How to eat properly after training? What can you eat before and after training to lose weight?

We are what we eat. Moreover, this rule is unchanged in any conditions. Even regular physical activity will not help you achieve your dream figure if you eat high-calorie, fatty and unhealthy foods before and after training.

To ensure that the energy you spend on sports is not wasted, it is important to improve your nutrition. First of all, those meals that occur immediately before and after classes are important.

Let’s make a reservation right away: you should never go hungry. Even if you think that this way you can lose more weight. During physical activity, the body's energy reserves are consumed very intensively, so they must be replenished before exercise. Both women and men can and should eat before training to lose weight, the main thing is the right food and at the right time.

What to eat before training for weight loss

The most ideal option is to eat carbohydrate foods before classes. It will provide maximum glycogen “fuel”, which means the body will have enough strength to exercise. At the same time, he will take the rest of his energy from fats, which will begin to be actively broken down during exercise.

But from words to action, or rather, to specifics. So, what is the best thing to eat before training to lose weight:

• Light porridge - for example, buckwheat or oatmeal.
• Salads from vegetables and fruits (exclude grapes and bananas).
• Diet cookies, whole grain breads.

Such carbohydrates will not be deposited on your sides - on the contrary, they will make the body more resilient and prevent possible attacks of hunger during sports.

Now let's talk about squirrels. Protein foods, unlike carbohydrate foods, are not a source of energy for our body. But building new cells without it is impossible. After all, our main goal is not just to lose weight, but to gain a beautiful figure and tighten muscles. It is to fuel muscle mass that proteins are needed.

In no case should you replace carbohydrates with proteins in an effort to lose weight faster - the energy for exercise is drawn exclusively from carbohydrate-containing foods. This may be why. But it is possible and even necessary to include a small portion of proteins in your meals. It can be:

• Dairy products.
• Omelette or boiled eggs.
• A serving of lean boiled or stewed meat.
• Some boiled or steamed fish.

An approximate “menu” before intensive training looks something like this: a serving of protein food with a vegetable side dish, or whole grain bread with a piece of boiled meat and a leaf of lettuce, or a glass of kefir and fruit salad.

There is also a list of drinks and supplements that you can safely consume before class. These products include coffee, which increases the overall tone of the body. It is also recommended to use sports supplements containing L-carnitine or other fat-burning components before exercise. Such miracle elixirs enhance the effect of exercise and help you lose extra pounds faster.

When and how much

The portion of food should be standard - the same as what you usually eat at this time of day. You need to eat no later than two hours before class.

Very light food (for example, if you choose kefir with fruit as a snack) can be eaten a little later - an hour and a half before class.

If you study in the morning, you are allowed to eat an apple, a little low-fat cottage cheese or a mug of green tea about 40 minutes before the start of class.

What NOT to eat before a workout to lose weight

First of all, these are fatty foods. Such food is digested very slowly and leaves the stomach reluctantly. And with a full belly, exercise, naturally, is unlikely to be easy. You should also give up fast carbohydrates - cakes, pastries, cookies and other unhealthy treats.

What to eat after strength training to lose weight

We told you what you can do “before”. But this is only half the battle. Equally important for losing weight is what food you put into your body after exercise. After all, no matter how intense the load, if immediately after finishing you go to McDonald’s and celebrate your sporting achievements with a couple of Big Macs, you most likely will not see the effect of the exercises. Let's figure out what girls and guys who want to get in shape as quickly as possible can eat after a workout to lose weight.

Nutrition after exercise has its own distinctive features. The fact is that due to muscle contractions, cells are deformed - and this, in turn, impedes muscle activity and causes fatigue. In addition, glycogen is actively consumed during sports.

In order for physical activity to bring maximum benefit, so that muscle cells and glycogen reserves in the body are restored as quickly as possible, you must have a snack within the next 45 minutes after exercise. Of course, these are carbohydrate foods with a high glycemic index, as well as foods containing protein. A serving of food should contain 80% carbohydrates and 20% protein.

