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 do we skip dinner or just have yogurt?
After the sport, no question of skipping the meal! The risk is to compromise muscle recovery and injure yourself. In addition, the body risks storing more at the following meals. So, if you’re the “lazy” type, cook a portion of vegetables and starches the day before. All you have to do is 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 skins, or 100 g (weight before cooking) brown rice, al dente wholemeal pasta, quinoa, pulses… Then 150 g 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 sports session, the meal should provide:
- carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (GI) for recovery (whole grains or legumes)
- green vegetables to compensate for losses in vitamins and minerals
- proteins for muscle reconstruction.
If you are very hungry, you can increase the share of carbohydrates a little, or that of green vegetables if you watch your line. On the other hand, no dessert (neither cake, nor even fruit), or a fromage blanc. 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 stay well hydrated before, during and after effort. We favor water and we ban syrups, sodas, juices and exercise recovery drinks which are most of the time much too sweet. If 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 more quickly at the muscle level.
Should you eat before or after exercise?
The two ! Before, especially proteins, to build more muscle, recover better, have less pain and burn more fat. Obviously, it is not a question of gorging yourself because the digestive system must not be monopolized during the effort. “The ideal, according to Dr. Pierre Nys, endocribologist-nutritionist, is to eat a little just before your sports session (a small mixture of proteins and sugars, for example 1 slice of ham and 10 grapes), and more just after the session (for example 1 chicken breast and pasta).
>> Can I afford a chocolate bar? The proteins absorbed around a session of sport, block a stress hormone, cortisol, responsible for storage. And if you’re dreaming of a candy bar or something greasy, now is the time, just after the sport : your body is in the fat-burning phase, it cannot store the fats you swallow at the same time. Go slowly anyway, and once in a while.
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