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What do you eat after a workout


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I am getting ready to start my frist Whole30 and I am looking for some post workout meal options. I eat my breakfast at the same time, about 7:30, everyday weather I am working out or not. On my 4 gym days, I usually walk into the gym around 9:15 or 9:30. I have pre-schoolers so this time really is not going to change at all for the next couple of years.

What, if anything should I eat before hitting the gym floor?

What are some of the things, that are portable, to eat after I workout? I come home straight from my workout occasionally. Usually I shower and run errands until I pick my kids up from school at noon. I have always taken something to eat and I have been eating paleo for the last couple of months but I am not eating the right things.

Thank you for your help! I am sure I will have more questions.

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The amount you eat around workouts depends on the intensity/duration of the workout and your current fitness-there is a nifty chart in the book explaining this, but generally recommendations are as follows:

Try to have a little protein and fat (limit carbohydrates) prior to your workout. This is to avoid burning carbs as energy/so your body becomes adapted to burning fat for energy. I'll have an egg, or some macadamia nuts. If your breakfast is so close, you might skip this one IMO.

Post-workout you want carbs (from vegetables, not fruits) and some protein (avoid fats because they slow digestion and you want this food to digest super quick). I often have some roasted sweet potato but you could do beets or parsnips or something? A half-portion of lean meat is great if you can stomach it. It's best to get this in within 30 minutes of the workout, so packing something to eat at the gym works best for most people.

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If you are trying to lose weight, you don't have to eat carbs as part of your post-workout meal, but you need protein. Chicken breast is classic PWO food. I like sardines packed in water because I can keep them in my pantry and grab them whenever. However, back when I was doing CrossFit, the gym owner did not like my eating sardines inside. :)

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I have to laugh whenever you suggest sardines, Tom. I KNOW they are good for me, but there is no way I would ever just have a can of them post-workout. yuck! :P (maybe for lunch mixed with lots of lime juice and avocado...).

I do want to encourage carbs post-workout, though, even if you have weight to lose...1/2 a sweet potato isn't going to derail weight loss, and it can make a huge difference in energy, etc., especially if you don't eat a lot of starchy carbs any other time (like me)...especially if you are doing something like cardio intervals or sprinting.

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I will throw my hat in the ring for sardines too. My favorite PWO meal is a tin of sardines, a fried egg and a japanese sweet potato. In fact, I eat it for breakfast nearly every day.

I used to turn my nose up at sardines, but once I got a taste of the "kool aid" I was hooked.

The same thing happened with bone marrow. I thought " yuck! Bone marrow!". Then I tried it. Game. Over. My mom was right(again!)... " try it, you might like it."

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