Why exactly 45 minutes? The fact is that it is during this time period, which is called the protein-carbohydrate window, that our muscles become more susceptible to insulin (it is under its action that glucose and amino acids appear in the muscles, which are obtained as a result of the breakdown of proteins). If you eat later than 45 minutes, the “window” will close, and the muscles will stop accepting insulin - which means that its recovery processes will slow down significantly, as will weight loss itself. Therefore, in order to lose weight, it is necessary to eat after training. Otherwise, classes will lose all meaning.

We offer several snack options during the first 45 minutes after class:

• Whole grain bread with a slice of cheese.
• A handful of dried fruits and nuts.
• Low-fat yogurt with pieces of fruit.
• Fruit juice and a piece of cheese.
• Omelette with vegetables and a piece of thin pita bread.
• Cereals drenched in milk.
• Bread and boiled egg.
• A sandwich made from whole grain bread with a piece of meat (such as turkey or chicken).
• Crackers and low-fat cheese.
• The bar is energy or protein.

But you shouldn’t go to extremes and overeat immediately after class. The snack should be light. You can eat a hearty meal in about an hour and a half, not earlier.

Features of morning and evening workouts

Does the set of products depend on the time of classes? No - the list of permitted treats always remains the same. Another question is that in the case of evening classes, eating a hearty meal one and a half to two hours after class is quite problematic. Therefore, in this case, you should simply eat light protein foods as quickly as possible (you should not get carried away with carbohydrates). The list of what to eat after a workout for weight loss in the evening includes low-fat cottage cheese, kefir, vegetable salad with olive oil.

By the way, protein in the evening is “shown” in any case. This is what you can and should eat to lose weight after a workout, even if it took place during the day. A little protein eaten in the evening will increase the rate of muscle growth in the first couple of hours of sleep (this is when growth hormones are most active). Drink a glass of kefir an hour or two before bed, eat some cottage cheese - your figure will definitely thank you.

From this article you learned what to eat before and after classes for weight loss for girls and guys who want to achieve results in the shortest possible time, without wasting time in the gym. Good luck to you and new sporting achievements!

You can get rid of excess fat only in one case - if you spend more calories per day than you consume.

However, there is a caveat: calorie intake must be sufficient for the normal functioning of the body.

If you don’t get enough calories, you will lose weight, but not for long: over time, your body will adjust its metabolism in accordance with the amount of calories it receives, and the fat loss process will stop. At the end of the day, your metabolism will be even slower than before. The so-called fashion model syndrome will arise: they eat like birds, but often cannot lose fat due to the fact that they: a) have a slow metabolism, b) no muscles. Muscles themselves are very energy-intensive and many calories are spent on their maintenance, even at rest.

Basically, if you follow the principle of “expend more than you consume, but the latter is within the normal range,” you will lose weight without even worrying about what and how much to eat before and after training.

If you want to get confused, then this will only optimize the process of getting rid of fat reserves.

I'm telling you.

Nutrition before and after training depends on:

a) training time,
b) type of training (strength or aerobic).

The most effective workouts for “weight loss” are in the morning on an empty stomach. At this time, glycogen reserves are minimal, which means that you will draw energy from your own fat, which, in turn, will burn.

If for some reason you cannot train on an empty stomach (for example, many people feel dizzy), it doesn’t matter: 30-40 minutes before training, eat something light but carbohydrate-rich (coffee with a banana, tea with bread) .

If you do not train on an empty stomach, but during the day, then an hour and a half before training, I recommend eating a heavy meal of complex carbohydrates (pasta, oatmeal, rice): they will give you energy for a long time. If you didn’t manage to eat properly before training and you feel that your strength is “zero”, and you don’t want to train at all, then half an hour before training, throw some quick “coals” into yourself: a banana with coffee, dried fruits. Fast carbohydrates are fast because they give you a quick burst of strength. It will allow you to start training and finish it until your “second wind”, which will definitely open up. It always opens if you haven’t caught “overtrained”, but, sorry, you are far from it.

Now about the important thing - nutrition after training.

To be honest, I think that you don’t need to bother with nutrition before a workout at all. The main thing is not to overdo it with protein, which will make you crawl around the room like a sleepy fly. If you managed to load up on pasta or buckwheat in an hour and a half - great, no - no problem: eat a banana and go!

