Feeling hungry after a workout yet conscious of the food you can eat?
Well, you will need to feed the hungry muscles the right nutrients after an exercise in order for your body muscles to recover quickly. As exercising will exhaust the glycogen stores in your body that provides the muscle's fuel resources, your muscles will be partially damaged. (1) Thus, it is particularly important to consume the right nutrients after your workout so as to rebuild the glycogen stores in your body and regrow the muscle proteins used up.
Why protein? Is eating more protein good for you?
Consuming proper amount of protein after an exercise will give your body the amino acid needed to increase muscle protein synthesis and decrease muscle protein breakdown. This macronutrient is responsible to build, repair and maintain tissues to keep our muscles, bones, blood, hair, and nails healthy.
Studies have shown that ingesting 20-40 grams of protein will help to maximize the body's ability to recover after exercise. (2),(3) To find out what are some high protein foods, click here!
Now what we are going to value-add is to provide some of our personally trialed-and-tested meal prep recipes which are beginner-friendly and can be stored in your refrigerator until your next workout! Here are some handpicked high protein meal prep recipes that we have wholeheartedly FUSED for you:
(Personal reviews, costs, time taken, protein intake count, and pictures included!!)
1. Peanut Butter, Strawberry, and Banana Overnight Oats (Review: 5/5)
First up, we tried one of the overnight oats recipes online (adapted from here) that has a high protein count and is extremely easy to make! For gym-goers who find it a hassle to cook a post-workout recovery meal, this meal prep recipe is perfect for you as it serves as a quick relief and helps your body recover the muscle proteins lost at the same time.
Besides, this meal prep recipe is really cheap to make as it costs you less than SGD5/set which can be stored for up to 2 days! But take note that the bananas can not be stored for too long as it will discolor. One possible solution is to dip the sliced bananas into soda water to keep it fresh. You could also replace the bananas with blueberries (note: high calories) or add variations to your oats with raisins, almond nuts/milk, and protein powder for an extra protein boost!
Overall,
Taste: 4/5 (if you are a sweet-tooth like me!)
Cost of meal: 5/5 (simple ingredients found at home!)
Ease of preparing: 5/5 (easy & hassle-free!)
Protein count: 4/5 (with protein powder: 5/5!!)
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Recommend?: Definitely yes if you are looking for a quick and nutritious fix!
2. Asian Peanut Butter Sesame Chicken (Review: 4/5)
Secondly, we infused peanut butter in another meal prep dish (adapted from here) to give an Asian flavour for post-workout recovery meal. In fact, peanut butter alone has a high protein count of 23g and thus it is a good ingredient to have in your meal prep recipes! With the remaining peanut butter you have left from the oats, you could easily whip out another 2-3 days worth of meal prep that is highly nutritious and easy to make!
Furthermore, you would just need to invest another ~SGD8 to prepare this hearty meal which could last you for at least 2 lunches. Do cover the meal prep box with a cling wrap before placing it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh!! You could adjust the salad dressing according to your own preferences and add some brown rice if you are a big eater!
Overall,
Taste: 5/5 (if you are a fan of peanut butter; but it is definitely worth a try!!)
Cost of meal: 4/5 (worth it for the gains from eating chicken breast)
Ease of preparing: 3/5 (a longer process, but not tedious)
Protein count: 5/5
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Recommend?: Definitely yes if you are a fan of peanut butter or if you are looking for a protein boost!!
Points to take note:
- Try to avoid the consumption of fat during the post-workout period as it may slow down the digestion and absorption of protein and carbohydrates
- Research has suggested that the best time to consume a post-workout meal is 1 hour later. Any longer than 3 hours will compromise glycogen and protein replenishment (Tipton et al 2001, Levenhagen et al 2001).
This is why we strongly recommend you to consider meal prepping before exercising so that you will skip the hassle to find the foods with just the right nutrients you need. To recall the benefits meal prepping can give you, check this out.
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