What to eat after a workout

During a workout, your body uses stored energy (glycogen) in your muscles to power through. So afterwards, you’ll need to replenish those depleted stores. This is especially important if you have exercised for an hour or more. Because your body absorbs nutrients more readily after exercise, try to consume carbohydrates and protein within an hour after your workout. For most people, 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates and 15 to 20 grams of protein is enough. The carbohydrates will help replenish glycogen stores and the protein will be used to rebuild muscle.

Post-workout snacks

What are the best post-workout foods? Chocolate milk is the most recommended post-workout food by sports nutritionists as it supplies carbohydrates, high-quality protein, and electrolytes in a liquid form making it easy to consume and digest. Ensure^® HP also contains all these important nutrients for recovery and can be conveniently kept in your gym bag. Greek yogurt is another great choice, because along with carbohydrates, it has double the amount of protein compared to regular yogurt. A turkey sandwich made with whole-grain bread is another good option. You can never go wrong with a smoothie because it's easy to digest and quick to whip up. Adding Ensure^® to your favourite smoothie will ramp up the protein and vitamin content of your shake.

Last but not least, don’t forget to rehydrate if you’ve worked up a sweat. Along with regulating your body temperature, water helps transport those much-needed nutrients around your body. If you tend to lose a lot of salt in your sweat (you may notice white marks on your workout gear), don’t shy away from salty foods, sports drinks, or electrolyte beverages post workout as you may need to replenish these extra electrolytes.