But what and when you eat after training is really important. There are a lot of “misunderstandings” here, starting with whether you should not eat for two hours after training, and ending with the closing of the anabolic “window”.

Let's sort it out in order.

1) “Don’t eat for two hours after training.”

This approach has a right to exist. Moreover, it is very effective, but only for those who are not concerned about body quality. If your goal is to lose fat and nothing else, you're really better off consuming nothing but water after your workout. Why? During training, you will launch a fat burning mechanism that will be active for a couple of hours and after it. Simply put, you are no longer exercising, but you are still losing weight. During this time, your body consumes its own fat as an energy source. In other words, fat “burns.” If after training you throw food into yourself, that is, provide your body with an alternative source of energy, the fat burning process will stop. No, don’t worry: eating after a workout won’t undo the work you’ve done (unless you devoured a whole goose, of course). You simply lost exactly as much as you lost during the workout, and in the next two hours you took energy not from your own fat, but from food.

The question arises: how much should you eat after training so as not to undo the work done, the goal of which is to lose weight. Although not as intense as what could have been with a two-hour post-workout fast.

Focus on half the calories burned, that is, if you burned 600 kcal, then after training throw in 300.

What is better for losing weight: “wait” for two hours and then overeat or throw in half of the calories burned immediately after training? Definitely the second one. You can “fast” only on the condition that food depravity does not happen to you even in two hours.

I repeat once again: the only lady who doesn’t care about the quality of her muscles can avoid eating for two hours after training. Such women exist and they also have the right to exist. I recommend to them, if there are no medical contraindications, to train on an empty stomach and not eat anything for two hours after training.

Let's deal with the rest.

2) “Carbohydrate window”: close - do not close.

If your goal is not only weight loss, but also muscle quality, then definitely close it.

At the moment when it was a priority for me to jump from one size to another, I did not close it. Now I am very concerned about the quality of my body, and I naturally close it.

How to eat for those who do not do separate aerobic training, but like me, complete their strength training with a 20-minute cardio session? Stick to a ratio that favors protein. The “window” should be closed within half an hour after training.

Now about what you should not consume after a workout:

a) fats,
b) caffeine.

Fat inhibits the flow of proteins and carbohydrates from the stomach into the blood, so watch the fat content of the protein foods you consume after training. Everything should be as low-fat as possible. No isolate in 2.5% milk, no 5% cottage cheese.

Caffeine interferes with the reloading of glycogen into the muscles and liver and the take-up of protein for muscle repair, so after training, eliminate everything that contains caffeine: coffee, tea, cocoa, chocolate and anything with its aftertaste. It’s better to avoid even chocolate protein, not to mention coffee, which you can treat yourself to only two hours after training.

Those who are satisfied with their fat percentage can, after training, load themselves with as many calories as they spent, but only protein and carbohydrate percentages depending on the type of training.

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Poor nutrition before and after training can not only cause discomfort during exercise, but also make it useless or even harmful. Depending on your goals, nutrition may vary. But if you're not a bodybuilder, forget about hard drying, which is so actively discussed on many forums. This is a training regime for sports competitions that has nothing to do with fitness and wellness programs.

When and what to eat before training

In sports medicine there is such a thing as. Nutritionist and international fitness trainer Olga Perevalova recommends an hour before training eat some grain bread, or any fruit, or a sandwich with cheese, drink juice or a glass of tea.

“Even if an athlete trains at 5 am, he will never start the day without breakfast,” says nutritionist Olga Perevalova. “Otherwise there will be no sense in the lesson.” If you are losing weight, you need to understand that Trying to burn fat on an empty stomach is useless" The body needs to be started, like a car: just as the car will not move without fuel injection, the necessary processes in the human body will not start without carbohydrate loading.

Nutritionist Ekaterina Belova offers a slightly different approach. Regardless of the type of load and training goals, she recommends not eating carbohydrate foods (grains, vegetables, fruits) one and a half to two hours before class, and proteins and fats - two to three hours. “When you start training, food should already move from the stomach to the intestines,” says Ekaterina.

