Best Pre- and Post-workout meals ?

Best Pre- and Post-workout meals

Most of us have the same question what are the best Pre- and Post-workout meals, as these meals plays and vital role in muscles growth and in achieving a decent body shape. Pre-workout meals should be such that which provides energy during workout so that you can do your workout effectively.

Post -workout, it is commonly accepted that your body acts like a sponge for about an hour while your muscles attempt to collect nutrients to repair what was torn down during the workout. 

That is why it is important to have a quality Post-workout meals.

Now the question is when to have  Pre- and Post-workout meals and what should be included in  Pre- and Post-workout meals for getting better results. So lets discuss about Pre- and Post-workout meals in details.

 Best Pre- and Post-workout Meals

1: Pre-Workout Meals

As we know in Pre-workout we need energy to carry out our workout smoothly, A good pre workout will be the one which will be high in carbs or glucose and rich in nitrogenous organic compounds as you need these provide you that extra energy to push you for that one extra rep.

Pre-workout-meals

So for pre-workout you have to include high carbs meals for instant energy to lift weights and do cardio or any other workout. So now coming to Carbs as we know Carbs are of two types in which one is good for another one is not good for Muscles growth.

Simple and complex are the two type of Carbs, simple which is good carbs and complex which are bad.

Simple carbs best sources are oats, whole grains, brown rice, sweet potato, green vegetables and fruits.

And complex carbs are refined grains, breads,maida, Sugary cereals, candy, sodas.So it is recommended to eat good carbs before workout at-least 45 mins before workout. I suggest to have oats with one cup of milk with no sugar and you can have whey protein also before your workout but As per my experience i can say  having your protein after your workouts is more important, as your muscles need nutrients to repair whatever muscles are torn out during an heavy workout.

Foods that can be part of your Pre-workout meals are :

• Oats
• Brown -Rice
• Sweet Potato
• 1-2 Banana -its acts as power booster
• Green vegetables
• Brown -Bread
• Peanut  butter

You can refer our Article to how to prepare Oats in a quick time  How to Prepare Oats.

 2: Post-Workout Meals

After your workouts, it is commonly accepted that your body acts like a sponge for about an hour while your muscles attempt to collect nutrients to repair what was torn down during the workout and it needs proteins to build up again and when it builds up again it builds up big and stronger but for that your post workout nutrition is important.

For your post-workout meal, I highly recommend eating within 30 to 45 minutes of completing your training to get the maximum benefit for muscle tissue repair and recovery.  Consume a fast-absorbing protein shake with whey protein.  You can also supplement with a slow-absorbing casein protein shake.

Post Workout Meal

 Post-workout you need at least 30 to 50 grams of protein in your meal to feed your body and to get your body repaired again for next workout. So your post workout meal should consist proteins and carbohydrates but the ratio should be 1:2 little carbs and high protein.

you can refer another article Perfect time for protein intake.

Below i have listed down few protein sources that you can opt.

• Eat pulses, rajma, chickpeas with chapati, these are easily available in market at cheaper rates.
• You can have milk with black Chickpeas soaked in water. Chickpeas are high in protein contains 20gm protein in 100gm of chickpeas.
• Drink Soya milk once a day , natural flavor ( 200ml pack has 7 gm protein , low calorie ).
• Use  multi grain flour chapati's ( Soya, barley,maize).
• You can have raw paneer or paneer curries  as paneer is high in protein contains 20gm protein in 100gm .
• Chapati has protein,salads have protein,oatmeal has protein, muesli has protein. Generate combinations as per your taste.
• Include a whey protein shake ( 2 scoops a day, one scoop contain 25 gm of protein ). But start whey protein shake after 2 -3 months of workout.
• Peanut butter : High protein content and a great source of good fats.
• Lentils:-great source of protein. Lentils boiled contain around 9g of protein in 100g of lentils .
• Cottage cheese:-Take combination of fruits and cottage cheese for more 11g protein in 100 g of cottage cheese.
• Beans like kidney , baked bean, soya bean. It contain approx 21g of protein in 100g of beans.
• Peanut butter:- Take with apple for better result. 25 g protein in 100 g of it.
• Greek yogurt with fruits. It contain 10g of protein.
• Leafy greens
• Nuts:-Great source of healthy unsaturated fatty acid , protein(20g ) and fibre.

And Finally summing up the complete post with below figure.

pre-post-workout

Hope this post will help you in choosing what need to be included in your Pre- and Post- workout meals.