Whenever I finish working out in the morning, I always wait for at least 30 minutes to an hour to have my bowl of cereal and eggs. When I say “wait,” I don’t literally mean sitting down and “waiting” for 30 minutes to pass by; If I take a shower, get dressed, and do other stuff, that’s just how much time it takes, and plus I like to have breakfast after all my "morning chores."
Besides that reason, there are two more reasons as to why I “avoid” eating right after exercising. First of all, I can’t really eat anything RIGHT AFTER my workout because I’m always so out of breathe and too exhausted to eat anything. If I do, I’d ALWAYS get indigestion.
The second reason is that I’ve heard it’s better to wait for about 30 minutes after exercising before you eat. But if you must eat something, you should have protein and try avoiding carbs because it will make you gain weight. But then again, there is so much information out there, I’m not sure whether this is true because I’ve seen many people at races grabbing and eating bagels, bananas, or apples right after they cross the finish line, and all of them were in shape!
Do you eat RIGHT AFTER your workout? If not, how long do you usually wait to eat after you exercise?
Comments (42)
if it's just a normal jog (slower than a run) or whatnot then there's really no need to actually eat after exercising - don't make it seem like it's necessary, a lot of people think that b/c they've ran 5k and the like, they need to refuel but in reality that's the reason why they're not losing any weight and not becoming healthier
but if you're weightlifting it's better to eat some protein right after to help rebuild muscles - there's a window
usually for post long distance running alot of runners don't want to eat but it is better to grab some carbs to replace the ones that were used up (my rule is any run 15k+ = eat something post run regardless of the fact I don't want to eat - take into consideration I am not certified or with a degree in this sense). The runners that are able to eat directly after a race are usually the ones not going full speed
in regards to the long distance racers that grab a ton of food post-race, they usually take the food to munch on during their commute home
its critical to eat 15 min to 2 hours after you workout because you need to replenish your energy stores. which means eating carbs. no matter what kind of workout you do, you're supposed to eat something that has a 3:1 carb to protein ratio. my favorite thing is to drink a glass of low fat chocolate milk right after my workout. it has almost exactly the 3:1 ratio.
hope that helps. also, im finishing my degree in exercise science this semester, so i hope that gives me some credibility haha.
i forgot to add that endurance athletes, like the marathon runners, need more carbs after they finish a race to replenish their energy stores. so that is why they eat things like bagels right after the race.
Last year I was in a bad habit of eating a four serving bag of Doritos after each workout.
It depends...but I usually eat between 10 to 30 min. after I workout.
If I can, I try to eat about 15min after I workout.
So you haven't eaten anything before your run in the morning?
I'm not quite sure for endurance runners, but it is the general consensus that working out (whether weightlifting or cardiorespiratory activity) for longer than 60-90 minutes would use up quite a bit more glycogen (energy) stores, whereas under 60 minutes uses more creatine phosphate (ATP-quick energy) and lactic acid (semi-quick energy). (reference: national academy of sports medicine personal training book)
So it is important to get in those carbohydrates. I don't believe there is a special ratio or percentage of carbohydrates to protein intake after workouts or for the rest of the day. Your body does not count every gram, every calorie of one meal. It just depends on your goals and caloric intake/expenditure over the course of several days.
But pubmed studies have shown that carbs + protein post-workout is greater than just carbs or just protein after workouts. Sorry, no links, but if you go to pubmed and look up things like "protein and training", you'll find a plethora of informational studies that are easily understood by most anyone.
Sorry for the bombardment of a post haha
it is always good to have some fruits and egg before you step into exercise and never take food till 30 minutes after finishing up your exercising but you can add up water contents after exercising. i used to take 2 carrots before i do my exercises
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My cousin's wife is a geneticist and an Ironman athlete, and she told me that you should eat something with protein after working out. I'll follow her advice. :P
Damn, I gotta watch what I eat too.
I have a protein shake within 30 minutes of my workout.
well, if you exercise then your body craves food. If you aren't used to that kind'of activity, you'll eat more. You burn more calories for a bit after working out, so you probably are more liking to burn existing fat if you don't grab a bite to replace what you've lost. Meat sits in your stomach longer, takes a bit to digest. When I worked at a ballpark, the middle aged men would always indulge in excessive food after a little game and this made them get fat over the season. One event, such as a race, isn't going to make that much difference. It's everyday living that matters.
well. i used to eat right after workout and i couldn't see me losing weight.. so i tried not binging after workout and it helped.. give it an hour or two and try not to have too heavy breakfast or dinner.
I've heard you're not supposed to eat for about an hour before your work, eat something with protein and carbs 30min before you workout (so you have fuel).
I hope this isn't true! I'm always ravenous post-workouts!!
I work out at night so I normally shower and just go right to bed.
I'm usually starving after I work out! I don't raid the whole kitchen, but I'll usually eat a piece of fruit and eat some yogurt or drink milk so I don't go on a binge later on.I've definitely never had any issues with losing weight doing this. The way I see it, if your body is telling you to eat, then for the love of god, eat!
I hear that its good to consume SOMETHING before you work out ((more if its a morning workout)) ...something very small like a banana or an apple or a gaterade.....
But if its a afternoon or night work out when youve prob had 2 meals already then its not necessary. But I used to be one of those people who would eat BEFORE and then nothing AFTER...and I was totally doing it wrong.
Its better to eat after because number one not only are you replenishing your energy stores but your body is still burning cals even after the workout is over...The first HOUR your body is like a furnace. You can consider it your eating "window" where you can eat pretty much anything and your body will burn it off really easily. Its the BEST time to eat.
Morning workouts, i think, are the best cause it starts your day off right and then everything else you do for the rest of your day even if its just being at work will burn MORE cals. I think its about 12 hrs or something..not sure.
but yeahhh def. eat and lots of carbs and protein. Carbs is good for replenishing quick energy that you used up from running and any other cardio. protein is good to build muscle.
my fav after work out meal: a bagel and a protein shake :)
I don't eat literally RIGHT AFTER, but definitely within 30 minutes. you're supposed to eat a piece of fruit after any workout because it restores the sugars you burned and prevents muscle loss that you were gaining while exercising. If you're trying to build muscle and get bigger, you're supposed to have a lot of protein within 30 minutes of your workout. But if now, within 40 minutes to an hour after you work out, you should eat full meal with lots of protein and complex carbs. I learned all of this from a sports nutritionist.
Apparently, depending on the kind of exercise {the more strenuous it is the longer it lasts}, you still burn calories for an hour or more after the exercise, and your metabolism is faster. I would think it'd be better to eat within the same hour you exercise, no? And if you were really concerned with that I'd think it'd be more logical to wait more than 30 minutes. I would, however, never eat while I was still sweaty and panting. That's just unappetizing.
I never eat after a workout. I always have a light meal right before I start, but that's because I'm hyperglycemic and I can't exercize on an empty stomach. If I do, I'll get jittery and queasy and stuff.
ginger $naps
I heard that it was better to eat after your workouts.. :/
i eat a box of jelly dounts
I don't eat right after ward cause I am not all that hungry... but when I do get hungry I jump on my food! ha ha!