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Health/Fitness Blog: Post-Workout Meals

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Illinois chapter.

Is your stomach grumbling as soon as you step off the treadmill? If your goal is to improve your body, what you eat after your workout can play an important role in getting the results you want.
 
After you workout is the best time to eat because your body needs calories to repair itself and replace energy stores, according to nutritional consultant Mike Roussell. Eating after your workout is important for optimizing the recovery process and giving your body the fuel it needs to recover.
 
The two most important things you should have post-workout are protein and carbohydrates. Roussell recommends having a drink that contains protein and carbs like Gatorade G3 or a similar drink. Having a drink post-workout is convenient because you can easily throw it in your gym bag and drink it on your way home.
 
It’s also important to eat a real meal that also contains proteins and carbs, but is also low in fat. Ideally, this would take place a half-hour to an hour after your workout, when your body is ready to start putting those nutrients to use.



 
Here are some meal ideas with the nutrients your body needs post-workout:
 
-Protein packed sandwich with low sodium meat on whole wheat bread
-Egg sandwich with veggies and cheese
-Fish (not fried) with steamed veggies and rice
-Beans are a great source of plant based proteins & carbs
-Scrambled eggs, toast, fresh fruit
-Grilled chicken with potatoes and vegetables
-Peanut butter and banana on rice cakes
-Hummus and pita bread
 
 

Emily Cleary is a 22-year-old news-editorial journalism major hoping to work in the fashion industry, whether that be in editorial, marketing, PR or event planning is TBD. With internships at Teen Vogue and StyleChicago.com, it's clear that she is a fashion fanatic. When she's not studying (she's the former VP of her sorority, Delta Delta Delta), writing for various publications or attending meetings for clubs like Business Careers in Entertainment Club, Society of Professional Journalists, The Business of Fashion Club, or for her role as the Assistant Editor of the Arts & Entertainment section of her school's magazine, she's doing something else; you will never find her sitting still. She loves: running (you know those crazy cross-country runners...), attending concerts and music festivals, shopping (of course), hanging out with friends, visiting her family at home, traveling (she studied abroad in London when she was able to travel all over Europe), taking pictures, tweeting, reading stacks and stacks of magazines and newspapers while drinking a Starbuck's caramel light frappacino, blogs and the occasional blogging, eating anything chocolate and conjuring up her next big project. Living just 20 minutes outside of Chicago, she's excited to live there after graduation, but would love to spend some time in New York, LA, London or Paris (she speaks French)!