What Do I Have For Dinner After Playing Sports?

The late afternoon is used by many people to practice sports, since it is often the only available space left by the working day. This raises many questions about what is a suitable dinner in those cases.

Before going to see practical advice, it is important to point out that these are only generalities, the amounts and specific personalized advice will always depend on the type of training, its duration and intensity, as well as our objectives, our requirements and our physical condition, and They should be prescribed by a dietitian-nutritionist specialized in sports nutrition.

Post-workout intake

In general, it is important to eat a small meal within 2 hours of training to aid muscle regeneration and muscle glycogen recharge. It is that snack that we know as “post workout intake”.

But in the cases in which after practicing sports some of the main meals of the day are going to be eaten, in this case dinner, it is not necessary to have that snack, since a well-organized dinner will also serve as post- meal intake. -Train.

What should a dinner for after playing sports contain?

Don’t miss out on proteins

On the one hand, it is important that it has a protein part, therefore having only fruit, or a salad, or a cream of vegetables, is not a good idea, although it is often recommended, especially to people who are trying to reduce or control weight.

Not eating properly after training will worsen our recovery and negatively affect our performance. It will also not help us improve our body composition if it is what we are looking for.

It is very easy to add a protein part to dinner: tofu, legumes, textured soybeans, tempeh, hemp seeds or nuts are the best options. Or, in case we don’t have anything planned that day, even a protein shake does the trick. Soy or pea are the best options.

Rich in carbohydrates

Second, it must also contain a portion, appropriate to our needs, of foods rich in carbohydrates. This part is very easy to cover with cereals or derivatives, the same legumes, tubers or fruit.

And of course, in addition to being a post-training intake, it should be a healthy dinner, so vegetables and vegetables should not be missing, nor healthy fat, such as extra virgin olive oil, avocado, seeds or fruits. dry.

11 dinner ideas for athletes

These are just some examples, which we must adapt to our tastes and needs, remembering the premises that we have pointed out at the beginning.

1. Vegetable soup and toast with hummus (at least 4-6 tablespoons)
2. Fruit smoothie with two soy yogurts and a tablespoon of peanut butter
3. Tofu wok (a piece at least the size of the palm of your hand) with vegetables and rice noodles.
4. Steamed broccoli with cooked chickpeas (at least one glass), dressed with olive oil and paprika.
5. A salad and a protein shake with two bananas
6. Spaghetti with textured soy bolognese (at least 30g soy)
7. A plate of lentils with vegetables and rice.
8. Grilled tempeh (at least a piece like the palm of your hand) with mushrooms and polenta.
9. Sauteed vegetables with nuts (at least two handfuls), a glass of soy drink and one or two servings of fruit.
10. Baked potato with falafels (at least 4 medium units) and coleslaw
11. Chili bean fajitas (at least one glass), tomato, lettuce and avocado

A mistake that we should not make is to think that since we have done sports, that compensates for us eating unhealthy food or having a good portion of sweets, because we have already “paid” for it with exercise.

Unhealthy food (precooked even if they are vegan, pastries, ice cream, desserts, fast food …) has a negative effect on our health that is not limited, far from it, to an extra contribution of calories that we can “burn”.