Breakfast is, of course, the most important meal of the day for everyone. It jump starts your body’s metabolic processes for the day. What is the second most important meal for athletes? Your recovery meal. For those who work out more than an hour, multiple times a day or find they are famished and can eat everything in sight after a workout, recovery is critical to getting the most of each workout.

First, a little background. When you workout you use fuel stored in your muscles called glycogen. Glycogen is the form of sugar your muscles use to contract and produce work. Most people have about 300 to 400 grams or 1,200 to 1,600 calories of glycogen stored in their muscles for use. There is also about 75 to 100 grams or 300 to 400 calories of glycogen stored in the liver. Of course, these amounts vary greatly depending on the type of individual (non-athlete to highly-trained athlete) (Dunford). As you workout, you use up your stored glycogen. If it isn’t replaced by your next workout, you may feel fatigued and “heavy.” Not a good way to workout is it? There are two keys when eating to recover – timing and ratio of carbohydrates to protein.

After you’ve finished your workout, your muscles are like a sponge when it comes to absorbing glycogen and protein. However, they only stay this way for a short time – about 30 minutes. If you miss this window, it can take your muscles days to get filled back up with glycogen. You should think about getting something in your stomach, and hence your muscles, as fast as possible after your workout. Personally, I have my recovery meal ready to go before I start my workout. That way I don’t have to prepare or think about it when I’m done.

The second piece of recovery eating is the carbohydrate to protein ratio. Many studies have shown that a ratio of 3 or 4 grams of carbohydrates to every 1 gram of protein is the optimum mixture for recovery. Many of the texts and articles recommend 1.5 grams of carbohydrate per gram of body weight. However, this usually results in a tremendous amount of calories which can cause problems if you are trying to maintain or lose weight. I’d recommend starting with 0.75 grams per kilogram (kg) body weight and see if you notice a difference in how you feel at your next workout.

So, exactly how much is 0.75 grams of carbohydrate per kg body weight? To figure this out, divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 and multiply this number by 0.75. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds you would eat about 51 grams of carbohydrate ((150/2.2)*0.75). To figure out how much protein to eat, divide the grams of carbohydrate by 3 then by 4 and eat somewhere in that range. For our example above, this person would eat between 13 and 17 grams of protein (51/4 = 12.75, 51/3 = 17). The total calories for this meal would be between 256 and 272 calories. This amount can be adjusted up or down (but probably up). I would recommend trying it and see how you feel during your next workout. Do you feel better? Worse? No different? This is something you’ll have to tinker with to get the right amount. Try more or less and see if you notice a difference. To finish your recovery eating, eat a meal within two hours that is similar in content to your first recovery meal.

Now that you know how much to eat, here below are some ideas. Be sure and pay attention to how you feel after eating. You don’t want something that doesn’t settle well.
- Use a recovery drink such as low fat chocolate milk, Slim Fast or Endurox.
- Turkey sandwich(s). Each piece of bread is about 15 grams of carbohydrate and each ounce of turkey is about 7 grams of protein. A single sandwich would be two slices of bread and about 1.5 ounces of turkey for 30 grams of carbohydrate, 10.5 grams of protein and 162 calories.

Give recovery eating a try and see if you notice a difference in your performance during your next workout!

Now that the temperatures are heating up, it is time to really think about hydration. Are you drinking enough when you’re working out? Are you drinking too much? Yes, you can drink too much and cause hyponatremia – where your sodium gets too diluted. On the other end of the scale is dehydration where you haven’t drank enough. Even a slight amount of dehydration, which can be as little as 1% of your body weight and impact your body’s ability to perform the tasks you are asking of it. The amount of the impact on performance can depend on how dehydrated you become. It’s a balance between drinking enough and not too much.

How do you know if you’re drinking enough during your workouts? Measure your sweat rate. Your sweat rate tells you how fluid you lose through sweat (and maybe urine) during your workout. To measure it, all you have to do is grab a scale and weigh yourself before and after your workout – preferably nude both times. Compare your weight before and after.

If you lost weight, divide the amount lost by the amount of time you were exercising either in minutes or hours. This is the amount of fluid you lose either in minutes or hours. First things first, if you’ve lost weight you need to drink 20 – 24 ounces of fluid for each pound lost. But a pound is 16 ounces – why drink 20 – 24 ounces? This is because your body won’t absorb all the fluid you drink, some of it will be urinated out, so the extra ounces covers that loss. What should you drink? It depends on what you are eating. To get re-hydrated you need a combination of water and electrolytes (sodium, posassium, chloride). If you are eating foods that contain these minerals, water is fine. If not, consume a drink that contains electrolytes. By the way – alcohol is not a good re-hydration choice. If you’ve lost more than two pounds, you need to adjust how much you drink next time you are out. Two pounds is an OK amount to lose. More than two pounds is cause for concern. It was either really hot or you didn’t drink enough or a combination of the two.

Another consideration is if you are a “salt sweater.” Do you get a salty ring around where you sweat on your shirt or hat? When you take the tape off your handlebars, does salt drop to the floor? If so, you also need to be concerned about consuming enough electrolytes. You might consider adding an electrolyte supplement either in a drink that is higher in electrolytes or capsules. How much to add? Unfortunately, there’s not a hard-and-fast rule. Do you experience cramps during your workout? If not, I would recommend adding a small amount and see if you notice a difference. If you notice you feel better, add a little more and see if you notice a difference. The manufacturer will provide instructions about consumption minimums and maximums. If you don’t notice a difference in how you feel you might add a little more. If you don’t notice a difference or your not a salt sweater don’t spend your money.

What about if you gained weight? You should consume less fluid less time you are out. Drinking too much fluid of any kind can cause the osmotic balance in your body to shift which can cause seizures, coma and, in some cases, death.

It’s a good idea to weigh yourself before and after workouts frequently, particularly when the weather changes. You also want to stay hydrated on a daily basis. The standard recommendation of 8, 8 ounce glasses a day is just a rule of thumb. The best way to tell if you are properly hydrated is to check the color of your urine. It should be the color of pale lemonade. Darker and you’re under hydrated (or you’ve taken vitamins). Lighter and you’re probably over hydrated.

As always, I’d love any comments or thoughts.

Penny

Reference used for this article: Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals 4th Edition, Marie Dunford Editor. Available through the American Dietetic Association (www.eatright.org).