Carbohydrate loading, in her opinion, only makes sense if you haven’t eaten for a long time or haven’t eaten at all in the morning. If you eat enough during the day and make sure that the breaks between meals are no more than five hours, then it is better not to eat anything one and a half to two hours before class.

Yoga is a different story. The best time to practice is in the morning, and all instructors recommend do yoga on an empty stomach. Even my small practice experience confirms that any food a couple of hours before a lesson interferes with comfortable study. However, Olga Perevalova recommends having breakfast in this case too. But breakfast should not just be light, but very light - a glass of tea or water with lemon juice and a spoonful of honey.

Is it possible to eat during training?

Let me clarify right away - this unexpected item appeared here only for those who prefer long-term training. For example, for long distance runners.

When I took part in a 10-kilometer race, the more experienced runners I knew halfway through the race took small bags out of their pockets and quickly sucked something jelly-like from them. " Carbohydrate supplements are really good for long intense workouts, says Ekaterina Belova. — Energy resources need to be replenished. Those who choose this type of exercise usually have little body fat and it is not so easily included in the process. It’s easier to add carbs and move on.”

Post-workout nutrition

It all depends on your type of load. If you do cardio, for example, just run, then your the main task is to restore glycogen reserves, the so-called storage carbohydrate. “During training, you first use up blood glucose, then glycogen reserves, and only then adipose tissue is activated,” says Ekaterina Belova. - If you do not restore glycogen stores immediately after exercise, then this in itself will take a very long time. You will slow down your metabolic processes and reduce your endurance." So if you fast after running, don't expect any progress.

Ekaterina Belova recommends 15 minutes after class drink a milkshake, smoothie, water with carbohydrates, eat a piece of fruit or drink fresh juice. “By the way, this is the only time when freshly squeezed juice, rich in quickly digestible carbohydrates, is really useful,” says Ekaterina Belova. “In other cases, slow carbohydrates are much preferable.”

If you are interested in strengthening muscles or building muscle mass, then your second goal in post-workout nutrition is to maintain metabolic window rule. Within two hours after class, be sure to eat something high in protein. This could be a protein shake, cottage cheese or lean meat, poultry or fish.

Ekaterina Belova recommends shortening this period of time up to one hour: “If you don’t eat in the first hour, then continue to put it off. While I was driving home through traffic jams, while I was sorting out family matters and preparing dinner, four hours would fly by unnoticed. It’s better to take cottage cheese with you or have dinner after training in a cafe.”

The point of the metabolic window rule is primarily to ensure that muscles recover properly. If you don’t “feed” them, there will be no result even from the most persistent exercises. , and rest and nutrition after training. “If you don’t eat anything after exercise, the muscles begin to atrophy, weakness and malaise appear,” says Olga Perevalova.

In addition, proper nutrition after training allows you to properly start your metabolism the next day. “If you burn 400 kcal or more per hour of fitness, your metabolism accelerates by 8-10 percent and returns to its previous state only after a day,” says Olga Perevalova. “And if you eat right the whole time, you lose weight and improve your body composition.”

And of course, post-workout nutrition excludes all fatty, fried, sausages, flour and sweets. This can result in excess weight and cellulite, even with intense training. But by and large, nutritionists recommend avoiding these products not only after fitness, but generally always.

How do you organize your nutrition before and after training?

You can find delicious and healthy recipes on our new service!

If the main goal of training is to lose weight, then you should pay special attention not only to the selection of exercises to lose weight and reduce body fat, but also to what and when to eat correctly after training. An incorrectly selected diet can negate the most heroic efforts to make a slim figure.

Diet during training

First of all, you need to pay special attention to the balance of fats and carbohydrates. In addition, regular physical activity requires the supply of vitamins, minerals, and a sufficient amount of clean water.

For ordinary people who do not go to the gym, nutritionists recommend compiling a daily diet in the following proportions: proteins 15%, carbohydrates 60%, fats 25%.

As a rule, most adhere to a different ratio: proteins 10%, carbohydrates 50%, fats 40%, and then lose weight using diets or.

Regular workouts require more protein. Its consumption is necessary for the restoration and growth of muscle mass, which helps burn fat. The optimal proportion is as follows: proteins 30%, carbohydrates 60%, fats 10%.

