What should I eat after training?

Its a very common question.

I recently went to the Fitpro convention - 2 days of classes and lectures just on fitness and health. It was great.

One of the lectures I went to was by Anita Bean, a registered nutritionist with a degree in nutrition and food science. She is also one of hte UKs most respected nutritionists. She had a lot of great things to say, and everything is evidence-based. This is what current research says about post-exercise food:

It is commonly recognised that most people should eat protein and carbohydrate in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:4 after exercise (ie more carbohydrate than protein).

For most exercisers 15-25g protein is all that is needed (average 20g).

The reason is that the combination of these increases glycogen storage, amino acid and glucose uptake, increases muscle protein synthesis, reduces muscle damage and soreness, increases recovery and therefore subsequent exercise performance. 

For elite and endurance athletes it is key to consume this within 30 minutes of exercise. For example, after the marathon I made sure I had a protein/carb shake almost immediately after finishing. Sometimes your stomach can't take much more!

For most exercisers it is not so critical. You can consume these within 24 hours of exercise therefore should look to include them in your daily diet.

So what sort of protein should be consumed?

High quality and fast absorbing protein such as milk whey protein, casein, egg, meat.

Examples of what 20g protein looks like:

3 eggs

600ml milk

27g whey protein powder

85g cheddar

85g meat/poultry

450g plain yoghurt

250g Greek yoghurt

100g fish

Carbohydrates can be included in your diet in the following ways:

1. Start the day with whole grains. Try a hot cereal, like porridge oats, or a cold cereal that lists a whole grain first on the ingredient list and is low in sugar. But finding sugar in cereals takes a bit of detective work, beware many can be overloaded.

2. Use whole grain breads for lunch or snacks. Confused about how to find a whole-grain bread? Look for bread that lists as the first ingredient whole wheat, whole rye, or some other whole grain —and even better, one that is made with only whole grains, such as 100 percent whole wheat bread. Or make your own!

3. Try brown rice, bulgur, wheat berries, whole wheat pasta, or another whole grain with your dinner instead of spuds. 

4. Choose whole fruit instead of juice. An orange has two times as much fiber and half as much sugar as a 12-ounce glass of orange juice. 

5. Bring on the beans. Beans are an excellent source of slowly digested carbohydrates as well as a great source of protein.