The Paleo way to recovery after a good workout

The Paleo way to recovery after a good workout

Nothing like a smoothie in the morning to make you feel like you are starting the day off right. That's what it does for me. Here's one of my husband's favorites that you may enjoy as well - http://www.paleovegeo.com/2012/11/banana-nut-butter-smoothie.html

I find that for a lot of us new to this changed way of eating, breakfast can be hard. No toast, initially you may not have any oatmeal, a lot of us give up coffee... so what in the world are you supposed to eat? I recommend if you are going to get some fresh fruit into your day, you get it in with some protein and do it in the morning, maybe after a good workout. Fruit is a healthy food, full of nutrients, high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and low in fat and calories. The science behind post-workout nutrition is that you have this amazing Monopoly “get out of jail free” card time frame to get in those carbs. But you need to do it if you can in the 30  to 45 minutes after you finish, but it goes through about 2 hours.

That's when I recommend fruit.

Lovely, lovely berries are my favorite. That fruit, remember, is going to be converted through the liver into blood glucose. If you do a banana before a hard workout, your body can use that glucose immediately for energy first thing in the morning, or right after your workout. If that energy isn't needed it may be converted into glycogen in the liver or muscles, especially the muscles after a great strength training workout or a Crossfit WOD. The liver has the capacity to store 100 grams of glycogen. Your muscles also have the capacity to store between 250-400 grams of glycogen, depending on muscle mass and physical condition. Muscle glycogen only supplies energy to muscles. Yay muscles.  Liver glycogen supplies energy for the entire body - yay body.... or maybe not.

If the body has an excess of glucose, and all of the glycogen stores are full, the surplus glucose is converted to fat by the liver and stored as adipose tissue (bodyfat) around the body. So keep all of that in mind as you choose your foods. And I find that calcium is a must in my recovery drinks because of the effect that this recovery process can have on the bone density. And that's another reason why you need to do the strength training, but I won't get into that now. Flax milk  is one I like to add. I add in Vitamin D and the calcium in the flax helps the body use the VItamin D. I also like to add some fat to my smoothie to provide energy, protects the body's organs and helps with the absorption of some vitamins I supplement with as well. It makes the smoothie a great option for me. For you it may be eggs and berries. Or after a good strength workout you may do a sweet potato, but I recommend you find what works for you and stick with it.