The minimum portion size depends on the basic amount of energy that the body’s internal metabolic processes require in any case, even if you sit in front of the TV all day.

The formula for calculating the base amount is simple:

(weight in kg: 0.45) x 12.5.

Thus, with a body weight of 70 kg, the body requires (70: 0.45) x 12.5 = 1944 kcal even just to watch TV shows for days.

Regular physical exercise requires an increase in the daily diet before or after exercise by 500 or 1000 kcal.

Protein products for weight loss

The nutrients contained in foods provide the body with energy as well as raw materials for creating tissue.

Proteins are able to supply the body with energy after the production of glycogen and fat reserves. But under normal conditions, after the breakdown of proteins, the resulting amino acids serve as building materials for new cells, primarily muscles; its contraction during regular training helps to lose weight.

But physical exercise deforms muscle cells. Therefore, before and after training, for muscle growth - as well as for its repair and recovery - it is necessary to eat the optimal amount of protein.

Protein comes from meat and plant foods. Plants, which are typically rich in carbohydrates, have less protein than animal products. In addition, only animal protein contains essential amino acids that are not produced by the body.

• The most animal protein is found in meat, poultry, fish, cheese, and shrimp. Sufficient amount in eggs, cottage cheese, dairy products.
• There is a lot of vegetable protein in nuts, beans, lentils, and soy. Less - in bran bread, pasta, brown rice.

During intense fitness classes, it is enough to consume protein at the rate of 1-2g per kilogram of body weight.

In one meal of protein food before or after training, no more than 30 g of protein is absorbed. When there is an excess of it, it begins to swell, food rots, and the liver and kidneys work overload.

On the other hand, lack of protein slows down muscle growth.

Having calculated the daily calorie intake, taking into account body weight, the recommended 30% proportion of protein and the fact that no more than 30g of protein is absorbed at one time, many come to the conclusion that it is necessary to eat 5-6 times a day.

For example, with a daily diet of 3000 kcal of protein food, you need

3000kcal x 30% = 900kcal.

100g of beef contains 218kcal and 18.6g of protein.

In turn, 412 g of beef contains (412 g/100) x 18.6 = 77 g of protein, which, with a weight of 70 kg, corresponds to the recommended calculation of its consumption of 1-2 g per kilogram of body weight.

Since no more than 30g of protein is absorbed in one meal, which corresponds to 160g of beef - and before or after training you need to eat something else, not just protein - in order to lose weight, you have to eat more often.

What carbohydrates help you lose weight

Carbohydrates in the form of glycogen accumulate in the liver and muscles. With significant physical activity, intellectual and nervous activity, glycogen turns into glucose and ends up in the blood.

After eating, the hormone insulin, produced by the pancreas, transports glucose into the cells, and its excess is sent to the liver and muscles to replenish the body's energy reserves. If your blood sugar is still high, insulin turns the excess calories into fat.

There are carbohydrates with a high and low glycemic index. This indicator characterizes the speed with which foods containing carbohydrates, before or after training, will appear in the blood, increasing sugar levels.

Under normal conditions, in order to lose weight and at the same time not overload the pancreas, as well as to ensure an even flow of glucose into the blood, you should choose foods with a low glycemic index (below 50).

Thus, you should prefer peas, oatmeal, buckwheat porridge, pasta, beans, lentils, fresh fruits, and vegetables to fried potatoes or mashed potatoes, honey, white bread, chocolate, biscuits, rice, bananas, jam, preserves.

Which fats to choose to lose weight

Fat reserves supply the body with energy. Subcutaneous fat helps retain heat and protects internal organs from shocks.

To burn fat, it must first be broken down into free fatty acids, which provide the body with energy. During exercise, glycogen is used up first. And only then fat reserves, which is facilitated by long-term aerobic training, which develops.

For losing weight and maintaining health, the most useful vegetable fats are nuts and seeds. Fatty animal products contain a lot of cholesterol, which is harmful to the heart and blood vessels.

Proper nutrition before training

After eating, the blood supply to the digestive system increases. On the other hand, muscular efforts during fitness also require increased blood flow.

