20 Best Foods to Eat Post-Workout

Whether your goal is to build strength, get healthy, or gain performance, the post-workout foods you consume can play a big part in helping you reach your potential. While everyone has their opinions, there is one solid, unchanging truth about post-workout food that applies to everyone:

Ideal nutrient composition and timing is different for everyone.

Profound, I know. But, the truth is—we’re all cocktails of varying genetic and ethnic backgrounds. This means, we’re all incredibly different due to our hereditary, and the diet, lifestyle, and stress load we were exposed to growing up. So, just as people respond differently to specific workouts or programming, everyone responds differently to specific foods and macronutrient ratios when it comes to pre and post-workout foods.

Post-Workout Foods: The Guidelines

To figure out what works best for you, it’s best to follow general guidelines while leaving room for experimentation.

With post-workout food, you should consume a combination of protein and carbohydrates based on the volume and intensity of your workout and your goals. In general, the higher the volume and intensity of the workout, the greater the need for carbohydrate, and the more important post-workout foods become to muscle glycogen and protein synthesis. Consuming whole food sources of fat post-workout OK to do, however – it should generally be consumed in a much smaller capacity (5-10% of overall calories) when it comes to post-workout foods.

For workouts that involve more muscle building and strength training, focus on protein when it comes to post-workout food. If you’re doing high-intensity training, or training that involves endurance activity, you’ll still want to include protein, but you’ll also want to include a good dose of carbohydrates. The amount of carbohydrates you should include post-workout will depend on how long and how intense your training was, and how your body responds to specific doses.

As a general guideline, for workouts over an hour, I recommend consuming a carbohydrate to protein ratio of 2:1 – 3:1. So, for example, if you consume 20-30 grams of protein, you’ll want to consume 40-90 grams of carbohydrates depending on the workout, and your personal energy requirements.

Also, despite what many people say about the infamous “30 minute” post-workout window, if you aren’t training fasted, your body has plenty of resources to mitigates the effects of training for general workout purposes, as long as you’re eating a nutrient-dense diet throughout the day.

If you have elite performance goals, workout fasted in the morning, or perform multiple workouts a day, consuming a post-workout meal shortly after completing a workout is ideal. This is because after working out, muscle cells are very sensitive to a hormone called insulin, which allows nutrients to quickly be synthesized and utilized for energy storage, growth and repair.

And lastly, If your goal is to lose body fat, you’ll still want to include a post-workout meal. However, you’ll want to include less food than you would if you were simply focusing on performance.

Why Whole Foods Post-Workout?

I am a big fan of consuming whole foods post-workout. This is because most conventional sports drinks, protein shakes and bars typically contain isolated fractions of horrendously low quality protein and synthetic vitamins and minerals. They also usually contain added preservatives, stabilizers, and artificial sweeteners.

Protein shakes are convenient and useful for specific people, especially for athletes doing multiple workouts in a day or for those who have a hard time putting on weight. So, if protein powder works for you and your goals, I recommend going with a high-quality grass-fed whey protein powder that doesn’t contain any synthetic sweeteners or additives labeled as “natural flavors.” I personally use and recommend Wild Grass-fed Whey, as it’s made from milk, not cheese, and sustainably sourced.

Also, while some people recommend avoiding fruit post-workout because it contains fructose, the very limited number of studies that have compared glucose/fructose solutions and pure glucose solutions have actually found that a combination of fructose and glucose is actually superior for reducing muscle pain during workouts, and both are equally effective at replenishing muscle glycogen stores post-workout.^[1][2] However, there are a very limited number of studies on post-workout nutrition—so things are always changing and evolving. For more in-depth explanation about fructose and consuming fruit post-workout, I explain it in podcast #009: Fructose, Eating Fruit Post-Workout, Copper IUD vs Vasectomy, & Breakfast.

In short, whole food sources of carbohydrate, including foods that contain a combination of glucose and fructose like fruit, work well as post-workout foods. To figure out what foods work best for you, try them, and see how well they work for you.

20 Post-Workout Foods

Carbohydrates

1. Sweet Potato or Squash: Pre-cook baked sweet potatoes in large batches in the oven, slow cooker or pressure cooker, or dice up squashes like pumpkin or butternut squash and roast in the oven. Both taste great when eaten chilled and topped with a little cinnamon.

