Last week I discussed the importance of pre-workout nutrition and provided a few tips on how to design your own perfect pre-workout meal. Hopefully you were able to apply a few of my suggestions to your nutritional plan. As I mentioned in my previous blog – your pre-workout meal is just as important as the workout itself. But what about your post-workout meal? Is that just as important as well?

The Power of Clean Eating

As most of our clients know, I’m a firm believer in the power of clean eating. Sure, I like to indulge in the occasional slice of pizza or bowl of ice cream but for the most part my diet is fairly clean. And by clean I mean that the foods I consume are not processed, contain little to no sugar, and have minimal if any trans and/or saturated fats. I would be lying if I said that I eat this way for the soul purpose of being healthy and fit. I want to look good as well. And there is nothing wrong with that. But the main reason I choose to eat this way has nothing to do with aesthetics and health. Clean foods give me energy to get through my 14-16 hour work days. Clean foods give me the strength to get through my brutal and intense workouts. And clean foods give me mental clarity to be productive and more focused both inside and outside of the gym on a daily basis.

Anabolic Window of Opportunity

When it comes to post-workout nutrition, many health and fitness experts will argue and say that your post-workout meal is the most important meal of the day due to some kind of “anabolic window of opportunity”. I would have to strongly disagree with these experts as I believe each meal you consume throughout the day is just as important as the next. In my opinion if you fuel your body properly throughout your entire day then there is no reason to try to fit the most important foods into one specific meal at one exact time. Therefore when it comes to the post-workout meal, I tell all of our clients to approach this meal just as they would with any of their other meals – strategically and purposefully.

Shutting Up The Supplement Companies

The supplement companies will try to sell you on the importance of the post-workout shake so that they can sell you on their overrated and overpriced protein powders. Do they work? Sure. Do you need them? No. You’ll get just as much benefit, if not more, from consuming a piece of lean protein and some complex carbs from whole food sources. In reality, once your workout is over you do need to feed your body properly and efficiently. You do not however have to feed it within 5 minutes after your final set or as soon as you step off the treadmill. As long as you replenish your body with the correct nutrients within a one to two hour period after your workout, you will continue to maximize your results.

What Should You Consume Post-Workout?

So now that we’ve established that your post-workout meal is not some kind of super meal that needs to take precedence over every other meal in your diet, what should you eat? Well, just as I mentioned last week, I cannot tell you exactly what you should eat, however I can provide you with a few suggestions. Keep in mind that what you eat and how much of it you decide to eat will depend on your training goals, current level of activity, gender, age, weight etc. Generally speaking though, if you stick with the foods listed below you will be off to good start.

Post-Workout Carbs  – Brown Rice / Quinoa / Yams / Sweet Potatoes / Cream of Rice/ Oatmeal (original, none of that sugary crap!)

Post-Workout Proteins – Lean cuts of meat such as Chicken Breast, Turkey Breast, Tuna Sashimi / Egg Whites / Navy Beans / Dried Lentils / Whey Isolate Protein Powder (I’m not against protein powders but I suggest you only use them sparingly)

Post-Workout Fats – All Natural Peanut Butter / Almond Butter / Omega-3 Eggs / Salmon / Extra-Virgin Olive Oil / Macadamia Nut Oil

So there you have it. That’s my my opinion and thoughts on Post-Workout Nutrition. Whether I agree or disagree with how other people diet and train is irrelevant. One thing that I think that we can all agree on though, is that if we continue to go the gym, train hard and eat smart, then we’ll continue to do well by our bodies, our minds and our overall health.

Yours in Good Health,

Nick Cosgrove
Forever Fit