If you eat and start exercising, the body will be forced to redirect blood from the digestive system to the muscles, causing food digestion to slow down, heaviness and discomfort to appear in the stomach, and nausea or vomiting to begin.

Therefore, you should not perform any physical exercise for one and a half to two hours after a heavy meal.

But the reality is that it is not always possible to have time to eat within the recommended time interval before training. On the other hand, you should not exercise on an empty stomach due to the risk of fainting.

Therefore, in order to lose weight and at the same time give the body the necessary energy for full muscle contractions that burn calories, before training you should eat silent carbohydrates with a high glycemic index - banana, chocolate, dried fruits. They do not cause heaviness in the stomach and at the same time, due to the small amount, they do not have time to be deposited as fat.

How and what to eat after training

Post-workout nutrition has its own characteristics. Muscle contractions distort cells, causing fatigue and making it difficult for muscles to function optimally. In addition, sports movements use up glycogen.

In order for the exercise to provide maximum benefit, to quickly restore muscle cells and glycogen reserves, no later than 45 minutes after training, you should eat carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, as well as protein foods (yogurt, milk, boiled chicken egg) at the rate of four parts carbohydrates and one part protein.

It is during this time period, called the protein-carbohydrate window, that the muscles become susceptible to insulin, under the influence of which glucose and amino acids obtained as a result of the breakdown of protein products appear in the overworked muscles.

If you eat after a workout later than 45 minutes, the protein-carbohydrate window will close and the muscles will stop accepting insulin, which will significantly slow down their recovery processes, as well as the body’s weight loss.

Don't go to the extreme and eat heavily after a workout while muscle cells are sensitive to insulin. First of all, because the body requires not only energy to digest large and dense foods, but also time, after which the protein-carbohydrate window will have time to close.

After training, you should choose easily digestible foods - carbohydrates with a high glycemic index, as well as high-quality protein. They will be quickly absorbed and at the same time give the muscles the opportunity to restore cells and energy reserves. You can really eat in an hour and a half.

A small amount of protein food is necessary not only after training, but also in the evening. This diet increases the rate of muscle growth, which occurs in the first two hours of sleep, when growth hormones are most active.

Nutrition after fitness for weight loss

It's no secret that while gaining muscle mass, fat accumulates at the same time. With properly organized nutrition before and after training, three parts of muscle account for one part of fat. Optimal weight loss burns three parts fat and one part muscle.

In the absence of training and with poor nutrition, weight is reduced by a significant decrease in muscle volume, not fat deposits.

This often happens with low-calorie diets, when the body, in search of the necessary energy, turns to muscle mass, using it as an easier food to break down compared to fats. As a result, weight decreases, but fat remains.

Therefore, in order to lose weight, it is necessary to organize training and nutrition in such a way as to maintain a sufficient amount of muscle in the body, which stimulates metabolic processes and requires significant energy to overcome stress during fitness.

Excess fat, on the contrary, slows down metabolism, causing even more fat deposits to accumulate in the body.

To lose weight, you should eat before and after training in the same way as when building muscle, but reducing the energy value of your daily diet by 500-1000 kcal.

It is better to prefer baked or steamed food to fried food, since boiling and stewing destroy a lot of the healthy content in the food. To reduce body weight, you should include fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet.

Eating small meals frequently helps you lose weight, since with a traditional three-times-a-day diet, the caloric content of portions turns out to be too high, causing excess calories to be stored in fat.

How to exercise properly to lose weight

Diet restrictions without regular muscle training make it difficult to lose body fat. In addition, as you age, it is more difficult for your body to break down fat.

If you stop exercising the muscles that help burn fat deposits, the body begins to use unnecessary muscle mass to obtain energy - even during sedentary work.

To start the process of converting fats into free fatty acids - a source of energy - it is necessary to saturate the blood with oxygen. Long-term aerobic exercise solves this problem. In addition, it allows you to get rid of accumulated fat without significantly reducing muscle mass.

The simplest and most accessible way to lose weight and at the same time not worry about proper nutrition after training is regular hour-long walks in the morning and evening. It turns out that prolonged movements at low intensity activate enzymes that break down fat, and this process continues for another 12 hours after a 60-minute walk.

