The Importance of Protein in the Post-Workout Meal

The goal for any women trying to gain weight in the form of lean muscle is to supply your body with a constant supply of nutrients to maintain an anabolic (muscle building) state. Almost everyone knows that muscles are made up protein – they are the building blocks of muscle. Protein is not produced on its own and can not be stored in the body like carbohydrates can and therefore should be provided at regular times during the day.

A weight gain diet for women designed to gain lean muscle should include protein in every meal. This will enable your body to get a constant supply of protein throughout the day and will allow your body to process the protein more efficiently because it’s absorbing smaller amounts of protein. Eating frequent but smaller meals will also help to stabilize blood insulin levels, which is required to transport nutrients to the muscles.

In addition to consuming more protein in your diet, if you are lifting weights you also need to be aware of protein timing and the different types of protein which are available.

Regardless of what you may have read regarding protein intake, breakfast is not the most important meal of the day. The post-workout meal is an extremely important meal. It’s the time of the day when the body is particularly receptive to nutrient intake because you typically have lower blood amino acid and blood insulin levels.

It is widely accepted that consuming protein during the one hour window right after working out is the optimal time to consume protein because it can greatly increase protein synthesis, which in turn encourages muscle growth.

For the post-workout meal – you don’t want to consume just any type of protein. You want to consume a fast digesting protein because the body can absorb this type of protein the quickest, and your muscles don’t have to wait for the much needed protein during the period when they really need it – right after the workout!

When deciding what type of protein to have for a post-workout meal, whey protein makes an excellent choice. Whey protein is basically the most pure form of protein you can get and is also absorbed at a very rapid rate by the body. If you can’t get a fast absorbing protein from a food source, an excellent choice would be to have weight gain protein shakes which consist of whey protein, fresh fruit, low-fat milk, and whatever else you want to throw in them. They are convenient and you have yourself a tasty milk shake packed with protein.