Move over breakfast: there’s a new contender for most important meal of the day – and it’s forcing its way in, one heaving push at a time.

Although your daily dietary habits are undoubtedly the key to any progress in the gym, the meal following your training is most crucial. Whereas the Pre Workout meal sets the intensity of a lift, the Post Workout meal determines what you gain from the exercise as a whole.The food you consume post workout provides much needed nutrients and energy to your body and facilitates the recovery process. By neglecting it you can actually hinder your progress and weaken your muscles further. Do NOT skip this meal!

Why Does It Matter?

When you exercise your body strives to keep up with the demands being placed on it and it attempts to derive energy from any source possible. When lifting weights, the muscles burn glycogen as a source of fuel – reducing your energy stores even further.  Once the body has exhausted all available fuel it resorts to other sources to break them down – particularly stored body fat and muscle tissue.  Obviously one of these is desirable, while the latter is any lifter’s nightmare.

The period of time directly following a workout is when your body is most sensitive to effects on muscle growth and fat loss. You must ensure that you consume the right amount of food (and the right kinds) to facilitate growth. Think about it – by lifting you are breaking down your muscle tissue in the hopes of rebuilding it bigger and stronger. But if you don’t provide it with the right materials, how can it build anything?

If that isn’t enough reason, then consider the hormonal responses. In the duration of your workout you exhaust your body’s supplies of testosterone and growth hormone, which support muscle growth, and in turn raise cortisol levels, which inhibits growth. The only way to lower cortisol levels again and restock testosterone levels is to eat.

Wait, there’s more. Did you know that insulin is one of the most anabolic hormones in the body? It is directly responsible for driving nutrients to the muscle cells and stimulating growth. And what releases insulin? Yep, you guessed it. Food! The presence of  food, more specifically carbohydrates, dictates the levels of insulin present in the bloodstream (as any diabetic will tell you)

How Soon After Lifting Do I Need to Eat?

Your muscles are extremely sensitive and desperately craving glycogen after resistance training, making them far more sensitive to changes- either positive or negative. Unfortunately, this is a temporary phenomenon, and after a short period they will begin to deteriorate as they are stripped for fuel. To combat this you will need to consume something within 60 minutes after training. Your body is capable of refueling and restoring muscle glycogen in a very short time and can exhibit a higher rate of protein synthesis as well.

It is generally agreed that the window closes after about an hour, though there is no precise time for when it begins. Ultimately this is a matter of personal preference, as there is no real consensus.

Some people recommend consuming something immediately – they will finish the last rep, replace the weight with a shaker cup, and immediately begin chugging a protein shake filled with dextrose.  To me, this method always seemed a bit counterproductive. A byproduct of lifting is that the majority of your blood flow is diverted to the muscles, and as such, there is not enough in your stomach to adequately digest your food. I prefer to wait about 20-30 minutes instead before attempting to eat. (In the event that you are unable to eat within an hour, drinking some amino acids and glutamine can be beneficial for preventing too much catabolism until you find some food.)

What Nutrition Do I Need Post Workout?

For Resistance Training :

It is essential that you eat both carbohydrates and protein. Since time is of the essence, both should be from quick digesting sources and consumed within the first hour of completing your training. Stay clear of fats, as they will slow the digestion of everything in the stomach and thus negate the potential benefits to be derived.

The actual amount of food required is dependent on each individual’s weight and metabolism as well as the workout itself – the intensity, duration, and number of muscles trained. A good place to start is around 0.2- 0.3 grams of protein and 0.2-0.4 grams of carbs per body weight. For a 200lb male this amounts to about 50 grams of protein and roughly 65 grams of carbohydrates. (Note – While the verdict is not out on the source of the carbs, I personally would not recommend eating more than 50 grams of simple sugars. I prefer to use a blend of simple and complex carbs instead.)

If the goal is to lose weight, you should stick to the lower end of the spectrum as far as carbs and proteins go, and approach the higher end if bulking.

You should then follow up with a solid meal another hour later. Preferably a lean source of protein, slow digesting carbs, and some vegetables.

For Cardio Only -

Since you are not directly breaking down muscle tissue, there is no real need to replace lost glycogen, and thus you can lower the carbs, or drop them altogether. Stick to a fast digesting protein source and follow it up with a whole meal a couple of hours later.

What Types of Foods Should I Be Eating?

Post Workout is the only time of day that it is actually recommended to drink a supplemental shake over whole food sources. Whey protein is ideal for this. This readily available powder is derived from milk, but it has been partially broken down to allow for more rapid digestion. A shake will also fill you up far less than a whole meal and will allow you to eat again.

A sample post workout meal could consist of 2 scoops of whey along with 2 bananas. This amounts to roughly 50 grams of protein and 50 carbs, ideal for an intense workout. In the event that you run out of whey you can always make a quick stop at the gas station and pick up a container of milk. 20 oz of fat free milk will yield about 25 grams of protein and 45 grams of carbs. You could follow this an hour later with a whole chicken breast, some brown rice, and steamed vegetables.