What to Eat After a Workout if You're Vegan? Four Essential Post-Sport Nutrition Tips to Follow

Numerous studies show the benefits of appropriate nutrition after sports training. A meal after sport helps to:

1) Prevent muscle breakdown

An intense workout creates microscopic tears in your muscle fibers. These small tears can lead to further muscle breakdown if adequate nutrients are not provided before and after training. This is because your muscle will break down to form the proteins your body needs to regenerate itself.

2) Increase protein synthesis

After an intense workout, your body is biochemically ready to burn nutrients. Your muscles are susceptible to insulin, which means that the carbohydrates you eat, by creating a spike in insulin, can help transport protein into your muscles rather than converting it into fat.

Insulin is a storage hormone that has a bad reputation because it is involved in fat storage. However, insulin combined with protein can improve muscle building after a workout.

3) Recover faster

A well-timed post-workout meal with the proper nutrients can promote muscle recovery. If you can recover in just one day instead of 2-3 days, you'll be able to train more frequently, which will likely lead to better results.

4) Replenish glycogen

Regardless of the type of sport, if you train intensely, your body will use glycogen as fuel. Glycogen, stored in your muscles and liver, is your body's source of energy for training sessions.

Depending on the duration, type, and intensity of exercise, glycogen stores can be depleted. Eating plenty of carbohydrates after a workout can promote protein synthesis and help replenish energy stores so that you feel great for the rest of the day.

Think of macronutrients as the building blocks of your food: protein, carbohydrates, and fat. These three elements are part of a balanced and healthy diet that allows your body to perform at its best. But how do macronutrients affect the body after sport? And why is this essential to understanding your muscle recovery?

1) Carbohydrates help recovery

Carbohydrates help replenish the glycogen stores you burn during sports.

Your body's glycogen stores are used as fuel during exercise. Consuming carbohydrates after training helps replenish these glycogen stores.

The rate at which much glycogen is used by the body depends on your activity. For example, endurance sports increase the intake of glycogen more than resistance sports like weightlifting.

For this reason, if you do endurance sports such as cycling, running, or swimming, you may need to consume more carbohydrates than a bodybuilder.

Consumption of 1.1 to 1.5 grams/kg body weight within 30 minutes of training results in good glycogen regeneration.

In addition, insulin secretion, which promotes glycogen synthesis, is best stimulated when carbohydrates and protein are consumed simultaneously. Therefore, consuming carbohydrates and protein after exercise can maximize protein and glycogen synthesis.

Try to consume both in a 3:1 carbohydrate-to-protein ratio—for example, 40 grams of protein and 120 grams of carbohydrate.

Eating a lot of carbohydrates to replenish glycogen stores is especially important for people who frequently exercise, for example, once or twice a day.

Here are some foods that contain a lot of carbohydrates:

• Brown rice,
• Potatoes,
• Sweet potatoes,
• Pasta
• Oatmeal
• Quinoa.

2) Protein helps repair and build muscle

There is a reason why bodybuilders like to drink protein shakes after training, and this is because exercise triggers the breakdown of muscle proteins.

The breakdown rate depends on the exercise and your level of training, but even well-trained athletes experience muscle protein breakdown.

Consuming adequate protein after a workout gives your body the amino acids it needs to repair these proteins and rebuild new muscle fibers.

This study recommends consuming 0.3 to 0.5 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight to recover quickly from your workout. That's about 21-35 grams of protein for a 70kg person, which supports several other studies that say 20-40 grams of protein is ideal for good post-workout recovery.

Examples of protein-rich foods:

• Greek yogurt,
• Cottage cheese,
• Tofu,
• Seeds (soy, hemp, pumpkin, fenugreek),
• Protein powders (plant-based)

3) Fat is not bad

Many people think eating fat after a workout slows digestion and inhibits nutrient absorption.

Although fat may slow down the absorption of your post-workout meal, it will not reduce the benefits. Another study showed that muscle glycogen synthesis was not affected even when ingesting a fat-rich post-workout meal (45% of energy from fat).

Limiting the amount of fat you eat after sport is still a good idea, but having a little good fat in your post-workout meal will not affect your muscle recovery.

Examples of fats that can be included in your meal after sport:

• Nuts,
• Nut butter,
• Avocado.

4) When to eat after a workout? The right timing

Eating immediately after a training session allows you to rebuild your glycogen reserves more quickly and strengthen your muscle tissue, thus maximizing the effects of sport.

Studies suggest that the rate of glycogen synthesis can decrease by 50% if carbohydrate consumption is delayed by two hours after the workout.

It is recommended that a combination of carbohydrates and proteins be consumed as soon as possible after exercise. The 30–45-minute period after exercise is known as the 'window of opportunity to help maximize the effect of training and ensure recovery. 

However, if you have eaten a meal within 3 hours of exercising, it is likely that the benefits of that meal still apply after the workout, and the post-workout meal is no longer as crucial. That said, if you’re in need of some energy boost, functional beverages such as LIFEAID can help.