You just finished that 30-minute workout in the gym. Trainers and nutritionist urge you to quickly replenish your energy within the next hour so that your body still gets enough nutrients.
But what are the things you should avoid eating after a workout? Here are 7 of those foods.
1. Energy Bars
The first on the list are energy bars. Homemade and organic energy bars are great to consume when you don’t have time to go out to eat a meal. But as a post-workout meal, energy bars will not be healthy for you.
Energy bars are supposed to give you an energy blast for a short while. But after a workout, this will just be counterproductive to the calories you’ve burned if you’ll consume a bar that has a lot of artificial sugars in it.
2. Energy Drinks
Just like energy bars, energy drinks are one of the things you shouldn’t consume after a workout. This is because energy or sports drinks have a lot of artificial sweeteners that won’t help your weight loss cause.
Also, its main component is sugar which is not a sustainable source of energy. If you really have to replenish your energy, drink lots of water or coconut water.
3. Salty and Processed Foods
Even if you don’t work out, salty and processed foods are a huge no-no if you want to become healthy. They contain a lot of salt and preservatives that will only harm your body. Although snacking on junk food is okay every once in a while, continuous snacking isn’t.
4. Coffee
Coffee is another drink that you shouldn’t take after a workout. This is because caffeine will help you feel more dehydrated after you’ve sweat a lot. It’s similar to soda where all the sugar just makes you even more dehydrated.
Plus, coffee has a good amount of cortisol1 which increases inflammation and hormonal imbalances. You don’t want to mix this with the endorphins you already have after working out.
5. Spicy Foods
Another food you should avoid are spicy foods. Even if you love spicy food, it won’t help you if you want to recover from your workout. After exercising, your body is repairing itself and eating this food will just make it harder for your body to do its best.
In fact, spicy food has little protein which will not be helpful for your muscles. They’re also low in sugar which is needed to give you the energy boost after tiring yourself out.
6. White Bread
And lastly, you should avoid eating refined carbohydrates. One of the most common foods that are rich in this is white bread. Refined carbohydrates don’t exactly help you get a sustained energy throughout your day.
Once your body breaks down refined carbohydrates, you’re going to be hungry again which only increases your chances of eating. What you can do is eat smart carbohydrates like fruits and whole grains.
After every workout, instead of eating these foods, go for a protein and carbohydrate-rich food to help your body recover.
Source
1. William R. Lovallo, PhD, Thomas L. Whitsett, MD, Mustafa al’Absi, PhD, Bong Hee Sung, PhD, Andrea S. Vincent, PhD, and Michael F. Wilson, MD, Caffeine Stimulation of Cortisol Secretion Across the Waking Hours in Relation to Caffeine Intake Levels, Psychosom Med. 2005; 67(5): 734–739. doi: 10.1097/01.psy.0000181270.20036.06