Can I eat after exercise?

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Just wondering what time is best; Will it defeat the purpose?
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  • milaxx
    milaxx Posts: 1,122 Member
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    I eat immediately after a workout and also try to include protein.
  • msnewbootie
    msnewbootie Posts: 240 Member
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    It is very beneficial to follow-up with protein following a workout!
  • Heraci
    Heraci Posts: 23
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    You should eat after exercise. Something with high protein but not much else is usually the best. When you exercise, your metabolism is going to be boosted so it's usually very helpful.
  • LindseyDD
    LindseyDD Posts: 160 Member
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    of course you can eat after you exercise (unless it is late at night, like past 7 or 8) just make healthy choices. My body craves food after I workout so I try and make healthy low calorie choices to fill that need. If you are getting in a good workout you body will need more food to function!
  • MZNIKKIBOO
    MZNIKKIBOO Posts: 190
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    NOT AT ALL -- MAKE UR POST WORKOUT MEAL INCLUDED IN YOUR DAILY #S OF MEALS N MAKE IT NUTRITIOUS ---FROM WHAT IVE READ ON IT PROTEIN IS GOOD DONT KNOW 100% BEST THINGS BUT I EAT EGGS AFTER TOO! SEEMS TO BE WORKING FOR ME THUS FAR! GOOD LUCK!
  • Chrissy2627
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    Absolutely eat! Protein helps rebuild your muscles :0)
  • McKayMachina
    McKayMachina Posts: 2,670 Member
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    I *have* to eat some protein after a really intense workout. I've heard it's good for avoiding muscle loss or helping them rebuild or something. I just know it makes me feel better all over. :)
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
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    Your body is a sponge after a good workout, sucking in all of the nutrients and what not that it needs from the foods you ingest, I think, for about an hour afterwards. If you don't eat, you miss the optimal time for getting your body what it needs to do what it is you're trying to accomplish with your workout.

    Choose wisely. :)
  • BuddhaBabeee
    BuddhaBabeee Posts: 105
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    What about strawberries?
  • kissandxmakeup
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    There is actually something called "The Golden Hour" and for an hour after a really good workout your body burns calories and carbs much more quickly than usual. If you want that carb-y burger or high cal protein shake, that's the best time to have it! You can look up tons of info about it! Good luck!
  • nurse_christieyne
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    When I was leaving a Zumba class I went to recently. The instructor told all of us that we should eat within 45 minutes of leaving the class and that the best thing to eat was a piece of grilled chicken (or some other protien) and a cup of strawberries. She said it was important to eat within that time frame so that your body would be full and you would not feel like you were starving. I happened to have those two things at home so I went home and ate it... Seemed to do the job.
  • FitMick53
    FitMick53 Posts: 8
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    you better! believe it or not chcolate milk is a great inexspensive recovery drink.depending on your size about 8 oz. will do. you must eat within one hour of working out to give your body the nutrients it needs to recover from your workout. this will help with soreness and post workout fatigue. when you are working out you must eat or your body will not burn the calories as efficiently.
  • Fatbuttsexy
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    Yes Protein is good in the first 20-30 mins after exercise...but can I just add a note here about quality sleep to build those muscles and that important day off,,,,or do as I prefer..exercise top half one day and bottom half the next...but still need a good nights sleep.........x good luck everyone............your doing GGGREAT>>XX
  • Fatbuttsexy
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    Coconut water is very good after exercise..
  • bunchesonothing
    bunchesonothing Posts: 1,015 Member
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    you better! believe it or not chcolate milk is a great inexspensive recovery drink.depending on your size about 8 oz. will do. you must eat within one hour of working out to give your body the nutrients it needs to recover from your workout. this will help with soreness and post workout fatigue.

    I have heard the same thing.
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    Your body is a sponge after a good workout, sucking in all of the nutrients and what not that it needs from the foods you ingest, I think, for about an hour afterwards. If you don't eat, you miss the optimal time for getting your body what it needs to do what it is you're trying to accomplish with your workout.

    Choose wisely. :)

    People training hard really do need to take advantage of that moment of intense insulin sensitivity to recover glycogen stores. I learned that one the hard way. Last year, though, they published a study that touched on how brief some of the health benefits of exercise are (I think it was published in the journal of applied physiology), and how those benefits might be maximized in the "untrained" population. Briefly, they found that insulin sensitivity could be extended for some days by avoiding full carbohydrate replacement in the immediate post exercise state (though they did find that you could eat back all your calories, it just had to be an unbalanced meal). Beyond that, leaving an energy deficit in the post exercise state (and regardless of the content of meal eaten after) enhanced lipid mobilization. All told, by trying hard to replace muscle and liver glycogen, I do not then take full advantage of lipid mobilization, or enhanced insulin sensitivity. But I do get to run hard the next day!
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
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    Just wondering what time is best; Will it defeat the purpose?

    Lipid (stored fat) mobilization (getting it from you adipose and into circulation) is greatest when leaving a small energy deficit post exercise. You can eat some of your calories back, but not all, and some should be in the first hour. However, that energy deficit may negatively impact your ability to train hard throughout the week. It is up to you, and depends on the rigor of your exercise routine.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,117 Member
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    People training hard really do need to take advantage of that moment of intense insulin sensitivity to recover glycogen stores. I learned that one the hard way. Last year, though, they published a study that touched on how brief some of the health benefits of exercise are (I think it was published in the journal of applied physiology), and how those benefits might be maximized in the "untrained" population. Briefly, they found that insulin sensitivity could be extended for some days by avoiding full carbohydrate replacement in the immediate post exercise state (though they did find that you could eat back all your calories, it just had to be an unbalanced meal). Beyond that, leaving an energy deficit in the post exercise state (and regardless of the content of meal eaten after) enhanced lipid mobilization. All told, by trying hard to replace muscle and liver glycogen, I do not then take full advantage of lipid mobilization, or enhanced insulin sensitivity. But I do get to run hard the next day!

    lovejoydavid,

    Thanks! While I understood the majority of your first post....I think you need to bring it down a notch for most of us to understand....we aren't all in the medical field :laugh:
  • lovejoydavid
    lovejoydavid Posts: 395 Member
    Options
    People training hard really do need to take advantage of that moment of intense insulin sensitivity to recover glycogen stores. I learned that one the hard way. Last year, though, they published a study that touched on how brief some of the health benefits of exercise are (I think it was published in the journal of applied physiology), and how those benefits might be maximized in the "untrained" population. Briefly, they found that insulin sensitivity could be extended for some days by avoiding full carbohydrate replacement in the immediate post exercise state (though they did find that you could eat back all your calories, it just had to be an unbalanced meal). Beyond that, leaving an energy deficit in the post exercise state (and regardless of the content of meal eaten after) enhanced lipid mobilization. All told, by trying hard to replace muscle and liver glycogen, I do not then take full advantage of lipid mobilization, or enhanced insulin sensitivity. But I do get to run hard the next day!

    lovejoydavid,

    Thanks! While I understood the majority of your first post....I think you need to bring it down a notch for most of us to understand....we aren't all in the medical field :laugh:

    Sorry, that one was aimed more or less at bunches, who (according to her profile) is a premed biology major. I figure I can cut loose a bit with her! That being said, I will try to be a bit more conversational, and less jargony!
  • mamagooskie
    mamagooskie Posts: 2,964 Member
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    I always drink a protein shake after i work out.