Unfortunately, many novice athletes do not pay proper attention to proper nutrition. They mistakenly believe that to grow muscle mass you just need to gruelingly train, and nutrition is a secondary matter. If you also belong to this number of people, then you are forced to disappoint: food before training and food after plays a huge role in the bodybuilding process! Here we can draw an analogy with the construction of a house: if the workers during the construction will use cheap and low-quality materials, then they are unlikely to ever finish this house. The same thing with bodybuilding: if a person eats everything in a row, then he can forget about a beautiful and slim physique forever! The purpose of today's article is to tell you what food should be after a workout to gain weight or lose weight, as well as destroy several myths related to nutrition. Interested in? Then we wish you a pleasant reading!
Why do you need to eat right after training?
We have already briefly said that to build a beautiful physique you need a good diet, but now we will open this question in more detail. Proper nutrition after exercise is the key to good recovery and muscle growth. Intense physical activity depletes water and energy in the human body. In addition, while working with iron, the athlete’s muscle fibers are destroyed, and high-quality products are needed to restore them. Some people who at all costs want to get rid of extra pounds, mistakenly believe that if they do not eat after training, it will benefit their body. In fact, such a serious restriction in food, on the contrary, can seriously harm your health! In order to have good health during the day and strength for the next workouts, you need to replenish your energy reserves.
Protein-carbohydrate window
Almost every athlete who is actively involved in strength training in the gym, sooner or later comes across such a concept as a “protein-carbohydrate window”. According to supporters of this theory, within an hour after a workout, it is imperative to give your body those vitamins and minerals that it “lost” during intense physical exertion. They believe that at the end of this time, catabolic processes are launched in the body that destroy our muscles, and not contribute to their increase. It turns out that not all people have the opportunity to take food after a workout during this time. In such a situation, many athletes strongly recommend the use of some kind of sports nutrition (proteins, gainers, etc.). Many fitness portals and publications write about this theory, but is it really so, as they say? From here we smoothly proceed to the next section, in which there is an answer to this question.
Food after exercise for muscle growth. When to eat?
To answer this question, a group of athletes decided to conduct an experiment. They refused to use a weight gainer immediately after physical activity and instead began to eat regular protein foods an hour after training. At the end of the experiment, its participants did not show any deterioration in results, but, on the contrary, noted that such a meal after training positively affects muscle growth. In addition, subjects noted that during the experiment, their gastrointestinal tract function improved. The explanation for this we can easily find in medicine. The fact is that after intensive work with iron in the next hour there is an outflow of blood from the muscles to the internal organs (including the digestive tract), which favorably affects the process of digestion of food.
Food after workout for weight loss
If you have a goal to lose a few pounds of excess fat, then the first 40 minutes you are strongly recommended to refrain from eating. And the point here is not only in the best work of the gastrointestinal tract (as we wrote earlier), but in the fat-burning processes that take place during this period of time. For the first half hour, the depleted organism takes energy reserves from the fat layer, thereby reducing its size. If, at this time, a dense meal is made, the body will burn calories from the eaten food, and not the excess fat, which the training was aimed at combating.
The main principle of proper nutrition for weight loss is as follows: you need to eat fewer calories than you spend, but no less than what you need for a full life activity of the body. After workout, people who get rid of excess body fat should focus on foods that contain a lot of protein (for example, eggs, cottage cheese or other low-fat dairy products). You can also add protein shakes to your diet.
Do not forget about carbohydrates (we are talking about slow carbohydrates, not fast ones, which are found in abundance in sugar and sweets). In this case, fresh fruits, vegetables, berries and whole grain flour products are perfect. Do not forget about fruit and vegetable fresh, dried fruits and unsalted nuts.
When it comes to eating after weight loss workouts in the evening, you can't help but say a word about fats. Many experts say that fatty foods after exercise have a negative effect on your figure. In addition, fat and dietary fiber slow down digestion. And you know what? They are absolutely right! But despite this, you should not completely exclude this element from your diet. After class, it is recommended that you use fats in an amount of not more than 10 grams.
