Nutrition Recovery for Endurance Athletes

by Erin Connelly of active.com 

You did it. Your heart is racing, you’re covered with sweat, and you’re starting to cool down from a high-endurance event. You’re feeling good, you’re winding down, and thinking about nutrition recovery.

The winding down part is easy—a nice shower, an oversized sofa, maybe a nap. The nutrition recovery part, however, is more challenging.

On the other end, there are those who cannot smell or be around food for a while and are more likely to fall asleep before they get around to eating.  The majority of athletes fall somewhere in the middle, each with their own nutrition recovery ritual.Every athlete is different as far as what their stomach can handle after an endurance activity. On one end of this scale, we have those with “stomachs of steel” that can devour an order of cheese curds washed down with a beer.

So, what are some of the more recommended foods and beverages to nosh on after you’ve just spent all that time working your body? For endurance athletes, a mix of carbs and protein in a ratio of 4:1 respectively is recommended post-exercise to replenish lost energy stores and build muscle.

Here are some ways to fulfill your snacking needs and desires:

Protein

Chocolate milk has been getting more hype recently as a recovery beverage, and for good reason. Cow’s milk has an edge over other non-dairy beverages in its protein composition.  Keep reading at active.com