To get the most out of your workout, you need to not only do your best in the gym, but also think about what to eat afterwards.
During training, there is an intense burning of calories. For a figure, sport is the best prevention of excess weight. You can go on diets, but at the same time lose only muscle mass, or you can spend an hour every day in the gym or in the pool, and soon you will say goodbye to fat. This is explained by the fact that every 7,000 kcal is 1 kilogram of weight, and if calorie expenditure is less than their consumption, be prepared to gain weight. A logical question comes to mind: if you don't eat at all, then how much can you lose weight? The average weight loss after a day of water starvation is about 1 kg, but after 10 days you can only lose consciousness, but the kilograms will not go anywhere. Severe diets and hunger slow down the metabolism, and, accordingly, the body will spend less energy. With a little understanding of metabolism, we see that the best option for improving the body is sports and a healthy diet.
Having worked out according to their program in the gym and returned home, a completely expected and healthy feeling of hunger arises. If you are worried that by eating something after a hard workout, you will regain what you threw off, then you should not think about it. Likewise, you should not satisfy your hunger first that comes to hand. If you have a serious goal of losing fat or gaining muscle, then you need to be equally serious about what you eat. In order to get the most out of your workout, you need to saturate yourself with calories with the right mix of protein and carbohydrates. What should be avoided after a workout is junk food with fats and sugars.
As for proteins and carbohydrates, then it should be noted that they must be consumed within the next thirty minutes after exercising. During this period, the moment comes when you can choose foods with a relatively high glycemic index, that is, eat simple carbohydrates. This is necessary to activate muscle growth and recuperation. We just need carbohydrates for muscles, because if you do not replenish their balance, then the destruction of muscle tissue will begin. When it comes to protein, it's a good idea to have a fast protein shake after the gym. In this case, the rate of protein synthesis increases by about three times when compared to hunger after training.
If your goal is not to gain muscle mass, but to lose weight, then the nutritional rules change slightly. In order to lose weight after exertion, you must wait at least one hour until your next meal. This is easily explained by the fact that with food intake energy comes in, eliminating the need to spend their own fats. The difference also lies in the fact that with the second option it is possible not to consume the protein shake. It is necessary to remember that after physical training it is advisable to exclude everything that contains caffeine: coffee, cocoa, green tea and any chocolate bar. To see in more detail the picture of allowed food, let's take a look at what should also be discarded.
Raw and cooked vegetables
Why, it would seem? But it's actually very easy to explain why vegetables aren't good for post-workout nutrition. They are low in fat, which is a plus, but also low in calories, which is, accordingly, a minus. Calorie deficiencies won't help you regain strength and maintain a healthy metabolism. Plus, vegetables don't have enough protein for this, and protein is needed after exercise.
Salinity
After physical exertion, you must deny yourself the use of various salty foods. Salty foods, such as chips, can lead to a decrease in potassium. Potassium is a vital mineral for the cellular functions of the entire body.
Sweets
Sadly, sweets are also banned. However, this is not surprising. Milk chocolates and sweets, which are high in sugar and calories, are useless after the gym because they do not contain anything that could be useful to the body after a hard workout. Of course, dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) has beneficial antioxidants, but you shouldn't eat it after hard work on exercise machines.
Fast food or high fat foods
It goes without saying that french fries and burgers are never good for you, not just after a workout. Of course, pizza and hot dogs will easily satisfy your appetite and give you more energy, but in this case, you will nullify all the hard work in the hall. Fats only slow down digestion, and you need the exact opposite. So we declare fast food as enemy number one for a beautiful figure, regardless of whether you just did it or not.
After such a long list of prohibitions, the question arises: what can you eat after training?
This list will be shorter, but much more useful.
1) Protein food. The required amount of protein after training is about 20-30 g. After the gym, you can afford to eat an omelet with lean meat. Cottage cheese, lean fish, poultry and boiled eggs are also allowed.
2) Carbohydrate foods. The required amount of carbohydrates is 70-100 g. Porridge is allowed: buckwheat, oatmeal, pearl barley, wheat. You can also eat white rice or durum pasta. In small quantities, you can honey and, of course, freshly squeezed juice, bananas and bread (bran).
Whatever goal you pursue in the gym: gaining mass or losing fat - remember that post-workout nutrition is just as important as exercise itself. And so that your efforts are not in vain, balance your diet.
