Gyms and workouts are all the rage nowadays. People have become quite health conscious these days on account of greater awareness of the pitfalls and dangers of obesity. This is indeed a worldwide phenomenon which is not just limited to the shores of the USA. People are now so particular about their workouts and going to the gym, following strict exercise and diet regimes in a bid to be fit and fine. Now, one of the recurring questions that some gym goers have is “What food should I eat after a workout?”

The basic objective of any fitness regime is to lose extra calories, burning fat and building muscle tone in order to be fit and fine. If you are following an aerobic exercise regime, you will certainly experience heightened burning of calories and some dame to tissues also. There has been a lot of research into this and it is quite clear that you should be eating something around 45 minutes after the workout gets over. This is the golden period when the muscle replenishes the used up or burnt glycogen that is required for healthy energy utilization by the body. This period is essentially 45 minutes to an hour after the workout, which means that just after the workout do not ingest anything because the metabolism of the body has been heightened by the rigors of the workout and you should not be burdening your body with extra digestive processes.

While there is no problem in having water after half an hour of workouts, you should have food to eat after a workout like some carbs as well as proteins, but fats are a strict ‘no no’. The reason for avoiding fats is that fats slow down digestion which is just the opposite of what you require for health. What you need is a healthy whey protein shake along with some liquid. Consuming whole proteins like chicken, tuna or egg whites are also not ideal because these need a lot of time to digest. The whey protein shake assimilates and gets digested much faster as it is liquid and also reaches the bloodstream much faster. Around the world, a whey protein shake is the official protein shake for post workout food. People generally consume around 20-50 grams of this, but around 30 grams is ideal for starts.

Carbs are essential for the body to build up the muscle glycogen. The body contains glucose in the blood stream and glycogen in the muscles which are the storehouse of energy for the body’s needs. In case the body does not get glucose or carbohydrates for its needs it will start breaking the muscle glycogen. Again if you eat whole carbs like brown rice or wheat bread, it would slow down the digestion, whereas a baked potato may do the trick. Again, what has been found ideal is a type of sugar called dextrose that is assimilated quickly and directly into the bloodstream and serves the purpose ideally.

Now that you have learned about what food should you eat after a workout, you can go ahead armed with this knowledge for an optimal workout.

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