When taken more seriously, aerobic activity is determined by both duration and maximum heart rate (HR):

maximum heart rate = 220 – age

Thus, for forty-year-olds, the maximum heart rate is 220-40 = 180 beats per minute.

To burn fat, the optimal aerobic activity (running, cardio) should be 50-80% of the maximum heart rate, which in the case of a forty-year-old is 90-140 beats per minute.

The blood is saturated with oxygen after about 20 minutes of exercise, after which the processes of fat breakdown are activated. Nevertheless, muscles receive nutrition from glycogen, the share of energy from free fatty acids is insignificant. Therefore, in order to lose weight, it is worth increasing the duration of each endurance exercise to 40-50 minutes.

A day is enough to recover after aerobic training, so you can do it every day. In any case, the break should not exceed two days. For beginners, it is optimal to train every other day with a load of 60% of the maximum heart rate.

After training in the gym, the body expends a large amount of energy. The amount of calories lost depends on the type of activity and the person’s body weight. An athlete of average build with normal body weight loses up to 1000 kcal in 1 hour of intense training. Is there a need to replenish the body’s expended resources if the goal is to lose weight?

Why eat after a late evening workout?

No matter what time of day the training takes place, morning or evening, you always need to eat after it. During exercise, the body spends 70% protein and 30% carbohydrates.

What to eat after training in the evening before bed - a detailed menu and calorie calculation can be found in our article

In order not to provoke the development of catabolic syndrome after training in the evening, the decomposition of the connective tissue of muscles, bones, blood vessels, the lack of protein and carbohydrates must be replenished: it is recommended to eat, even before bed, a little lean meat with vegetables.

Nutritionists do not recommend eating at night, but this does not affect active people who work out in the gym. They have a different diet. After a late dinner, it is advised to go to bed after half an hour.

The importance of proteins and carbohydrates in a late dinner

During active cardio and strength training, muscle connective tissue is torn. The athlete receives microtraumas. After some time, the tissues are restored, increasing their volume. The body is transformed and becomes more prominent. Successful muscle regeneration requires protein and carbohydrates.

After training in the evening, a “carbohydrate window” appears, during which you need to eat or drink something containing protein: low-fat meals are preferable before bed. The “carbohydrate window” is a period lasting 2 hours.

All calories that enter the body with food will be spent on restoring expended resources.

They do not contribute to an increase in fat deposits: a late dinner will not negatively affect your figure.

What foods to eat after training before bed

Dinner is considered effective if eaten within 2 hours after training and half an hour before bedtime. The diet depends on the goal of playing sports: increasing muscle mass or losing weight.

Note! In order for training to be effective, without harm to health, 30 minutes before training, eat food rich in carbohydrates: muesli bar, oatmeal, yogurt, fruit. The stomach is not overloaded: the snack is made light.

Foods you shouldn't eat after a workout

After training in the evening, not wanting to cook and not knowing what to eat, many people make do with sandwiches. Both to lose weight and to gain weight, do not eat fast food, even during the “carbohydrate window”. It is not recommended to eat pasta and sausages before going to bed.

The products contain fast carbohydrates that will not saturate the body. Food will not contribute to the process of restoring energy balance. Dishes with mushrooms, roast meat, and high-calorie confectionery are reserved for lunch.

Alcoholic drinks, coffee, cocoa, hot chocolate - all this is prohibited.

The body is excited after exercise. Additional tonics will only harm him: they will increase blood pressure, worsen the destruction of muscle tissue, and have a negative impact on his emotional state.

How many calories should a late dinner contain?

For an active person who goes to the gym 3-5 times a week, dinner is normally 500 kcal. If you want to lose weight, then the norm is reduced to 280-300 kcal.

When building muscle mass, the calorie content of dishes is increased to 800 kcal:

• 50% of the evening meal's calories are protein;
• 25% – carbohydrates;
• 15% – fiber;
• 10% – fats.

Recipes for culinary dishes always indicate calorie content, the amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates contained in it.

