Post-Exercise Nutrition: Are You Getting Enough?

Most people think it’s only high level athletes who need post-exercise nutrition, but the truth is I use it for most of my clients who exercise three or more times per week. I find it is extremely helpful for my weight loss clients as it helps to maximize their fitness gains, and reduce their cravings – especially in the evening!

What many people may not realize is that post-exercise nutrition can be quite flexible.  For many of us we have many different levels of exercise. I have clients who warrant extra calories after walking a few blocks, while others run 5-7km to and from work and think nothing of it. Everyone has a different level.  This blog is to help you identify if you need a post-exercise recovery snack, and how you can manipulate it.  This is especially helpful for our clients who do different lengths of training bouts during the week.

Now I always encourage you to work with a Dietitian to figure out your needs for post-exercise nutrition so we can fine tune it to you, but in general most women need 15-25g of protein and most men 20-30g of protein post-exercise. It’s the carbohydrates that we can manipulate to optimize your recovery based on your activity exertion level.  The key is to be honest with yourself when answering the question: “How hard did I workout and for how long?”

If you’d like to learn more about post-exercise nutrition take a look at our Sports Nutrition packages and see which one is best for you!