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Should you eat after a workout to get your calories in or not?

This is a question I would like to answer from a personal fitness experience. I started working out in December 2017 until now exactly 6 months ago, during the initial days of working out I often felt the unbearable hunger and wanted to eat something, but when I remembered that I was working out to lose weight, I was afraid that I would gain weight again after I ate, so I just chose to hold back a little bit, or drink some water. During that time I tried to choose the midday time to exercise, in case I didn't hold myself back from eating, I could still work out again in the evening after work to give myself a chance to remedy the situation.

Finding the optimal workout intensity

Slowly I'm realizing that I can find the right intensity in my workouts that isn't starving me or giving me a full workout.

My workout routine starts with warming up on the treadmill or elliptical for 15 minutes.

Then there's strength training, which currently consists of 20 minutes of mostly core lumbar and abdominal work.

Next up is hip training squats, weighted squats, glute bridges, and 30 minutes of machine training

Lastly, aerobic exercise brisk walking or jogging for 25 to 40 minutes.

I'm usually just fine with 25 minutes of cardio, 40 minutes of cardio makes me feel hungry and extra hungry.

Choose the right food after exercise

If you can't stand it after exercise and must eat, the food is better to choose high-protein food and low-carbohydrate food. Such as boiled eggs, steamed shrimp, beef in sauce, oven chicken rice noodles, steamed fish and so on. You can first fill up with green leafy vegetables, a large number of vegetables of dietary fiber can occupy the stomach space, and vegetables and other energy is not high, there is a certain sense of satiety after choosing the right amount of protein food.

Mental adjustment is important

Whether you eat or not after exercise, there is no need to feel guilty. Do not eat to learn to appreciate their mood, eat something must be carefully selected, do not eat randomly to make their sweat in vain. Let yourself happy sports, serious about losing weight, we can better let the movement become part of our life, weight loss is also a waterfall.

Author: Yuan Yuan

Registered Dietetic Technician

National Level 2 Public Nutritionist/Health Manager

Liaoning Dietitians' Office, Food and Nutrition Minister / Editor-in-Charge of the Public

Chief Lecturer, Hengdian College

80s baby moms, love the Games diet with, specializing in children's diet education

Original science writer for the headline "Little Tree Parenting".

This question has to be looked at dialectically; if you are aiming for fat loss, you don't need to compensate for calories after exercise, and if you are aiming for muscle building, you have to supplement your calories after exercise.

It's safe to say that the choice of diet will vary greatly depending on the purpose.

Eating for the purpose of fat loss

Eating style:The average daily calorie intake is less than the calories burned in order to lose fat.

Special points for fat loss diets:High protein, low carb, low fat.

After exercise the body loses a lot of sweat and the electrolyte levels in the body drop, and electrolytes include potassium ions.

Bananas are rich in potassium, and from this point of view, eating bananas is the right thing to do to replenish the potassium deficiency caused by sweat loss.

When glycogen is depleted after exercise, the body breaks down fats and proteins to seek new sources of glycogen, which is beneficial for fat loss.

If you are trying to lose fat, you can consume some sugar-free sports drinks after your workout, but no other energy supplements.

Eating for the purpose of building muscle

Eating style:On average, you need to consume more calories than you burn per day to build muscle.

Special points for fat loss diets:High protein, high carbohydrate, moderate fat intake.

Glycogen depletion after exercise, in addition to the breakdown of fat, is also accompanied by the breakdown of muscle, a result that is surely unacceptable for muscle builders.

Timely replenishment of calories after exercise can effectively prevent muscle breakdown, if the purpose of muscle building, 30 minutes after the end of exercise should be timely replenishment of energy to carbohydrates and easily absorbed protein is best.


To summarize, the choice of whether we need to consume energy after exercise should be made based on our training objectives.

Dr. Komei Shinouchi, the answer is for informational purposes only.
Feel free to follow or leave a comment to share, discuss and learn from each other!!!!

Should you eat something after a workout or not, the first thing I'll tell you for sure is: yes!


As a simple example, after exercising you will sometimes experience significant hunger pangs, obvious dizziness, panic attacks and other discomforts, while severe cases may also induce hypoglycemic episodes.


The first thing you need to know is:

Exercise is associated with: an increase in blood flow to skeletal muscles, an increase in basal metabolism, glycogen depletion, the appearance of fat mobilization, and a negative nitrogen balance, as well as the combined appearance of dehydration.

After exercise our organism needs nutrients to meet the demands of muscle exertion and rebuilding;

So is it true that eating after a workout the exercise burn is wasted and weight loss becomes meaningless?

In fact, it is not, and we often experience this in our clinical life, if we have not eaten, we will experience fatigue after working out for a while.

Of course, without eating without good energy reserves, there is no way to do effective exercise, much less lose weight effectively!

Eat after training → convert to energy → more energy to train the next day → virtuous cycle.


So would you also say that eating after exercise is better absorbed, of course!

But these holdings are not going to make you "fat", but rather better energy reserves (glycogen, studies have shown that when carbohydrates are replenished after exercise, glycogen is converted at a very high rate, and if prolonged for a few hours, the conversion rate becomes very slow).


