The Most Importand Meal Of The Day

Breakfast? Nope. Sorry. Try again. Your post workout meal? Ding ding ding! We have a winner! Why is this meal so important? Wait to long to eat after a workout, or skip that meal entirely, and you wind up negating the positive effects your workout may have had. You'll take longer to recover, plateau faster, and you'll feel like crap the rest of the day. Nobody wants that.

When you exercise, your body's primary source of energy is sugar stored in the muscles. This stored sugar is called glycogen. When you've finished working out and your glycogen is nearly depleted, the body's primary task is replenishing your glycogen stores. This will prepare you for your next activity. From an evolutionary standpoint, after you've worn yourself out running away from whatever it was that was trying to eat you, you need to replenish your energy stores as quickly as possible just in case it comes back.

Glycogen is the storage form of glucose, which is the simplest form of sugar. Your post workout meal should include a good balance of some fast acting simple sugars, and some more complex carbohydrates (ie starches). That way you'll have a steady stream of energy entering your blood stream for the next 30-60 minutes. These carbohydrates should be accompanied by protein somewhere between a 2:1 - 4:1 ratio. To put that in prospective, if you consume 40 grams of carbs after your workout, you should be taking in somewhere between 10-20 grams of protein, as well. The amino acids in the protein will go to start rebuilding the damage you've done to your muscles, although the majority of rebuilding and growth will be done while you sleep. Too much protein at this point will be wasted since replenishing, not rebuilding is the primary objective (read that sentance again muscle heads). Don't forget the fat! Just a dab is fine. This will go to hormone production and celular function, making you feel better.

If you've got loads of cash or are lactose intolerant, there are various recovery suppliments our there specifically engineered for this sort of thing. If you're on a budget and not big on suppliments like me, the best choice is chocolate milk. Really? Really. It's got a 3:1 carb:protein ratio, just the right amount of fat, and it's less than 50 cents a serving if you shop around or buy in bulk. Oh yeah, and it tastes awesome! Drink it the instant your finish your workout, then eat a normal balanced meal with 30-60 minutes after that.