Recovery Foods After Hard Workouts

To assist recovery from the demands of one bout of strenuous exercise and prepare for the next bout, you should plan to refuel your muscles as soon as you can tolerate eating.

Be sure to choose foods rich in carbohydrates; only carbs can refuel depleted muscles.

Photo courtesy of Zeetz Jones

Include a little protein as the accompaniment to the carbs, to help repair muscles and it may also reduce soreness.

Plan ahead, so you’ll have the right sports foods and fluids readily available. If you fail to plan, you'll eat whatever is convenient, likely—

• too many greasy, fatty foods. Donuts, hot dogs, nachos, french fries, chips and other fatty choices may taste good, but they refuel muscles poorly.


• too few carbohydrates. If you become very hungry (as happens after a hard workout), you can easily devour excessive ice cream, cookies, and other goodies that tend to offer more fat than carbs.


• too much protein. By filling up on meats rather than pasta, potato, rolls and other carbs at the recovery dinner, you'll leave your muscles unfed.


• too few total calories. Weight conscious runners may believe carbohydrates are fattening (wrong) and refuel with protein-rich cottage cheese, tuna, and turkey. These dieters need to refuel after running with adequate carbs and then lose weight by eating fewer calories at the end of the day.

1. Focus your recovery meal on grains, breads, cereals, fruits and vegetables.
   Your muscles need these sources of carbs to make glycogen, the fuel that supports hard running. Muscles don't make glycogen from protein and fat. That's why cereal (carbs) is a better choice than a cheese omelet (protein/fat) for a post-run breakfast.
2. After an intense workout, consume 0.75 g carb/lb body weight (about 300-450 calories of carb) as soon as tolerable, then another dose every two hours for about six hours.
3. Eat a little protein along with the carbs to enhance the recovery process.
   Suggestions:
   
   •whole grain cereal with milk and fruit
   •French toast with syrup and a glass of milk
   •meat sauce on pasta.
   
   If you have no desire to eat solid foods after a workout, quench your thirst with a fruit smoothie or some chocolate milk (fluid + carbs + protein).
4. Drink enough fluids to quench your thirst and then drink more.
   If you've become very dehydrated (as indicated by the inability to urinate), you may need 24 to 48 hours to totally replace this fluid.

   You may not feel thirsty, but you should keep sipping fluids until you are voiding a light color urine every two to four hours. If your urine is dark, it is still concentrated with metabolic wastes—a sign you are not yet in water balance.

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5. If you crave salt, sprinkle some on your food, or select a salty food such as soup, pretzels, pickles, or salted crackers. Although you lose a little bit of sodium (a part of salt) when you sweat, you are unlikely to totally deplete your body's supply unless you workout hard under hot conditions for more than 4 hours.

   You can easily replace sodium losses with a hearty recovery meal, given the American diet typically provides far more than the amount of needed salt.

6. Eat wholesome fruits, vegetables, and juices that contain potassium, a mineral (electrolyte) that you lose in sweat. Some excellent choices rich in both potassium and carbohydrates include oranges or orange juice, bananas, raisins, dried apricots, potatoes, winter squash.
7. Post-run, remember natural juices offer more health value as compared to sports drinks. Natural juices (orange, grapefruit, juice-blends) are rich in potassium, vitamins, and carbohydrates, nutrients that enhance recovery.

   In contrast, sports drinks offer fewer carbohydrates (because they are dilute and designed for use during exercise) and have little nutritional value. Orange juice, for example, offers 20 times more potassium than do most sports drinks.

8. Keep eating carbohydrate-rich foods for at least two days after exhaustive endurance workouts to adequately replace depleted glycogen stores. Your muscles need time to carbo-reload.
9. After an exhaustive workout, take a day off from exercise. Rest your muscles to allow them time to replace depleted glycogen stores. Rest is a critical part of both the training and recovery program. You aren't "being lazy" if you take a day off. You are investing in your future performance.

Copyright: Nancy Clark, MS, RD, CSSD
Nancy Clark's new Sports Nutrition Guidebook (2008), Food Guide for Marathoners, and Cyclist’s Food Guide are available at her website www.nancyclarkrd.com.

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