When it comes to eating after a workout, it’s completely necessary and there are actually some rules to it. Research shows that a ratio of 3 parts carbs to 1 part protein is all your body needs, which means you don’t need to load up on protein-heavy meals. Also, you should try to eat within an hour of working out, or a little longer if you had a large pre-workout meal. But, either way, eating correctly after a workout helps you greatly and gets your body up to speed quicker.
Carbs
Since you need a 3:1 carb-protein ratio, you will need to have a lot of carb-heavy foods on hand, but you probably already do! Things that are a healthy source of carbs are foods like sweet potatoes, non-dairy and dairy kinds of milk, fruits, rice, pasta, oatmeal, and more. You can make easy combinations that are sweet or savory, like oatmeal sweet potato muffins or a rice bowl with veggies.
Protein
Even though people think you need a lot of protein post-workout, turns out you don’t! That means that you really need only a splash of protein in your post-workout meal, an egg, some peanut butter, yogurt, nuts, or a small amount of meat. You can use the egg as the binder to those sweet potatoes muffins, or poach one and put it on top of a rice bowl!
