eating after exercise

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jrose1982
jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm finding that I fail miserably when I try to plan my exercise. But I can spontaneously decide to go for a walk and find myself running for part of it.

The only problem with this is that, without planning to exercise, I also don't plan anything to eat afterwards. If I don't eat within a few minutes after I exercise I am quickly hungry enough to eat a horse. So I either eat junk food (because it's fast) or I try to prepare something healthy and by the time it's ready I'm so hungry I eat too much.

What do you eat after you exercise? I'm looking for stuff I can buy in bulk and keep in my desk, in my car, and in my kitchen, and not worry about it - it'll just be there when I need it. I figure a snack with 150-200 calories should offset the calories I typically burn when I work out.
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Replies

  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
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    Greek yogurt and berries.
  • hazymary
    hazymary Posts: 190 Member
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    For a quick grab,,, ilke the Fiber One 90 Calorie chocolate and PB bars. With an apple.
  • Epetrovitch
    Epetrovitch Posts: 67 Member
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    I tend to look for high protein, low fat and carb foods like cottage cheese, yogurt or tuna.
  • neaneawy
    neaneawy Posts: 146 Member
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    I like to have 1/4 cup of my favorite nut mix. It includes some dark chocolate and craisins as well. If I have a sweet tooth that day I try to satisfy it right after my workout. I read somewhere that if you need a cheat candy doing it right after you workout is the best time since your body will burn it off really quickly while your heart rate is still up. My candy would a fun size serving of something. I also like a slice of cheese or cheese stick.
  • heyitsmegxx
    heyitsmegxx Posts: 444
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    Peanut butter and crackers!
  • hyerlevo
    hyerlevo Posts: 16
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    After excersing you definitly need to eat to replace fuel as well as electrolites. Ideally a well balanced meal would be the best but since you cant do that I would suggest you keep raw unsalted seed and nuts...eating sparingly about a palm full because they are high in fat but nutritious, Banana, greek unsweeten yogurt or soy yogurt, and 8 oz of water for every 15-20 of exercise. This will curve your appetite until you can eat a balanced meal. You can also keep beef jerky handy if you crave meat product.

    I hope that helps
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
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    These are all good ideas. Thanks!
  • jrose1982
    jrose1982 Posts: 366 Member
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    Just looking at some of my old posts and thought I might update this one. Over the last year or so I've been on-and-off low-carb dieting (at about 50 g/day or less). One of the things I like about it is that I've discovered that it seems to help with the problem my original post described.

    For some reason, after I've been low-carbing for a few weeks, I can exercise spontaneously without getting crazy hungry afterwards. Usually, it doesn't seem to increase my appetite at all until the following day. It's much easier to adjust my next-day meal plan after I exercise than to try to eat healthy while starving from the exercise.
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
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    40 grams protein 40 grams carbs... protein shake and a piece of fruit, or, pregrilled chicken and rice out of my zojirushi (stays fresh and warm for days)
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    jrose1982 wrote: »
    I'm finding that I fail miserably when I try to plan my exercise. But I can spontaneously decide to go for a walk and find myself running for part of it.

    The only problem with this is that, without planning to exercise, I also don't plan anything to eat afterwards. If I don't eat within a few minutes after I exercise I am quickly hungry enough to eat a horse. So I either eat junk food (because it's fast) or I try to prepare something healthy and by the time it's ready I'm so hungry I eat too much.

    What do you eat after you exercise? I'm looking for stuff I can buy in bulk and keep in my desk, in my car, and in my kitchen, and not worry about it - it'll just be there when I need it. I figure a snack with 150-200 calories should offset the calories I typically burn when I work out.
    nothing. I'll wait a couple hours after a heavy lifting session before eating.

    Granted, I'm not counting the little bit of protein I take in prior to the workout.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
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    whatever really. Sorry that's not specific but it doesn't really matter to me. Most of my meals have some protein, carbs and fats. If I was being super picky, it would be a lower fat option for quicker digestion.
  • blktngldhrt
    blktngldhrt Posts: 1,053 Member
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    I like to have half of a quest bar before and the other half after. I do eat other things such as canned tuna over spinach salad..but the bars are easier.
  • wibutterflymagic
    wibutterflymagic Posts: 788 Member
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    My workouts are after work so I'm always heading home after my workout. I make a protein shake when I get home. But I do also have some protein powder and a drink bottle in my desk drawer at work for when the need arises. I also have a container of peanut butter and regular oatmeal.
  • rides4sanity
    rides4sanity Posts: 1,269 Member
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    I keep almonds & Jif-To-Go packs stashed about everywhere... Add some carrots or celery and I'm set...
  • claraoswold
    claraoswold Posts: 89 Member
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    Tea. I exercise i. The morning before class and I get nauseous unless I eat breakfast beforehand. I eat, wait half an hour, exercise, then drink tea.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    Cliff Bar
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
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    Nothing, unless I'm hungry, then it's just whatever I typically eat for snacks. Pretty often though I just end up having an early lunch or something (typically I'm done at 10.30am).

    IMO the whole 'eating after exercise' thing is one of the reasons so many people have trouble losing weight when they start to exercise... they burn 300 calories, then have a 350 calories snack to 'recover', when they wouldn't necessarily have a snack otherwise... kinda defeats the purpose. Heck 10 years ago when I started exercising I would end up eating 500 calories or more after burning 250...
  • LazyFoodie
    LazyFoodie Posts: 217 Member
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    I eat hardboiled eggs, egg whites (the cartons you can buy at Costco can be microwaved), Greek yogurt, nuts, string cheese, and babybel cheese at work if I am hungry after working out.
  • Tammy_1971
    Tammy_1971 Posts: 93 Member
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    jrose1982 wrote: »
    I'm finding that I fail miserably when I try to plan my exercise. But I can spontaneously decide to go for a walk and find myself running for part of it.

    The only problem with this is that, without planning to exercise, I also don't plan anything to eat afterwards. If I don't eat within a few minutes after I exercise I am quickly hungry enough to eat a horse. So I either eat junk food (because it's fast) or I try to prepare something healthy and by the time it's ready I'm so hungry I eat too much.

    What do you eat after you exercise? I'm looking for stuff I can buy in bulk and keep in my desk, in my car, and in my kitchen, and not worry about it - it'll just be there when I need it. I figure a snack with 150-200 calories should offset the calories I typically burn when I work out.

    Quest Bar baby! It is my go-to and I have them in my bag, at home, and in my desk... always. High in protein and low in net carbs... high dietary fiber.
  • cstevenson86
    cstevenson86 Posts: 158 Member
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    A tablespoon of peanut butter and one cup of fat free milk does the trick for me. Fiber one bars are great too. I like the brownie or lemon bar ones.

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