After training, prepare dinner from the following dishes:

Tea without sugar contains no calories. 2 tsp. sugar will increase the calorie content of the drink to 5 kcal. Fruit juices are rich in carbohydrates, but their value is high, averaging 48 kcal. Dried fruits will increase the calorie content of dinner: raisins, apples, dried apricots. The products are rich in carbohydrates: 100 g of dried fruits contain on average up to 250 kcal, 2 pcs. dried apricots weigh 10 g, which is 25 kcal.

How to calculate the number of calories for a late dinner

To calculate calories, use the Harris-Benedict formula. Francis Benedict and James Harris studied metabolism in the human body: the effect of metabolic rate on physiological characteristics.

A man weighing 80 kg, height 190 cm, 30 years old needs to consume 1813.26 kcal/day. Calculation: 88.362 + (13.397 * weight) + (4.799 * height) – (5.677 * age).

The daily diet of a woman weighing 70 kg, height 160 cm, age 30 years usually contains 1013.07 kcal/day. Calculation: 447.593 + (9.247 * weight) + (3.098 * height) – (4.33 * age).

The indicators are adjusted by the activity index:

• 1.2 – small;
• 1.375 – slightly active lifestyle;
• 1.55 – going to the gym 3 times a week;
• 1.725 – heavy loads;
• 1.9 – for an active person who does strength training every day.

The caloric intake norm for a man who goes to the gym 3 times a week is 2906.653 kcal/day. The caloric intake norm for a woman with identical activity is 1570.2585 kcal/day. The calculation is only suitable for healthy people who do not have chronic diseases.

Dinner makes up 20% of daily calorie intake. For men it is 581.33 kcal, for women – 314.0517 kcal. Physiologists leave an error interval of 42.6 kcal for men, 40.2 kcal for women. These calculations are used to maintain normal weight.

It is important to know! There are many formulas for calculating the daily amount of calories consumed. The indicator varies by 10-15%. The final figures are distributed according to the amount of food consumed: breakfast accounts for 25% of calories per day, lunch - 35%, dinner 20%. For afternoon tea and 2 breakfasts, 10% is left.

Healthy Post-Workout Dinner Recipes

After working out at the gym, not many people want to cook dinner. Cooks offer simple recipes for an evening dinner with 500 kcal.

Salmon with pesto sauce

Ingredients: fillet 2 pcs.; ½ tbsp. rice, broccoli – 150 g.

For the sauce: 1 bunch of basil, hard cheese – 50 g, olive oil – 100 g, cedar nuts – 50 g, 2 cloves garlic, ½ lemon, salt.

Cooking method. The sauce is made in advance and kept in the refrigerator. To do this, all ingredients must be ground in a blender. The fillet is fried on a grill pan. The finished hot fish is brushed with Pesto. Rice is washed and cooked for 20 minutes. Boil broccoli for 10 minutes, brush with sauce.

Chicken fillet with green beans

Ingredients: fillet 2 pcs., salt, ginger, onion, 1 tsp. soy sauce. For garnish: 150 g green beans, 1 clove of garlic, vegetable oil.

Cooking method. The fillet is marinated in seasonings, covered with foil, and baked in the oven for 20 minutes. Boil the beans for 7-10 minutes, season with salt and oil. For chicken or as a side dish, Pesto sauce with the addition of ½ tomato is good.

Salad with bacon

Ingredients: 4 things. bacon, salad 2 bunches. For the sauce: olive oil 1 tsp, balsamic vinegar - 1 dessert spoon, 1 tsp. mustard seeds, ½ tsp. Sahara.

Cooking method. Prepare the sauce by mixing all the ingredients. Chop the lettuce and season with sauce. The bacon is grilled and served with bran buns.

Important to remember! After training in the evening, before going to bed, you do not prepare flour products for dinner, but you are allowed to eat a little durum wheat pasta. Seafood is served as a complement, which will saturate the body with protein.

Late dinner after training is an important part of the diet. It is not recommended to ignore it. Sandwiches and hamburgers will satisfy your hunger, but the body will not receive the proper amount of protein and carbohydrates. Meals for the evening are thought out and prepared in advance, so that after sports there is no temptation to eat fast food.

Useful video about what to eat after training in the evening before bed:

Tips from a fitness trainer - what to eat after training in the evening before bed: