How To Fuel Muscle Recovery with Post Workout Nutrition

00:00Real quick, the only ask I could ever have of you guys is to help spread the word so we can help more women lose body fat, build muscle, reach their goals, and feel insanely confident. And the only way we can do that is if you rate, review, and share this podcast. So the single thing I ask for you to do is if you could leave a review. It will take you 10 seconds, and it will mean the absolute world to me and may change the world of someone else. Because protein, let's just talk about protein, it's the building block for muscle repair.

00:30You guys have heard me say this before. I believe it's the king of all the macronutrients. It is the macronutrient that is critical for the recovery process to start happening, for you to not feel a sore, but also for the growth to happen. And when the growth happens, you're going to get toned. You're going to see the results that you want. Yo, yo, yo, what is going on, you guys? Welcome back to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikki Stott, co-founder of Warrior Babe.

01:00Or if this is one of your first episodes, hey, you guys, welcome to the show. On this podcast, we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I'm your host, Nikki Stott, and welcome to today's episode, episode 184. And today is a new episode. Thank you guys for getting through the last couple of weeks where it has been a journey.

01:31I will say one, two, I'm sure at some point I will talk about what has been going on in my personal space and world. Once I've gotten through the aspects of myself that I'm learning about and processing, I know one day I will share it with you. But for now, let's keep it to fitness. And today, specifically, I want to talk about nutrition. Specifically, diving into post-workout nutrition. And I think this is honestly something that doesn't get enough attention. And in my opinion, if there's any meal that you want to have in the day, I think this is the second most important meal.

02:10The first important one is definitely probably your pre-workout. Because you want to have the fuel that you need when you go and work out. The post-workout nutrition is the type of nutrition that's going to help you optimize your muscle recovery and your growth. And essentially, like, get you to be toned and see the results that you want to see. So I always think, like, after a workout, I'm like, where's my post-workout shake? Where's my banana? I'm like, I need that almost immediately. Because I can feel the effects of my body, like, being very in tune with it.

02:44You know, nine, ten years of doing this. You start to realize what your body needs and how it's going to be optimized efficiently. When I'm done a workout, and think about it for you guys, too. Like, you've just crushed your workout. Your muscles are fatigued. Your energy levels are low. Maybe sometimes you feel lightheaded or dizzy or, like, your body is, like, shaking. You ever do, like, leg day and you get in the car to press the gas pedal and your legs are shaking? Yeah. It's because you just had a freaking awesome workout, right? And you think about, like, nutrition is one of the hardest things for people to understand.

03:18Like, if everybody had nutrition down, I feel like everybody would have the results within their body that they wanted. Like, 100% of the world would be walking around with some fucking sexy ass bodies. Like, I'm just saying that to be real. But you're probably wondering, like, you know, how can you recover efficiently? How can you make sure that you're eating the right things that are going to give you the results that you want after just crushing a solid workout? So the period right after a workout, it's often referred to as, like, the anabolic window.

03:49Like, it's a critical time when your body is primed to absorb the nutrients and to begin the recovery process of which, like, you guys hear me all the time say this inside of podcast episodes, is particularly with strength training, you're creating these, like, micro tears in your muscle fibers when you are exercising. And it's a good thing that that's happening. Your body is, your body then repairs those micro tears by, like, bringing them together, which increases your results and increases your tone, increases your muscle mass and your strength.

04:24And that's, that's called hypertrophy. Like, and I always say that wrong. Hypertrophy. Hypertrophy. I always say it in two syllables. It's just, like, how it works in my brain. But hypertrophy. Hypertrophy. You guys get what I'm saying. But that's what that process is known to be called. So, but however, like, that process, how it happens efficiently is by giving your body the right fuel. So, like, you're breaking down the muscle inside of the gym, right? That's what I say all the time. You're not building it until afterwards.

04:55You're not building it until you give the body the, you start the recovery process and you give your body what it needs to repair, to prime those muscle fibers, to grow them back even stronger. And that's, that comes from the proper fuel that you need to give your body. That's where the post-workout nutrition comes into play. It's consuming the right nutrients after exercise that can help to speed up the recovery process, help reduce muscle soreness, help replenish your energy stores. To not feel like you're going to pass out.

05:25To not feel like you're lightheaded. And to promote muscle growth. And to give you, you know, the ultimate results that you are seeking. To get you that toned result that you are seeking. And, you know, while I'm saying that in speaking to post-workout nutrition, I'm also speaking to, like, your daily overall consumption of nutrients, macronutrients, micronutrients. Your daily overall consumption of food. Because it's not just in, like, we're talking about post-workout nutrition here on this episode, but it's not just in that one meal. It's how you eat the 24 to 48 hours post a workout that's going to prime your body internally for these processes to occur and get you the results that you want externally.

06:08So let's talk about the science a little bit more in depth. Like, after your workout, your body needs two key things. It needs protein and it needs carbohydrates. And if there's any type of recommendation I'm going to give you guys in your post-workout meal, it's got to be protein and it's got to be carbohydrates. And why I'm leaving out fat, I believe I've talked about this in previous episodes before, is because fat takes twice as long to digest. Because it consists of nine calories to make up one gram of fat. Whereas the other protein and carbs only consist of four calories per one gram.

06:42So fat takes twice as long to digest in your body. And it almost gets in the way, like if I'm talking about it in layman terms, it almost gets in the way of absorbing those other two key nutrients that you need to start the recovery process. And fat doesn't really do much post-workout anyway. It does its job in the other meals throughout your day. So you will hear me or our coaches at Warrior Babe or anyone on social media say, just focus on getting your protein and your carbohydrates post-workout and also pre-workout too as well.

07:18Because you're going to digest the protein and the carbs a little bit quicker than you're going to digest the fats. And that's going to give you the energy through that fuel, through the protein and the carbohydrates. That's going to be able to drive your workout. And then afterwards, all about the recovery. So protein, let's just talk about protein. It's the building block for muscle repair. You guys have heard me say this before. I believe it's the king of all the macronutrients. It is the macronutrient that is critical for you to see, for the recovery process to start happening, for you to not feel a sore, but also for the growth to happen.

07:51And when the growth happens, you're going to get toned. You're going to see the results that you want. So during exercise, especially during strength training, the breakdown of muscle protein happens. And so consuming protein after you work out provides your body with the essential amino acids that it needs to repair and to build new muscle tissue. So how much protein should you consume? This is totally vastly different amongst individuals, obviously, because everybody has a different protein target on a daily basis.

08:27But let's just say broadly speaking, you need to consume anywhere from like 20 to 40 grams of like high quality protein within like the first 30 minutes to. And this is like studies have totally changed over time in terms of the post-workout meal consumption window. But you can go as far as a two hours post-workout. I personally would not recommend that. But that is the window which you're going to be able to maximize muscle protein synthesis. And my personal opinion, I mean, if I was to go two hours, I'd be feeling like I'm going to pass out.

09:02Like I would be able to feel like my body, I would feel like my body is eating itself. And I'm sure some of you guys have been there to understand and resonate with that type of feeling. I will consume something within the first 30 minutes typically because I know what's happening and I want to start the recovery process. And I want to put, you know, my hard work in the gym. Like anybody can work out really hard. Anybody does. A lot of people do. Working out is one of the easiest things that people put themselves through, in my opinion, when it comes to the world of fitness.

09:32Like everybody and their mom works out. But are you eating the right way? Are you fueling your body the right way? Are you, do you understand pre and post-workout nutrition? Like not a lot of people do. And that's why I'm sharing this understanding and knowledge and education with you guys. So I would recommend me personally, what I do. And I'm actually going to talk about this in a little bit on specific like practical. Like we're talking about the practical now. Or we're talking about the science now. I'm going to get practical with you guys. And talk about some actionable tips.

10:04So I'm actually going to just save that for a little bit later. But anyway, what was some excellent sources of protein that you could include that will help right after immediately following a post-workout. You obviously want it to be something that is easily digestible. And typically what is easily digestible is protein powders. So specifically isolate protein powders. If you see isolate on your protein bag or protein container, that's a solid post-workout and pre-workout protein powder to consume.

10:36Chicken breast. Believe it or not, that is actually easy to digest. Fish, eggs, plant-based options, tofu, lentils, those type of things are easily digestible protein. And they're excellent sources of protein. So that's the world of protein. Let's dive into the world of carbohydrates. I feel like this is a very sensitive topic for a lot of people because people believe that carbohydrates are the enemy. And people believe that carbohydrates make you fat. There's an awesome episode. Things that I don't know how to reference the right episode.

11:09But I talk about carbs. And I talk about the world of carbohydrates when it comes to strength training. And I talk about, you know, how carbohydrates for every certain amount of grams that you eat holds on to water. That water is going to show on the scale. It's going to make a lot of people feel like they're gaining fat. They're not really. They're gaining water weight. Their body is getting used to eating carbohydrates, especially for those that have eliminated carbohydrates entirely, which this is what happens with keto. So they're not losing fat. They're losing water weight because carbohydrates and water are very directly connected.

11:41So if you all want to like scroll back in the episodes, I would highly recommend listening to that episode. Maybe I'll remake it. I'll put that in a note, actually. It's probably a good episode to bring back. But anyway, carbohydrates. They are a critical, if not, I mean, I already said protein is one of the important ones. They all are very important. But carbohydrates are what replenish your glycogen stores that are and should be depleted during your strength training workout.

12:14Glycogen is the stored form of glucose in the muscles and the liver. And it's the primary fuel source during high intensity workouts, during strength training and all the things. So consuming carbohydrates after your workout helps to restore those glycogen stores. This is what will make you most likely feel dizzy after you've worked out is your glycogen stores are completely tanked. Your blood sugar has dropped. And so how you can immediately replenish those glycogen stores is through carbohydrates.

12:50And it's especially important if you have another workout to do within the next 24 hours because you need to give your body the fuel to give you energy to perform these workouts. So combining the two of these carbs and proteins, it's just so important overall when it comes to pre-workout and post-workout. But specifically because we're talking about in this episode post-workout, I think it's really important to aim for like a ratio of like three to one or four to one carbs to protein for optimal recovery.

13:23And that can look like anywhere everyone's different again. Like it's really hard to narrow it down individually what everyone should be consuming because individually everyone is different. But in terms of grams, it can look like anywhere from like 30 to 50, if not more or less, depending on what you're – I would say 30 or above is ideal. But some people like to bulk their carbs around their workouts. And I totally agree with that methodology. And then they like to leave carbohydrates like lower – on the lower end in their other meals throughout the day.

13:58But I do believe in that methodology too as well where you're stacking the carbs pre and post-workout because you're giving yourself the fuel that you want to go perform the workout. And then afterwards, you are replenishing the glycogen stores with as much carbs as you possibly can. So, I mean, there's like literally totally different ways you can toot the horn if that is even the reference. You know, pat the bear's back or something like that. I don't know. I probably was saying that totally wrong. But you get what I'm saying. There's so many ways to do this.

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15:08Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. As long as you understand the science behind it and you're not eliminating anything, you shouldn't be eliminating anything. You need these three key macronutrients and your micronutrients to perform, to perform, to think, to just function on a daily basis.

15:44Okay? Ladies, are you feeling frustrated with body changes you're experiencing during menopause? It's time to take control. If you're feeling frustrated with body fat and muscle loss, Warrior Babe is here for you. At Warrior Babe, we've helped over 18,000 women just like you lose body fat, build toned muscle, and understand their bodies better with personalized plans based on hormone and thyroid testing and more. Imagine knowing exactly what your body needs to see real results and results that last.

16:21Look, don't wait anymore. Take charge of your health and join our community of strong, empowered women. Visit WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply today to start your transformation. That's WarriorBabe.com forward slash apply. All right, let's get back to the show. So I want to actually bring it back really quick. Oh, and some good carbohydrates that I want to recommend for a post-workout. You also want these to be fast-digesting sources. So that could include like sweet potatoes with your chicken.

16:51That could include rice. White rice is usually always considered to be a fast-digesting. It's like a simple carbohydrate. Simple carbohydrates are kind of what you want to go for here because they're going to immediately get digested pretty quickly and hit your glycogen stores right away. So fruits, bananas, berries, anything fruit-like. Some people even like to consume. I throw this at some people, especially in the bodybuilding world. Candy, Sour Patch Kids, gummy bears, anything like that. It's like an immediate hit to the glycogen stores.

17:21I would specifically recommend quality sources of carbohydrates, but just wanted to throw that out there. There's another way to toot the horn. And the anabolic window that I brought up. So the idea of that, and as I like mentioned a little bit earlier, it has evolved. Like the specific time frame post-workout when nutrient uptake is maximized has evolved. But it's still beneficial to consume a balanced meal within like two hours after exercising. And as I said earlier, I wouldn't, me personally, push into that two-hour mark.

17:55However, the timing, I believe, is less critical than the overall, as I spoke to, daily intake of nutrients. And most importantly, consistency is key. And ensuring that you're just hitting your macronutrient goals throughout the day is just as important as what you eat immediately following a workout. If there's anything to take away from this episode, I firmly believe it's that. Timing isn't really, it's less critical than you making sure that you're consuming your overall daily macronutrient targets and goals throughout the day consistently over days, weeks, and months.

18:29You know, that's just as important as you, as what you decide you're going to eat following a workout. And what time you're going to eat it and how soon and all of that jazz. Now, now that we've kind of talked through the science aspect of it. And like, you know, I think that's really important to understand that because it's just giving you guys like the why a little bit deeper. Why post-workout nutrition is so important. What it's doing to fuel your body. What type of results it's going to get you if you're going to, if you, you know, decide to, again, like what I've said on the podcast, don't just listen to me actually apply these things.

19:04You understand now. You understand the why you have the education. Now it's just about applying it and putting it, you know, into practice for yourself and consistently doing it over time. So you have the science, right? But I want to get like practical. I want you to have some actionable tips that you can take away from this podcast and go optimize your post-workout nutrition. So one of them that I was going to mention earlier is planning ahead. I think this is by far one of the most strategic strategies anybody could do to just have like your meal right there post-workout.

19:39So have your post-workout meal or snack ready in advance. And this could be like for me personally, I make my shake at home right before I go to the gym and I bring my shake with me. And that way it's already in the car, my gym bag, as soon as I'm done working out. And all I have to do is drink it when I finish my workout. Same thing goes for like if you guys are, when I used to do this and I worked in the ER, I would pre-plan all of my meals the night before. And I put them in the fridge and then the morning I'd put it in my like lunch bag and I'd bring those meals with me to work.

20:11And then I would typically work seven to three or seven to seven. And following that shift, I would have my meal ready to go, my pre-workout meal ready to go, go to the gym, work out. And my post-workout meal would also already be done, would also already be made. And so I would just consume my post-workout meal right there. So, I mean, that's just like, you know, I've, again, I talk about the experience I've had, but I've also known just planning ahead for any way that's been a warrior babe or that we've coached personally. That's one of the most successful strategies for you to be successful is planning ahead and just like putting that in your control.

20:49The second thing I've already kind of talked to, but definitely choosing quality protein. Go for the high quality protein options like whey or plant-based protein, like if you prefer the protein shake, add some carbs like banana or oats to have that overall balanced post-workout snack. You know, I mentioned candy a little bit earlier, but I do firmly believe to choose quality protein and carbs over the processed anything. The other thing that I want to say, the third thing I want to say, I want to give you guys like four or five tips here.

21:21Um, the third thing I want to say is hydration is key. Like in the midst of all of this and post-workout, I think it's really important like to make sure that you're replenishing your body with water and keeping your body hydrated because you're losing fluids as you're working out. So making sure that you're replenishing your body with those fluids and drinking plenty of water. If your workout was particularly intense as it should be, um, then I would, I love adding in LMNT. It's an electrolyte to help with the recovery process.

21:53Um, listen to your body. Look, everybody, like I can tell you guys to go do a protein shake. I can tell you to go do a banana. I can tell you to, to these different ideas of which you could, um, use for post-workout meal options, but everybody's body responds differently. So I would recommend to pay attention to how you feel after you consume different types of post-workout meals. Some people thrive on those options that I gave you, but also some people thrive on a larger meal because of what I talked to in terms of the glycogen stores being so tanked that they could consume a protein shake and a banana and be hungry an hour later.

22:31So some people thrive on having like a larger, like chicken, sweet potatoes immediately following, which may be a little bit more dense than, um, a protein shake and a banana. And then the last thing I want to say in terms of these tips is don't skip your meals. Do not, if there's anything else to take away from this podcast, do not skip your meals. If you can't eat immediately after a workout, please do not stress out. Just make sure that you have like balanced meal, a balanced meal within a few hours.

23:04So like if you can't eat right away or you forgot your protein shake at home and you're like, oh damn, all my work in the work and the gym has been lost. It's okay. Don't stress out. Just make sure when you get home, you make something to eat. The most important thing, as I said, is that you are consistently feeling your body with the right macronutrients on a daily basis that it needs to recover and grow stronger and get you the results you want. So while some of you may accidentally skip a post-workout meal or not get it, get it to right away, it all, what matters the most is you are consistently on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, hitting the goals and the targets of what you have for macronutrients, um, in the day.

23:43So that, you know, I think that's, like I said, more important than any type of time goal post-workout to eat a meal. So, yeah, those are five little tips. Plan ahead. Choose quality protein. Hydration is key. So keep yourself hydrated. Listen to your body and what your body is telling you. Does it need the protein shake and a banana or does it need something a little bit heavier? How is your body digesting it afterwards? Like everyone's going to be, just as everyone's different with like the grams and breakdowns of what protein and carbs people need, people are going to be different in the types of meals that people consume on a daily basis.

24:21So, uh, five, don't skip your meals. Please don't skip your meals. I'll tell you this. There's been, there's a, I'll never forget this story either. Um, I've told it maybe once or twice. I've told the person that passed out when I was living in Bali and I asked her if she ate anything after she got, she passed out because she just got done a workout. And I asked her if she ate anything before working out and she said no. And I was like, okay, you need food immediately. But I'll never forget this one story. And I've heard this so many times. I think I've said this on a podcast before, but regardless, I'll bring it back.

24:55Um, I remember coaching a warrior babe back maybe a couple of years ago and she didn't consume anything pre-workout or post-workout. She was wondering why she wasn't seeing the results and she was wondering why she was so tired and fatigued and, and, and dizzy and lightheaded. And she's like, I can't, I can't eat food that early. She was an early morning workout person. And I had this question asked me, asked so many times that people get up at like 4am, they work out at 5am. Um, but I always said, I was like, yeah, of course, like if you're not eating and she, oh, she was like, if I eat, I feel like I'm going to throw up.

25:31And I was like, yeah, I mean, of course, like, you know, your body's not used to you eating at 4am. You know, of course it's going to feel like a lot in the first couple of days that you're trying to tell your body, hey, this is something new. Like, here it is. Listen up, follow along. Um, so of course, like the first week or two weeks that you're trying to implement something new that you've never done, especially trying to feed yourself at 4am in the morning, your body's going to be like, what is this? I don't like it. But trust, like if you, once you apply it and you go work out and then you give yourself the post-workout nutrition afterwards, um, if you consistently do that for a week, two weeks, three weeks, your body's going to adapt and adjust.

26:09And it's going to adapt and adjust in a favorable, favorable way for you. Because I remember this babe came back and she was like, thank you. Thank you so much. I feel so much better. I'm actually seeing the results that I want. My muscles are like filling up. Like they're like, they feel full when I work out. My skin feels tight and I can start, I'm starting to see the results that I didn't see when I wasn't feeling my body the right way. And I was like, yes, amen. Your body's like, thank you for feeding me. And she was like, and I no longer feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm like, yeah, your body adapted. That's awesome. Like, keep going. So if there's anything for me to tell you in times of stories, I've heard it so many times over and over and over again from warrior babes and women that we've coached that if you're struggling to eat first thing before you work out or post workout, um, just do it.

26:54Just try it out. See what it's like. And just give your body the time to adjust knowing that you may feel weird at first, um, but know that it's worth it because you're going to feel stronger and you're going to start seeing the results that you want that maybe you're not seeing now. Cause like I said, nutrition is one of the hardest things for people to implement. So anyway, guys, there you have it. You have the science, you have like the practical tips for optimizing your post workout meals and nutrition. And remember you guys, like what you eat after you work out is not, is just as important as a workout itself.

27:26Like if you're feeling your body the right way, you're giving the right nutrition, nutrients, you're setting yourself up for better recovery. You're setting yourself up for muscle growth for, you know, with all of that being said, it's muscle growth is what gets you toned. It's what gave you the results and just your overall performance. Like you're going to see this, you know, shed into other areas of your life that you're showing up better for. So thank you guys. I hope you really enjoyed that episode today. You know, I've really enjoyed bringing some new episodes to you guys is one being the first.

27:57I think the other one was about the mental health aspect of what strength training can do for you. That was last Monday, I believe. But anyway, I'm going to keep these rolling moving forward. And yeah, until next time, guys, stay strong, eat your protein, eat your carbs, and keep crushing those workouts. All right, guys, see you in the next episode. Peace out. Hey, guys, real quick. If you're interested in taking your body to the next level, lose body fat, build more muscle, feel more confident,

28:28do it alongside one of our 30 plus professional coaches. Work one-on-one with her to eliminate all of the guesswork that you may have. And all you need to do is just do the work that she tells you to do to get to those goals of yours. And to learn more, click the link below this podcast and apply to our VIP program right now.

This transcript was generated automatically and may contain errors.