Friday, November 20, 2009

Best Post Workout Meal For Rapid Fat Loss

It has been said that your post-workout meal is actually the most important meal of your day, second only to Breakfast.

The post workout meal is extremely important because replenishing your body with the right combination of nutrients is essential to repairing your muscles from the breakdown after a workout, and keeping your metabolism fired up.

A recent study conducted over a 12 week period has shown that those who did not consume a post workout meal immediately after their workouts suffered from a lower metabolism as well as indications of muscle loss. While those who consumed a post workout recovery meal, lost substantially more fat, increased lean muscle, achieved a higher metabolic rate, and increased overall strength.

One of the most important considerations for continuous (Long term) body fat loss and maintaining lean muscle mass is raising your metabolic rate by building and maintaining lean muscle mass throughout your (entire) body.

Consuming a good post workout meal after every workout, allows your body to repair and build lean muscle by giving it the tools (nutrients) to make essential repairs. The more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate, which in turn gives the body the ability to burn more body fat even while you are inactive.

What makes up a good post workout meal?


Remember that throughout the day you should eat small whole food meals frequently that digest slowly and are high in fiber. These meals should also contain healthy fats and quality proteins to provide a steady stream of amino acids.

As for post-workout meals, you actually want carbohydrates to create an insulin response. This helps to force glycogen and nutrients back into your muscle cells for repair. This strategy not only helps the body build muscle, but also stimulates fat loss.

With post-workout meals, you actually want less fiber content, more carbohydrates, and quick digesting protein to accelerate muscle repair.

Something else to take into account with the post workout meal is that you should consume almost all carbohydrates and protein, and almost no fat. Fat will slow the absorption of essential nutrients and glycemic response which works against the bodies needs at this critical point of repair.

The best ratio of carbohydrates to protein is about 2 to 1 which is optimal to maximize the process of muscle repair and increase the metabolic rate for long term fat loss.

The best ingredients to use when making post-workout shakes are frozen bananas, whey protein, water, and some real maple syrup or natural honey (avoid products with high fructose corn syrup) Also, in some cases adding whole oats and other fresh fruits or a combination of fruits for a unique tasting post workout shake.

You should consume your post workout shake as soon as possible preferably right after your workout. Remember that the post workout meal is a critical element to a successful routine.

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