carrots, tomatoes, eggplants and salads are still low carb meals. Eating raw vegetables only will not only leave you undernourished but since they cannot provide the energy needed during a post-workout, you might not have enough endurance to make it through the next workout session.
6. Snacks
It is obvious that you should stay away from sugary snacks, desserts and fast foods, after a workout session. Yet sometimes the hunger signals are just too high that you cannot resist snacking. To counter such cravings, don’t stay too long without eating after you finish working out. Ideally, you should eat within 45 minutes after a workout.
