Your pilates or cardio boxing class ends at 8:30 p.m., you’re home an hour later and you’re really lazy to cook yourself. So we skip dinner or just a yogurt?
After the sport, no question of skipping the meal! The risk is to compromise muscle recovery and injure yourself. In addition, the body may store more at subsequent meals. So, if you’re the lazy type, cook a serving of vegetables and starch the night before. You just have to reheat them in the evening or eat them cold in a salad accompanied by a slice of lean ham or a vegetable steak.
>> The ideal menu: 2 medium potatoes steamed in their skin, or 100 g (weight before cooking) of brown rice, wholemeal pasta al dente, quinoa, pulses … Then 150 g of poultry, fish or tofu, or scrambled eggs (3 whites and 1 whole egg). And finally, raw or steamed green vegetables.
What is a good “after sport” meal tray?
After a workout, the meal should provide:
- low glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates for recovery (whole grains or legumes)
- green vegetables to compensate for the loss of vitamins and minerals
- proteins for muscle rebuilding.
If you are very hungry, you can increase the proportion of carbohydrates a little, or that of green vegetables if you watch your weight. On the other hand, no dessert (neither cake, nor even fruit), or then a cottage cheese. Light and digestible, this meal does not stay on the stomach, allows you to go to bed quickly afterwards, and above all, will not be stored. “During the first hour after sport, the body will directly use all the nutrients ingested to recover and rebuild the muscles”, explains Xavier Tresallet, sports coach. Hence also the interest of eating quickly when you get home.
>> After a big workout, I’m really hungry. What I eat ?Often we think we are hungry, but in reality we are thirsty! The first thing to do is to hydrate yourself well before, during and after the effort. We privilege water and we banish syrups, sodas, juices and drinks of recovery to the effort which are most of the time much too sweet. In case you are really hungry, we favor products rich in protein because their digestion leads to satiety. We opt for protein bars or shakes, cottage cheese, yogurts (but with as little sugar as possible) thanks to which we will no longer feel hungry until the next meal. They are consumed within half an hour after training because the proteins help to recover faster in the muscles.
Should you eat before or after sport?
Both ! Before, especially proteins, to build more muscle, recover better, have less pain and burn more fat. Obviously, it is not a question of gorging because the digestive system should not be monopolized during the effort. “The ideal, according to Dr. Pierre Nys, endocribologist-nutritionist, is to eat a little just before your workout (a small mixture of proteins and sugars, for example 1 slice of ham and 10 grapes), and more fair after the session (eg 1 chicken breast and pasta).
>> Can I afford a candy bar? The proteins absorbed around a session of sport, block a stress hormone, cortisol, responsible for storage. And if you’ve been dreaming of a candy bar or something fatty, now is the time, just right? after the sport : your body is in the fat-burning phase, it cannot store the fat you swallow at the same time. Take it slow anyway, and once in a while.
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