Eating the right things after your work out is very important if you are wanting to lose weight and/or increase your muscle tone.
There are a lot of things that you can miss which will affect the results you achieve.
These include:
Not Getting Enough Protein
Protein is essential for the body to survive and is very important for those who exercise with any intensity on a regular basis.
When you train, you break down muscle fibres which are rebuilt from the protein which you consume after training.
This process increases the amount of calories you burn in a day as your body recovers and rebuilds from the exercise and you burn fat as a result of the extra calories being burnt.
The Wrong Type Of Protein Shake
Many protein shakes have very high amounts of sugar in them. If they do not have sugar, then they very likely contain sweeteners and artificial flavourings. Sweetners still have the same insulinagenic response, meaning that your insulin will rise and block your ability to burn fat as your primary source of energy.
In an ideal world you want to try and find a whey protein which has less than 10 grams of sugar per 100 grams.
Believe me this can be tricky! Whey protein is the protein of choice because it holds more essential amino acids (the building blocks of protein) than casein and soy.
In recent research whey protein has been shown to be 122% more effective for repairing the body than casein and soy.
The DVCC's optimised protein holds less than 2.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams and is perfect for after training or as a snack when you are on the go.
Sports Drinks
After your training you want to keep your stress hormone levels (cortisol) under control.
Drinking things like coffee, energy drinks or anything that has caffeine in it (with the possible exception of green tea) after working out will delay your recovery and may bring your progress to a hault.
Too Many Carbohydrates
Try to avoid carbs after training whenever possible when you are trying to lose weight and gain muscle.
However, eating the right type of carbs after exercise can refill your glycogen stores and allow you to train with more energy and intensity the next time you exercise.
Your Liver and muscles can store a limited supply of glycogen (glycogen is how the body stores sugar) however when they are full your body will store any other sugar that enters your blood stream as fat.
With this in mind its important to not exceed 50g of healthy carbs such as sweet potato or quinoa after an exercise session.
