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irongirl
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Muscle hustle: you've got less than an hour to refuel your body from the time you finish your last rep or cardio workout. Eat the right meal and you'll grow or get lean. Miss the mark and you've wasted your time. So open wide ? the clock is ticking
BUILD
Following a weight-training session, eating the right nutrients helps muscles return to a building state. You need plenty of calories, derived mostly from quick-digesting protein and carbohydrate. Low-fat protein saturates muscles fast, and refined carbohydrates create a greater insulin surge than other carbs. Insulin, a hormone that quickly halts muscle breakdown associated with hard training, kick-starts muscle growth and increases the delivery of both protein and testosterone into muscles. What's more, a post-training insulin surge increases growth hormone and insulinlike growth factors (IGF), which also influence muscle growth.
Reserving the majority of your carb intake for your post-training meal means your body won't store the calories as fat. That's because carbs make glycogen, the stored fuel in muscles that plummets when you train hard. If you take in a lot of carbs post-workout, most will be used to refill those depleted stores.
ROAST BEEF & MANGO WRAP
Recipe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 mango, peeled and chopped
> 2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
> 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
> 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 2 large flour tortillas
> 8 oz. cooked (deli) roast beef, sliced
Place first four ingredients in a bowl and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper. Stack tortillas on a plate and top with roast beef. Top with salsa mixture and wrap up.
Nutrition Facts: 677 calories, 50 g protein, 93 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat
WARM SALMON & RICE SALAD
Reclpe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
> 1/4 cup chopped red onion
> 1 can sockeye salmon
> 2 cups cooked brown rice
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> Nonstick cooking spray
Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Saute pepper and onion for 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add salmon (liquid included) and heat thoroughly, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add rice to salmon mixture, stirring gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Facts: 727 calories, 51 g protein, 89 g carbohydrate, 16 g fat
MASS MEALS
When you're trying to put on mass, here's what to eat following a weight workout:
Protein: 0.20-0.25 gram per pound of bodyweight
Carbohydrate: 2 X (grams of protein)
Example: If you're 200 pounds, eat 40-50 grams of protein and 80-100 grams of carbohydrate.
** If you have one minute, mix: 40 grams of whey protein powder with 2 1/2 scoops of Vitargo by Nutrex Nutrition.*
ON THE GO!
** If you're on the go, grab: A packaged meal-replacement shake with whey protein and a small bagel or Pop-Tart.*
* To further muscle growth, eat a whole-food meal an hour after consuming one of the above meals.
BURN
The meal that follows a cardio workout should fulfill two goals: Keep the fat-burning process going and prevent muscle loss. Slow-burning carbohydrates and quick-digesting protein accomplish both. Moderate amounts of the former won't interfere with the increase of fat-burning hormones and enzymes--such as glucagon, lipase and carnitine palmityl transferase--that follow a cardio workout. While elevated insulin can decrease the calorie burn post-cardio, slow-burning carbs supply energy without driving insulin levels sky-high. Toward the end of a workout, you also start to burn amino acids from protein or muscle tissue, which may lower your metabolism. Quick-digesting protein provides your body with amino acids, preventing it from burning its own muscle mass for fuel.
One final note: This is not the post-training meal to load up on calories. Mildly undereating at this juncture allows the fat-burning hormones to continue to circulate and burn fat.
TUNA & KIDNEY BEAN SALAD
Reclpe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 can white tuna in water, drained
> 1/4 cup prepared salsa
> 3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained (mixed beans can be substituted)
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce leaves
In a bowl, combine tuna, salsa and beans and toss gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place lettuce leaves on a plate and spoon tuna and bean mixture on top.
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 42 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat
LEAN MEALS
When you're leaning out, here's what your post-workout meal should include:
Protein: 0.20 gram per pound of bodyweight
Carbohydrate: 30-45 grams*
Example: If you're 200 pounds, eat 40 grams of protein and 30-45 grams of carbs.
* If you weigh considerably less than 200 pounds, carry a lot of bodyfat or have what you consider to be a slow metabolism, you could eat as few as 20 grams of carbohydrate at this meal.
** If you have one minute: Hit the drive-thru and order a grilled chicken salad with low-fat dressing.
ON THE GO!
** If you're on the go: Drink a meal-replacement shake yielding no more than 40 grams of carbs and containing 40-50 grams of protein.
PEPPER-LIME CHICKEN & PASTA
Recipe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 1/2 oz. angel hair pasta (measured dry)
> 1/4 tsp. grated lime rind
> 2 Tbsp. lime juice
> 1 tsp. crushed garlic
> 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or basil
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
> Nonstick cooking spray
Remove broiler rack and preheat broiler. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the next five ingredients and set aside. Coat unheated broiler rack with nonstick cooking spray and place chicken on top. Brush chicken with sauce. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for six minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with sauce. Broil 6-9 more minutes or until no longer pink inside, brushing often with sauce. Slice and serve over pasta.
