Another underrated part of good nutrition is making sure you eat and drink after your workout, no matter how late it is!
Your body needs carbs, protein and other nutrients to fill back up your energy stores and make sure your body recovers after training. If you miss this meal, it will definitely delay recovery and leave you feeling sluggish the next day.
As long as you don’t overeat, these extra calories won’t turn into fat!
Try and consume the majority of your calories and nutrients earlier in the day if possible, especially if you workout at 5-6pm, which is popular with a lot of people.
If you exercises normally at that time, you should have had a good breakfast and lunch, and a mid-morning snack and mid-afternoon snack too. This should give you enough energy to put in a good training session.
Straight after you train, try and have a drink immediately, either water or diluted fruit juice (which keeps your simple sugars lower), then a lighter meal as soon as you can.
A jacket potato with tuna or cottage cheese will work well, chicken salad with rice, pasta with a lighter natural sauce, you could try baked beans with tomatoes on toast, that would work well too.
This meal is essential after training to speed up the recovery process greatly! If you did a bit of planning beforehand, you would make sure these ingredients are easily at hand and it would be quick to make these meals.
This makes sure you’re not tempted to eat fast food, anything too sugary or your worst nightmare-ready meals after your workout which is a big no-no of course!!!
Other examples of meals to get your energy levels back after workouts include;
Lentils with rice and vegetables
Mashed potato (without butter) with grilled salmon and salad
More naturally made chicken curry with rice and vegetables
Chilli with rice and green vegetables
Lasagne with salad
Pitta bread with protein source and salad
Bean and vegetable soup with wholemeal bread
Jacket potato, chicken breast, broccoli and carrots
Fish pie with cauliflower and cabbage
Any more information, contact www.keri mckibbin.co.uk
07968 980808