2. Vegetables: Toss raw vegetables like carrots, broccoli, or pepper slices in olive oil, salt and pepper, or sauté a variety of vegetables like kale, spinach, and mushrooms ahead of time to serve on top a protein source.

3. Beets: Make your own beet chips or roast them whole in the oven and dice up. You can pair diced beets with vegetables, avocado, or slice nuts. (Yes, your pee will turn red. Don’t be alarmed.)

4. Plantains: Pre-make fried plantains in coconut oil. Add unrefined sea salt and honey for a sweet and salty kick.

5. Smoothies: Make a smoothie using coconut milk, fruit, berries and/or nut butter (Try this Coconut Milk Smoothie or this Strawberry Kombucha Smoothie) for a post-workout source of both carbohydrate and fat.

6. Applesauce: Make your own apple sauce “mash” in large batches and separate into travel-friendly jars so they’re easy to grab when you need them.

7. Fruit: Easy go-to fruits include pre-washed fresh strawberries or raspberries, watermelon, apples, peaches, and bananas depending on the season. Fruits pair well with nut butters.

8. Homemade Bars: Make your own homemade bars with ingredients like sweet potatoes and eggs for a post-workout source of both carbohydrates, protein and fats.

Protein

9. Meat: Pre-cook a variety of meats like chicken or steak and cut into strips, or make meatballs, patties, or sausages from ground beef or pork so they’re easy to grab when you need them.

10. Hard Boiled Eggs: Cook large batches of hard-boiled eggs and section throughout the week accordingly. If you pack your post-workout meal the night before, peel the eggs ahead of time so they’re ready to eat and “less messy” when you’re at work or the gym.

11. Canned Tuna or Salmon: Get wild-caught tuna or salmon packed in water (without added soy or preservatives) for an easy protein that doesn’t need refrigeration. Mix with guacamole or avocado to give it extra flavor.

12. Shrimp or Fish: Pre-cook large batches of shrimp or fish like cod and salmon. Remove the tails (shrimp) or skin (fish) so they are easy to take with you and eat post-workout.

Fats

13. Coconut Oil: Add coconut oil to sweet potato or squashes, or add into smoothies.

14. Nut Butters: Nut butters like almond butter can be added to smoothies or sweet potatoes, or used as a dip for raw vegetables like carrots.

15. Coconut Milk: Drink strait, add into smoothies, or top on top of berries or fruit.

16. Avocado: Cut open and eat solo with a spoon, or add slices on top of meat.

17. Guacamole: Use guacamole as a dip for meats, raw vegetables or mix with canned tuna or salmon.

18. Homemade Nut Mix: Make your own nut mixes using raw nuts, dried unsweetened fruits, and coconut flakes. Note: Nuts should be utilized second to other fast burning fats like coconut.

Hydration

19. Coconut Water: Coconut water is the liquid extracted from young, green coconuts that contains vitamins, electrolytes, amino acids, enzymes, antioxidants, and the obvious – water. Coconut water is the richest source of naturally occurring electrolytes like sodium and potassium that help our cells (nerve, heart and muscles) maintain impulses that are responsible for important things like muscle contractions. For this reason, coconut water is great during longer workouts (diluted with water) or post-workout after you’ve lost a significant amount of sweat. Known as nature’s gatorade, coconut water is superior to conventional sports drinks that contain synthetic vitamins, minerals and processed sugar. Make sure to purchase coconut water without added sugars or preservatives.

20. DIY Natural Electrolyte Drink: You can easily make your own DIY natural electrolyte drink with lemon and/or lime juice, honey, unprocessed sea salt, and filtered water. In similar fashion to coconut water, diy natural electrolyte drinks will help you replace the water and electrolytes lost without additives or processed sugars.

Post-Workout Foods on the Go

There’s always the need to have post-workout foods ready to go when you’re short on prep time. Below are foods I personally utilize when necessary. (Note: The items below may not be the highest quality possible due to the fact that they are pre-packed. Make sure to check labels if you have any allergies to nuts, soy, etc.)

• Jerky like Epic Bars, Tanka Bars, Grass Run Farms Beef Sticks
• Bars like Larabars, Onabars, or Simple Squares
• Steve’s Paleo “Crunch” Bars and Kits
• Individual packets of almond butter or coconut butter
• Individual packets of coconut oil

What are your favorite post-workout foods? Share your experiences below!