Did you know that eating a healthy snack after your workout is necessary to get the most out of your fitness regime? Having a post-workout snack will keep you on track with your diet and will help repair muscle tissues and replenish glycogen stores.
A good rule of thumb is to eat about half of the calories you burned
during your workout, so if you burned about 300 calories, aim for a 150
calorie snack. Don’t worry about derailing your weight-loss efforts if
you eat post-sweat, this doesn’t affect your overall weight-loss, rather
the amount of calories you consume throughout one entire day is what you
should be paying attention to (and if you’re not, you should
start…diet is 50% of the equation to losing unwanted body fat, you can
work out until your blue in the face but you won’t see the results you
want until you pay attention to your food intake too!!
Here are a few healthy snack ideas that can be eaten anytime during the
day that are also great post-sweat session:
- Protein shake with skim milk, ½ cup of fruit and 1 scoop protein powder
- High-fiber english muffin 1 tblsp peanut butter
- ½ cup light cottage cheese with 1 cup fruit
- Low-fat yogurt cup with fruit
- Small handful of dried fruits and nuts (about 2 tblsp of nuts, ¼ cup
of dried fruit) - One cup of fiber-full cereal with low-fat/skim milk
- Hard-boiled egg on 1 slice whole wheat toast
- Ricecake with 1 tblsp nut butter
- Apple with 1.5 ounces low-fat cheese
- A protein or energy bar (aim for no more than 200 calories)
- Baby carrots with 2 tblsp hummus
If you workout right before it’s time for a regularly schedule meal,
i.e. right before dinner or lunch, aim for a meal that contains a portion
of lean protein (fish or poultry the size of a deck of cards), a complex
carb (1 cup of brown rice or 1 whole wheat roll), and vegetables (as many
as you want, steamed or sautéed lightly). This will give your body the
fuel it needs to rebuild your muscles and rev your metabolism for the rest
of the evening!
Feel free to email us with any questions about your diet and/or workouts.