Nutrition Facts: 352 calories, 41 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat
BUILD
Following a weight-training session, eating the right nutrients helps muscles return to a building state. You need plenty of calories, derived mostly from quick-digesting protein and carbohydrate. Low-fat protein saturates muscles fast, and refined carbohydrates create a greater insulin surge than other carbs. Insulin, a hormone that quickly halts muscle breakdown associated with hard training, kick-starts muscle growth and increases the delivery of both protein and testosterone into muscles. What's more, a post-training insulin surge increases growth hormone and insulinlike growth factors (IGF), which also influence muscle growth.
Reserving the majority of your carb intake for your post-training meal means your body won't store the calories as fat. That's because carbs make glycogen, the stored fuel in muscles that plummets when you train hard. If you take in a lot of carbs post-workout, most will be used to refill those depleted stores.
ROAST BEEF & MANGO WRAP
Recipe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 mango, peeled and chopped
> 2 Tbsp. finely chopped red onion
> 2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
> 1 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 2 large flour tortillas
> 8 oz. cooked (deli) roast beef, sliced
Place first four ingredients in a bowl and toss gently. Season with salt and pepper. Stack tortillas on a plate and top with roast beef. Top with salsa mixture and wrap up.
Nutrition Facts: 677 calories, 50 g protein, 93 g carbohydrate, 12 g fat
WARM SALMON & RICE SALAD
Reclpe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
> 1/4 cup chopped red onion
> 1 can sockeye salmon
> 2 cups cooked brown rice
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> Nonstick cooking spray
Coat a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Saute pepper and onion for 2-3 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add salmon (liquid included) and heat thoroughly, 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat and add rice to salmon mixture, stirring gently to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition Facts: 727 calories, 51 g protein, 89 g carbohydrate, 16 g fat
MASS MEALS
When you're trying to put on mass, here's what to eat following a weight workout:
Protein: 0.20-0.25 gram per pound of bodyweight
Carbohydrate: 2 X (grams of protein)
Example: If you're 200 pounds, eat 40-50 grams of protein and 80-100 grams of carbohydrate.
** If you have one minute, mix: 40 grams of whey protein powder with 2 1/2 scoops of Vitargo by Nutrex Nutrition.*
ON THE GO!
** If you're on the go, grab: A packaged meal-replacement shake with whey protein and a small bagel or Pop-Tart.*
* To further muscle growth, eat a whole-food meal an hour after consuming one of the above meals.
BURN
The meal that follows a cardio workout should fulfill two goals: Keep the fat-burning process going and prevent muscle loss. Slow-burning carbohydrates and quick-digesting protein accomplish both. Moderate amounts of the former won't interfere with the increase of fat-burning hormones and enzymes--such as glucagon, lipase and carnitine palmityl transferase--that follow a cardio workout. While elevated insulin can decrease the calorie burn post-cardio, slow-burning carbs supply energy without driving insulin levels sky-high. Toward the end of a workout, you also start to burn amino acids from protein or muscle tissue, which may lower your metabolism. Quick-digesting protein provides your body with amino acids, preventing it from burning its own muscle mass for fuel.
One final note: This is not the post-training meal to load up on calories. Mildly undereating at this juncture allows the fat-burning hormones to continue to circulate and burn fat.
TUNA & KIDNEY BEAN SALAD
Reclpe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 can white tuna in water, drained
> 1/4 cup prepared salsa
> 3/4 cup canned kidney beans, drained (mixed beans can be substituted)
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce leaves
In a bowl, combine tuna, salsa and beans and toss gently. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place lettuce leaves on a plate and spoon tuna and bean mixture on top.
Nutrition Facts: 330 calories, 42 g protein, 32 g carbohydrate, 3 g fat
LEAN MEALS
When you're leaning out, here's what your post-workout meal should include:
Protein: 0.20 gram per pound of bodyweight
Carbohydrate: 30-45 grams*
Example: If you're 200 pounds, eat 40 grams of protein and 30-45 grams of carbs.
* If you weigh considerably less than 200 pounds, carry a lot of bodyfat or have what you consider to be a slow metabolism, you could eat as few as 20 grams of carbohydrate at this meal.
** If you have one minute: Hit the drive-thru and order a grilled chicken salad with low-fat dressing.
ON THE GO!
** If you're on the go: Drink a meal-replacement shake yielding no more than 40 grams of carbs and containing 40-50 grams of protein.
PEPPER-LIME CHICKEN & PASTA
Recipe by Laura Creavalle
MAKES ONE SERVING
> 1 1/2 oz. angel hair pasta (measured dry)
> 1/4 tsp. grated lime rind
> 2 Tbsp. lime juice
> 1 tsp. crushed garlic
> 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or basil
> Salt and ground black pepper, to taste
> 6 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast
> Nonstick cooking spray
Remove broiler rack and preheat broiler. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine the next five ingredients and set aside. Coat unheated broiler rack with nonstick cooking spray and place chicken on top. Brush chicken with sauce. Broil 4-5 inches from heat for six minutes. Turn chicken over and brush with sauce. Broil 6-9 more minutes or until no longer pink inside, brushing often with sauce. Slice and serve over pasta.
Nutrition Facts: 352 calories, 41 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 6 g fat