That's why it's recommended that after exercise, you can opt for more carbohydrates with a higher glycemic index (bananas or milk are a good choice), good quality proteins, and less fat!


Dr. Komei within God, feel free to follow or leave a comment!

As we all know, to maintain normal life activities need calories, mainly by our three meals a day to provide; exercise will consume calories, in the process of consuming calories, also consume water, electrolytes. Whether or not you need extra calories after exercise depends on the situation.

First of all, if it is a soothing and moderate exercise, in the absence of hunger, you can not intentionally replenish the calories, and properly replenish some water and electrolytes can be. Because, in the case of a small amount of exercise, such as walking, square dancing, etc., the calories we consume in three meals are completely enough, if we eat something extra, it will be too much accumulation of calories, but will increase the chance of obesity. For some sports with a large amount of exercise, such as long-distance running, soccer, basketball, fitness, etc., consume a large amount of calories and water, electrolytes, you need to consume some additional sugar, fat, protein, electrolytes balanced with the food, replenishment of calories and other nutrients consumed.

Secondly, for teenagers, after exercise, if there is a feeling of hunger, you need to add extra calories, this is because teenagers are in the age of physical development, if the consumption of calories can not be supplemented, the newborn cells do not have sufficient nutrition, and for a long time this will affect the growth and development. For the elderly, after moderate exercise, you can timely replenish the right amount of water, electrolytes, unnecessary to supplement additional calories, this is because the elderly body metabolism function is poor, the three meals are not easy to digest, you can accelerate the absorption of food through moderate exercise.

Finally, it is not advisable to supplement calories immediately after exercise, you should rest for a period of time, and then eat something, this is because the whole body blood supply during exercise is concentrated in the limbs, heart and lungs, and the digestion of food requires a large amount of blood supply to the digestive tract, it is necessary to eat after the body functions are calm in order to increase the absorption of nutrients.

The authoritative interpretation of Pharmaceutical Affairs, unauthorized reproduction, plagiarism will be punished.

So true, whether or not you want to eat something to replenish your calories after exercising depends on the purpose of your exercise.

1, the purpose of exercise is different, decide whether you need to supplement calories

If the purpose is to lose weight, then try not to eat. We often say that weight loss is to rely on open legs and keep your mouth shut, body fat will not be automatically discharged from the body, can only be consumed through exercise, then, in general, in addition to a normal diet, even if the exercise is very hungry, it is best to endure, or is not it a white sport? If you are really hungry, you may want to eat something that is satiating and low-calorie things, such as cucumber is good.

If the goal is to build muscle, then you should eat something high in protein. Muscles grow only after they have been stimulated by strength, and it is necessary to provide adequate amounts of high quality protein, and to control the amount of fats and carbohydrates. High protein foods, eggs and fish are good.

2、It is not recommended to eat immediately after exercise

It is not advisable to eat immediately after exercising because blood floods the muscle tissues during exercise and this is not the time for the digestive system to work right away. This reasoning is similar to the fact that it is not appropriate to exercise right after eating.

Even less so if the eating is between workouts.

The only things that need to be replenished immediately after exercise are water and minerals.

3. Water and mineral supplementation

Hydration and mineral replenishment is perfectly fine after exercise, but preferably not by eating a banana.

Bananas are a relatively high energy density food, can not only have potassium, but also a lot of carbohydrates, practiced a meal can also be really effective because of the extra two bananas.

The best way to do this is to drink a sports drink that specializes in mineral supplementation, which not only replenishes the convenience of replenishing minerals, but also doesn't burden the stomach and intestines, and is even more ideal if it's not a sports drink with a lot of added sugar.

Jiang Dan, National Level 2 Public Nutritionist, signed author of Today's Headlines.

I'm glad to have the opportunity to be able to answer your questions.

Should you eat when you are hungry after exercise? A lot of people feel that you can not eat, otherwise it is not easy to consume the calories will not immediately come back, in order to lose weight to exercise people more afraid of eating after exercise will get fat. In fact, these ideas are unscientific, appropriate intake of food after exercise is conducive to good health.

People in the exercise, will consume a variety of nutrients in the body, if the exercise is not timely replenishment of food, a long time easy to reduce their own immunity, it is difficult to achieve the effect of exercise; at the same time, the possibility of causing sports injuries will even increase.

In addition, there are rules for eating after exercise, not eating and drinking. Within half an hour after exercise, should be appropriate to supplement some drinks containing sugar and protein, such as bananas with honey with low-fat yogurt, broken up with a cooking machine to drink; if you do not have time to eat before the exercise, you can eat a low-fat meal after an hour of exercise, such as shrimp, blanched and cooked vegetables with mixed vegetables and rice, so that the body will recover more quickly.

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To eat or not to eat after exercise is a question that plagues many dieter's.

In fact, whether or not to eat after exercise is judged by the amount of exercise you do and your post-exercise state, not that there is any harm in not eating and any good in eating.

