After you workout are you one of those people who is ravenously hungry or seems to have not much of an appetite?

Me, I am one of those people who doesn’t seem to have much of an appetite after a workout which is why it was such a surprise to me to discover that post workout nutrition is seriously important.

Your post workout snack is responsible for restoring the nutrients and repairing the muscles your body used to get you through your intense, calorie burning workout.

Research has proven that people who consume a post workout snack, especially one that’s high in protein, have more increased muscle growth over a 30 day period than those who skip the post workout snack.

Remember, more muscle means your body will burn more energy (aka more calories) even while you’re at rest. So anything you can do to assist muscle growth and recovery can only be a good thing in my opinion!

Yes please, do want!

Having a post-workout snack within 30-60 minutes will not only replenish depleted stores used to push you through your workout, but these calories will be used to assist in repair and recovery rather than being stored (which over time would add unwanted fat). Waiting even two hours before having a post workout snack has shown your body to be 50% less effective in replacing these depleted energy stores.

So what to do?

Well, whatever you do, I encourage you to take full advantage of this metabolic boost post workout and refuel and replenish your body with a good nutritious (and protein rich) meal or snack preferably within 30 mins of your workout if you can manage it. Your body will thank you for it.

You could reach for any of these tasty snacks however, I encourage you to have a something a little more substantial – aim for between 200-300 calories.

Happy snacking 🙂

Here are a few more ah-mazing options for you to try:

195 calories – 1 slice of wholemeal bread spread with 2-3 thin slices of avocado and topped with 1 tin of tuna

200 calories – 1 slice of low fat cheese with 50 grams turkey breast and a medium apple

200 calories – 6 ounces plain (fat free) yoghurt with 1 cup strawberries

210 calories – 1 slice of wholemeal bread spread with 2-3 thin slices of avocado and topped with 1 tin of tuna and 1 sliced tomato

230 calories – 2 x rice cakes spread with 1 Tbsp peanut butter then topped with 1 sliced banana

231 calories – Omelet made with 1 x egg, 2 x egg whites, 1 cup mushroom, 2 cups spinach, 1 x tomato, 1/4 x onion and 1 slice low fat cheese.

250 calories – Protein shake with a banana (this is my all time fave protein shake – aim for close to 20g of protein per serve)

250 calories – 6 ounces plain (fat free) yoghurt with 1/2 cup blueberries and 1/2 sliced banana.

250 calories – Protein Bar

269 calories – 6 ounces plain (fat free) yoghurt with 1 cup strawberries and 10 raw almonds

275 calories – 1 wholemeal mountain bread (or 1/2 pita bread), 100g hummus and 1 x red capsicum/pepper.

285 calories – 1 cup oatmeal with 1/2 a banana sliced, 10 raw almonds and a tsp maple syrup.

What’s your favorite post-workout snack?

Top image sourced by flickr