What to Eat Before & After Your Workout

Working out requires a lot from your muscles. Make sure to treat them right pre and post workout so they can treat you right for your whole life.

Before you start an intense or mild workout, you want to fuel your body with the proper nutrients. So what should your pre workout snack consist of? Lots of carbohydrates! People fear gaining weight on carbohydrates, but you will not gain weight from consuming healthy complex carbohydrates. The only carbohydrates you’ll gain weight from are ones that are highly processed and filled with refined sugars.

Consuming carbohydrates before a workout will energize your body and give you the energy you need to push through your workouts.

Try to consume the following at least 20 minutes to 1 hour before your workout to avoid cramping and discomfort.

Pre Workout Snack Ideas:

• Rice cakes with almond butter (or any nut butters of your choice) and chopped banana on top.
• Sliced apples with nut butter on the side
• Oatmeal with fruits, nuts, and seeds
• Dried fruit with two handfuls of walnuts, cashews, and almonds
• Whole grain or sprouted bread with avocado or almond butter
• Baked sweet potato alone or with almond butter on the side (it might sound weird... but it goes perfectly together and tastes amazing!)

It is also very important to eat a meal or snack anywhere from twenty minutes to one hour after your workout. If you don’t eat properly after your workout, then you can damage the recovery of your muscles. It is important to get the right nutrition in after a workout for muscle growth and repair. What macronutrients do you need post workout? You guessed it: protein and carbs!

If you were doing an intense and longer workout with heavy weights, have a meal after your workout instead of a snack. If you have a very short workout that is moderately intense, then you can resort to eating a snack afterwards, depending on how hungry you are.

Post Workout Meals:

• Tempeh & cauliflower rice bowl with kale guacamole
• Veggie wrap or burrito
• Brown or wild rice with chickpeas and kidney beans
• Sweet potato fries with a homemade veggie burger
• Rice bowl mixed with chickpeas, kale, sweet potato, black beans, and avocado
• Lentil spinach soup
• Post Workout Snacks:
• Sunwarrior Protein Powder of your choice with almond milk
• Chocolate, banana, and almond butter smoothie
• Fresh fruit or green smoothie
• Fresh fruit and almond butter
• Chickpea salad stuffed avocados
• Chopped bananas with nut butter poured on top
• Hummus with brown rice or whole grain crackers
• Chia pudding

Your body requires amino acids (protein) right after your workout because of the tearing that occurs in your muscles while working out. You need amino acids to repair your muscles so they can become stronger and recover and prevent injuries in your body. If you don't consume protein and a wide variety of amino acids after your workout, then you will cause your muscles to become weak, and you'll create injuries in your body.

A mix of carbohydrates and protein is vital after your workout because of repair and rest in your muscles and body. It's important to add in carbohydrates after your workout to store fuel in your body and any other nutrients that were lost during your workout. Don't forget that nutrition is important for muscle and strength growth!

A post workout strawberry chocolate smoothie is totally what you need.