Lose Stomach Fat Secret

Post-Training Meal: Best Foods for Right After Abs Workouts

First of all, forget all the over-hyped and often expensive post-workout supplement formulations that advertisers try to convince you are absolutely necessary. You can bet that natural food is always going to be better for you and more beneficial. A few ideas include:

Quickly Digestible Natural Carbohydrates

Frozen bananas, Pineapple, Raisins, Organic Maple Syrup, Honey: Foods such as these help trigger the insulin response you need to promote replenishment of muscle glycogen and an overall muscle building (anabolic) effect.

Quickly Digestible Protein:

The best source is either a good quality, non-denatured whey protein isolate or some low fat or fat free yogurt – or both.

One easy and delicious way to get the post-training nutrients you need is to whip up a smoothie. To kick start the recovery process after your workout routine, try these recipes:

Pineapple Vanilla Smoothie

1 cup water

½ cup vanilla yogurt

1 cup frozen pineapple

2 tbsp raw honey

30 grams vanilla whey protein powder

Blend together and enjoy! [35 g protein, 71 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fat, 425 calories]

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

1 cup water

½ cup skim milk

1 ½  frozen bananas

2 tbsp organic maple syrup

30 grams chocolate whey protein powder

Blend together and enjoy! [38 g protein, 72 g carbohydrates, 0.5 g fat, 440 calories]

Note that if you want to lose stomach fat, a post-training meal needs to have the opposite characteristics of your other daily meals. That is, for this one meal your goal is to consume minimal fat, quick high glycemic index carbohydrates, and quickly digested proteins. If you have a sweet tooth, here’s the best news: This is the one meal of the day when you can afford to eat extra sugars because it will all go straight to your muscles instead of adding to your belly.

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The Most Important Meal to Help You Lose Stomach Fat

We’ve all heard over and over that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. That is certainly true. However, did you know that when you are trying to lose stomach fat or dieting for overall body fat loss, your most important meal of the day might well be your post-workout meal.

Why? Completing an intense workout routine creates a catabolic state in which muscle glycogen is depleted, and an increase in cortisol levels begins an excessive breakdown of muscle tissue. This is not a good condition and not helpful to the goal you are trying to achieve. On the contrary, you want to reverse this condition, and the only way to get your body out of this catabolic state (and into a beneficial anabolic state) is to eat a meal as quickly as possible after your working. This post-training meal needs to consist of quickly digestible carbs that will replenish muscle glycogen, and you also need quickly digestible protein because it contains amino acids that give your body a jumpstart on muscle repair.

Note that one key phrase here is “quickly digested”. A 300-500 calorie meal such as this will provide a surge of carbs and amino acids, promoting and insulin spike that swiftly delivers nutrients to muscle cells. The calorie requirement depends on body weight. A 120 pound female may require only 300 calories whereas a 200 pound male might need up to 500 calories. In any case, the post-training meal should a carbs to protein ration of anywhere from 2:1 to 4:1. Also, this meal should include only the barest minimum of healthy fat because it will slow down absorption of the meal – exactly what you don’t want right after a great workout!

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