Sport and a healthy diet ideally go hand in hand. That’s why everyone who wants to achieve real training success should definitely pay attention to what they eat. What exactly should the optimal post-workout nutrition look like? FITBOOK asked an expert.
«Eat after exercise and replenish carbohydrate stores!», «but please only within a certain time window!» There is a lot of advice for eating right after exercise, and the uncertainty is correspondingly high.
But what exactly does a specific diet achieve right after a workout? Should you eat differently after cardio and strength training? And what happens if you don’t eat anything after exercising? To answer these questions, FITBOOK teamed up with sports and nutritionist Dr. dr Michael Despeghel, Associate Lecturer in Health Behavior at the University of Gießen.
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FITBOOK: Should you eat something right after your workout?
dr dr Michael Despeghel: That’s actually very clever. During training – initially regardless of whether it is a strength unit, cardio unit or a mix – energy was lost and protein synthesis was disrupted because proteins were broken down. After that, the body wants to replenish its glycogen stores for energy and repair the damaged muscle proteins so it can grow and recover. This process is called supercompensation – the body’s attempt to biologically adapt to the set training stimuli. (Our fitness professor Stefan Geisler has explained exactly how this principle works here.)
Notice!
Be sure to fill up the storage quickly, otherwise the super compensation will not work!
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Two things are crucial here. First: the time window in which to eat. And secondly: What and how much. It is best to eat within 30 minutes after exercising. In this time window, the process of so-called supercompensation happens most effectively. What the body needs now are the right nutrients: protein and small amounts of carbohydrates.
FITBOOK: Should you eat differently after strength training than after a cardio session?
Despeghel: With classic endurance training such as running, the glycogen stores were primarily emptied. That means carbohydrates are needed. Endurance athletes should consume between 0.5 (women) and 0.7 grams (men) per kilogram of body weight within the post-workout magic window. So a woman who weighs 60 kilos needs 30 grams of carbohydrates. This corresponds, for example, to 150 grams of bananas, 300 grams of raspberries or 60 grams of pasta.
Daily requirement of carbohydrates
According to Michael Despeghel, the rule of thumb is: women need 230 grams of carbohydrates per day, men around 300 grams.
After strength training, on the other hand, proteins are required: I recommend a protein shake with 50 grams of powder or 400 grams of low-fat quark, a 250 gram steak or 400 grams of lentils.
Daily requirement of protein
The German Nutrition Society recommends 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight for untrained adults, whether male or female. Trained people need about twice as much
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Incidentally, the whole thing also applies in combination: Anyone who has done a strength-endurance mix should fill up both stores! Again: This is important, otherwise the super compensation will not work! And that’s what everyone who wants to increase their performance and build muscles wants.
FITBOOK: Which foods should be used to fill glycogen and protein stores?
Despeghel: Good sources of protein are eggs, chicken, salmon, Greek yoghurt, low-fat quark, nuts, avocado… but hard cheese is also ok! For carbohydrates, I recommend sweet potatoes, potatoes, quinoa, whole grain bread, rice, lentils and porridge. Forbidden memory fillers are cake, chips, and candy in general. They slow down regeneration. Then rather fruit, if it should be sweet.
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It is also very important to drink, drink, drink after exercise! About half a liter. Namely sodium-rich water to compensate for the loss of minerals.
FITBOOK: Is it bad to skip food after a workout?
Despeghel: Yes, because you’re ruining your training successes. If you don’t want to improve your performance and don’t care if you slack in the next workout, then that’s an option – but it’s definitely a bad one! Incidentally, this also applies if you want to lose weight: Even then you should definitely fill up your stores. However, one must not lose sight of the total number of calories for the day. So please don’t fall into the classic «I’ll-hit-in-now-because-I-have-trained-trap».
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Only when the muscles grow can they burn more fat. And only if the body is supplied with energy does it regenerate optimally and is efficient during the next training session. So: Not filling up the memory degrades performance and limits regeneration.
FITBOOK: Do you need magnesium, iron and co. immediately after training?
Despeghel: The need for minerals and vitamins is highly individual. Everyone should clarify this themselves with a blood test. Any deficits in this area cannot be filled in the 30 minutes after training.