Muscle gain: what to eat
Eating muscle after workout is a topic that many athletes are interested in just as much as losing weight. In fact, the difference between these diets is that when gaining muscle mass, a person should not limit himself in calories, but, on the contrary, consume them in sufficient quantities.
Food after training should contain a sufficient amount of protein, slow carbohydrates, not be too high in calories and, most importantly, cause a feeling of satiety. This is especially true for people who play sports in the evening and eat before bedtime. We present to your attention a list of the best food after training, which helps to increase muscle volume:
- Fig.
- Eggs (in the morning).
- Seafood.
- Cheese.
- Yogurt.
- Cottage cheese.
- Boiled chicken.
- Herbal teas.
After the meal, you should not feel hungry, but this does not mean that you should overeat and force food into you.
What is not worth eating at night?
As mentioned earlier, most people tend to exercise in the evening, after the end of the working day. The list of foods that we mentioned earlier can be consumed 1-2 hours before going to bed, but there is also such food that it is better to exclude it if you eat after training at a later time. Their use may not have a very positive effect not only on the figure, but also on the quality of sleep. These include:
- High calorie meat products.
- Foods high in saturated fat.
- Sweets.
- Mushrooms.
- Coffee and products containing cocoa.
Do I need sports nutrition?
This topic causes a lot of controversy both among beginners and among professional athletes. Some argue that you can’t do without sports in bodybuilding and fitness, while others talk about its futility and absolute uselessness. And yet, do you need to use sports nutrition? In fact, the answer to this question is as simple as 5 cents. Protein, gainer, creatine, etc. are all sports supplements (the key word here is “supplements”). If you are able to provide yourself with good food that contains a lot of proteins and high-quality carbohydrates, then there is no point in buying a sports food. But if, for example, you live very far from the audience and get home for a long time, or you have a busy work schedule in which you cannot even set aside time for a full meal, then in this case sports nutrition can really help you.
Protein: myths and reality
The importance of protein in the bodybuilding process, we think, no one will dispute. Many beginners are ready to absorb it in tons, so that their biceps increase by at least a centimeter. Some athletes believe that after training you need to take a shock dose of protein, because only at this time it is well absorbed. In fact, that proteins, that carbohydrates are normally synthesized by our body throughout the day, and therefore there is not much difference when exactly you will take your protein product. This can be done both an hour after work in the hall, and during the next day.
Best product for the night
We mentioned earlier how important cottage cheese is after training. This product consists of a complete casein protein, which is ideal for night sleep. Casein for 8 hours fills muscle fibers with amino acids, promotes their growth and significantly slows down catabolic processes. As an alternative to cottage cheese, you can use a special casein mixture.
Importance of water
During physical exertion, the body loses a lot of water through sweat. In addition, the greater the mass of a person, the more fluid he will have during exercise. With the withdrawal of water from the body, the athlete gets tired more quickly, because of which the productivity gradually decreases. Therefore, it is very important to drink a sufficient amount of liquid both during classes in the hall, and at their completion.
Advice
We have already discussed with you the topic of food after training, gaining muscle mass and losing weight. Now it's time to give you some very important tips:
- Make a diet based on your physical data, not the data of other people. Do not forget that each person is individual and each needs a different approach in terms of nutrition and training.
- Do not drink alcohol after exercise. Studies show that alcohol drunk after working with iron, 40% accelerates the catabolic processes of the body.
- If you feel that from changing the diet you are getting worse every day, then be sure to consult a doctor! From the very beginning it is very important to consult with a specialist on the topic of nutrition changes in order to avoid problems in the future.
An article on the topic: "Food for muscles after exercise" was presented to your attention. We hope that in this publication you found a lot of interesting information that gave answers to your questions.