Generally speaking, after the exercise feeling dizzy and nausea, that is the body's blood sugar is too low caused by, so at this time to supplement some calories can alleviate this symptom.

If the movement of a ten or so minutes, the intensity is not very big, then after the exercise casually drink a cup of milk tea on the white practice, weight loss effect is not as good as lying in bed and starving.

So generally we only supplement with calories when we feel dizzy and nauseous, and we don't need to supplement when we feel tired.


In addition, do not get into the habit of eating after exercise, everyone can withstand low blood sugar conditions are not the same, some people will be dizzy when the blood glucose concentration is slightly low, while some people run a marathon are not dizzy, and the latter may be a little lower blood glucose levels.


But the former brain is not as capable of supplying blood sugar as the latter, and this is the energy picking caused by too much blood sugar. Yes, the body is that fussy.

Slight dizziness after exercise can choose to carry a little, rest for a while will be relieved, the body will automatically adjust the energy distribution, and do not need additional supplementation.

Tough Fitness.

I'm not sure if you're going to be able to do this, but I'm sure you're going to be able to do it.

Shortly after exercise, the combination of protein and carbohydrates has particular benefits for the muscles and fuel reserves within the muscle cells. However, for the average exerciser, the timing of protein intake is not important for building stronger muscles as long as you are well replenished and getting enough protein.
It plays an important role in how your body recovers and rebuilds after a workout and whether or not the calories you consume are used as fuel or stored fat.
Most moderate exercisers lose about four cups of fluid per hour of exercise, so drink about 16-20 ounces of water shortly after your workout to aid in the recovery process. If you sweat a lot or if it's hot or humid, consider pre- and post-exercise weight as heavy sweating can also lead to loss of minerals and electrolytes, consider a sports drink with electrolytes.
Many people are very hungry after a workout, leaving you to eat more than you really need or choosing foods that don't help your body. Eating too many of the wrong things can cause your body to store food as fat instead of using your workout meal to replenish and repair your muscles.
The body needs more carbohydrates than protein after a workout to replace depleted muscle fuel (glycogen) in preparation for the next workout program. Moderate exercisers need about 30-40 grams of carbohydrates after an hour of exercise, but high-intensity exercisers need about 50-60 grams per hour of workout.
If you have some favorite high-carb foods that lack the whole grains and fiber that are often recommended as part of a healthy diet, now is a good time to eat them. Your body can digest refined carbohydrates faster during your "refueling window," but if you like whole foods, don't force yourself to eat processed foods.
Protein. Carbohydrates are essential, protein will stop your body from breaking down muscle tissue for energy and start the process of rebuilding and repairing your muscles. About 25% of your post-workout calorie intake comes from protein.
Eating too much fat after a workout won't help your weight management or fitness activities. Only 15% (or less) of your post-workout calories should come from less than 10 grams of fat.
The ideal time to eat after a workout is within 30 minutes to two hours.
But if your appetite or schedule doesn't allow you to eat a meal after a workout, don't panic. As long as you eat enough food to maintain your activity level, your body can still replace your muscle fuel for the next 24 hours. Try to eat a snack containing carbohydrates and protein as soon as possible after your workout.

Many people after the evening exercise, in order to maintain the body, do not eat the main food, just eat fruit and milk, then this is useful, in the hunger at the same time, will make the results of the exercise foregone?

Let's explore whether or not you should eat after exercising.

To eat or not to eat?

Eat or not eat has been a lot of students in the process of fitness and exercise, forever entangled in the question. About this, a little spit, in fact, ask this kind of question students in the non-exercise time are not less eat, right, then exercise after you have what to worry about!

But can you eat immediately after exercising or not? Quite a few people have sent me these types of questions.

Today I'm going to be clear!

If you don't eat, how can you have the strength to work out and lose weight? It's true!

Glycogen, your energy source for weight loss

Biology books tell us that human movement consumes glycogen. Glycogen is mainly found in muscle and liver, and is used as the basic energy substance for muscle activity, providing energy for exercise through glycolysis or aerobic metabolism. An average person has about 300-500g of muscle glycogen and about 100g of liver glycogen.

When it comes to weight loss, the consumption of glycogen and fat can be seen as "hitches". If you exercise, although you are consuming sugar at the time, your body will allow you to replenish the sugar you owe it in the form of fat after the exercise.

That is, if you don't eat, you don't have sufficient glycogen reserves to do effective exercise, much less lose weight effectively!

After running, not eating is even fatter!

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This chart is genuinely good.

There was a study in 1999 for the difference between eating immediately after exercise and eating 4 hours later. In which equal calorie foods were standardized for 10 weeks of exercise, the immediate eating group had 24% lower body fat and 6% more muscle mass than those who ate 4 hours later. Thus, in the long run, post-exercise eating does not affect weight loss and increases stamina.

But some advice anyway:

1、No eating too much, just don't be hungry.

2. Choose a good quality starch, or less starchy if it's nighttime.

3. TotalNo more than 300 calories:Oranges, tomatoes, oats,Poached tofu and chicken breast,Unsweetened soy milk,Kiwi fruit, etc.

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