A lot has been said about 'what food to eat' post workout. With this piece, I am going to explain to you the science of post workout nutrition. Not just what to eat after your workout but why is it one of the most important meals of the day. If you really want to learn the science of nutrient timing, you're reading the right article. 

When you work out in the gym, lifting heavy weights and performing cardio, two things happen in your body. First, your body loses glycogen stores from muscles and second, it breaks down muscle tissue. The exact level of glycogen depletion varies with the intensity of your workout. However, it is sure that you will lose some level of glycogen from your muscles. Resistance training causes micro tears in your muscle tissue which is rebuilt by your body with the help of amino acids. Thus, it's quite evident that your body needs at least these two things from your post workout nutrition to start the recovery process--Glycogen and amino acids. With the immediate availability of glycogen, it will start to replenish the glycogen stores of your muscles and with the abundance of amino acid pool, it will rebuild the broken muscle tissues.

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As  explained above, your body needs carbohydrates to replenish the glycogen stores in your muscles. Muscle stores glycogen so that it can be used as immediate source of fuel. When you weight train, the glycogen level gets depleted and you need insulin to replenish it as soon as you complete your workout. Therefore it becomes important that you consume some form of carbohydrate in your post workout meal. In fact, post workout meal is the only meal where you can consume high GI foods without worrying too much about the insulin spike. Your body needs some immediate supply of glucose as it is craving for glycogen. Therefore, even if the GI of the food is high, it is only going to be absorbed more rapidly. However, I would still suggest that if your target is fat loss and you are a little overweight, you should preferably consume low GI foods only.

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Another important macronutrient that should form a part of your post workout meal is the protein. No, I am not talking about whey protein supplements here. If you can use whey protein supplements, good enough. If you can't, you will still build muscles provided you consume enough natural protein. Consuming protein in your post workout meal will help your Body spike the amino acid pool in your blood stream so that your body can repair the muscle tissue and build new muscle tissue. I would like to mention here that you do not need to consume 40-50 gms of protein in a single go as suggested by a few bodybuilders. You need to understand that there is a huge difference in protein synthesis of a natural lifter and an enhanced bodybuilder who takes drugs to enhance his muscle protein synthesis. Their muscle protein synthesis is way high. Therefore, if you are an amateur then I would suggest that you start your protein intake with 10gm in post workout and slowly increase it to 25-30 gm as the intensity of your workout increases.

Fat is the macronutrient that you should preferably avoid in your post workout meal because there is no requirement of fat as such at that time. If you do include fat in your post workout meal, it may reduce the absorption of the above two macronutrient. However, it will still provide the benefits to your body. Thus, a small portion of fat wouldn't make a big difference but preferably try to avoid fatty food in your post workout meal.

Anuj Tyagi is a Certified Personal Trainer, Certified Sports Nutritionist and Therapeutic Exercise Specialist From American Council on Exercise (ACE) . He is the Founder of the website where he provides online Training. Though a Chartered Accountant by education, he has been closely associated with Fitness Industry since 2006. His motto is to transform people Naturally and he believes that the secret formula for Fitness is Consistency and commitment towards your Training and Nutrition. You can connect with him through Facebook and Youtube.