What to Eat After a Late Night Workout?

Prefer to workout during the night? Here are healthy ways to refuel prior to bed.

A study carried out by the Journal of Physiological Anthropology revealed that participants who consumed dinners around 11 PM had substantially higher blood glucose for longer in the evenings and after consuming breakfast the next early morning than those individuals who consumed dinner at a more conventional time, such as 6 PM. This research study was carried out to examine the impacts of the more common occurrence of longer working hours and the impact it has on eating routines and digestion.

Eating within two hours of your exercise is crucial, even if you typically exercise in the evening. When you work out, your body diminishes its glycogen shops. Consuming renews these stores, assisting your body recover and fix itself quicker. Talk to your medical professional prior to you make changes in your diet plan or exercise routine, especially if you have allergies, health conditions or injuries.

Dinner After Late Workout

If you have not eaten dinner, eat within two hours of your exercise to keep yourself stimulated for the remainder of the night. Pick a dinner filled with carbs — which supply fast-acting energy for the body — and protein, which supplies long-lasting energy. Go with a nutritious, hearty meal like a turkey sandwich on whole-grain bread with avocado, lettuce and tomato; a bowl of whole-grain pasta with steamed vegetables and sliced chicken breast; or a piece of fish with wild rice and a small green salad.

Quick Light Snack

If you’re unable to eat supper within the next 2 hours, or you’ve already eaten supper before your exercise, get a light snack within 15 minutes after working out. As quickly as you get home from the fitness center, get something quick and easy to chomp on that includes both carbohydrates and protein; this can include a piece of whole-grain toast with peanut butter, a piece of whole-grain pita bread with hummus or a handful of crackers with low-fat cheese on top.

Protein Shake

If you aren’t usually starving after exercising, whip up a protein shake to refuel your body within approximately a half-hour of your workout. Combine two scoops of whey protein powder, 2 cups of water and half of a banana in a blender till the mixture is totally combined. Sip the mix slowly and after that follow it with an 8-ounce glass of water to guarantee you are sufficiently hydrated.

Protein Shake with Banana
After an exercise, you want sufficient protein integrated with a carbohydrate. A protein shake made from whey protein, water, and half a banana is a fantastic option, because your body rapidly turns it into energy.

Advised Serving Size: 2 scoops of whey protein powder integrated with water and 1/2 banana, 250 calories

Peanut Butter & Banana on Rice Cakes
If you’re craving something more significant after a workout, a healthy peanut butter and banana sandwich will fit the bill. Instead of bread, smooth your peanut butter onto 2 brown rice cakes for extra fiber (without empty carbohydrates). And while you may typically avoid bananas since they’re too filled with sugar, eating one after a workout is just great. This is among the only times I recommend a high-glycemic carbohydrate source such as banana, because the uptake will be fast. Translation: It’ll replenish your energy rapidly.

Advised Serving Size: 1/2 banana, 1 tablespoon. peanut butter, and 2 wild rice cakes, 215 calories

Hummus and Pita
Another excellent carb/protein combination: Hummus and whole wheat pita. Hummus, a dip made from pureed chickpeas, offers you both carbs and protein. Coupled with the slow-release energy from the entire wheat pita, it produces a snack that’ll keep you sustained for hours.

Suggested Serving Size: 1/4 cup hummus with 1 entire wheat pita, 275 calories

Yogurt and Fresh Berries
Protein makes sense after a workout, because it contains amino acids that help develop muscle. “Your muscles are depleted of amino acids after a workout, so you need an adequate supply of protein to help develop them up,” states Reisinger. Low-fat yogurt can load almost 15 grams of protein; include some berries for carbohydrate-driven energy.

Suggested Serving Size: 1 8-ounce container of plain, low-fat yogurt with 1/2 cup berries, 180 calories

Tuna on Whole Wheat
What could be more filling after an exercise than half a sandwich? When you select its filling carefully, you’ll be constructing muscle while you eat, too! “Research reveals that carbs and protein together have a much better reaction to post-workout healing,” states Reisinger. Tuna drizzled with a little lemon juice and olive oil spread over a slice of whole wheat bread is an ideal protein/carb mini-meal.

Suggested Serving Size: 4 ounces water-packed tuna and 1 slice whole wheat bread, 220 calories

Turkey and Cheese with Apple Slices
If you’re not in the mood for a sandwich, skip the bread and consume the fillings on their own! Spread out a soft-cheese wedge over two or 3 slices of lean deli turkey, then roll up for a fast, high-protein, eat-on-the-go snack. Add a sliced up apple for some energy-boosting (and glycogen-replenishing) carbs.

On-the-Go

Even if you lack time to stop at home after your exercise, you do not have to go without eating. Load a nutritious treat in your knapsack to keep your body stimulated on the run. Get a piece of string and a few whole-grain crackers, a container of yogurt with sliced up strawberries or a granola bar to eat within 15 minutes of your workout.

Conclusion

Quick absorbing carbohydrates and protein isolates are important after a workout. Sluggish digesting proteins would be perfect right before bedtime.

Cottage cheese is a terrific example of late night snack because it consists of slow absorbing proteins called casein. Products with casein are best right before your quick during sleep. A whey protein shake may be a great pairing with your cottage cheese as a late night post-workout snack.

Avoid consuming easy carbohydrates such as grapes, fruit juices or sweet foods. Keep in mind, it’s everything about what will help your muscles recuperate and grow during sleep.