Post Exercise/Food

okay, so basically I have learned that whether I'm hungry or not, I should always have breakfast.

Whats the rule with eating after exercise? Exercising usually kills my appetite for a while so should I wait until hunger strikes or is their some sort of weight loss trick of eating a light snack afterwords?

Thanks

For me, if exercise kills my appetite it either means that I don't need to eat (regardless of what I thought when I started moving) or that I am dehydrated.  So, I always drink a big glass of water when I am done exercising. Then, in about a half hour I may get hungry and I eat.  If I don't get hungry, I just wait until the next regular meal time to eat.

sounds simple enough.

Thanks

The short answer is it depends your goals, exercise type, duration, and frequency.

UD

If you're looking to sustain any results that you've garnered from exercising, you should have a light snack (bananas or a glass of chocolate milk, oddly enough, are great muscle recooperaters) to help your muscles suceed the way you want them to.

Eating (a light snack) after exercise also helps fend off stiffness and soreness.

the post excersize meal will help relieve/prevent soreness.. but it's really going to depend on the type of excersize you do

if its just a 30 min walk, then no you probably dont need to eat

but if its a moderate to intense effort for over 30 mins or so, then you probably should eat something to refuel your energy levels and muscles

I find that after a good run I am pretty famished, but I dont want anything big to eat but usually a protein shake, egg whites, or cottage cheese and fruit does the trick.

you should pair protein and carbs together for your post workout meal.. and if you must eat simple carbs then this is the best time to do so as they will be utilized quicker for recovery then any other type of macronutrient

Hmpfh.

Right there in the FAQ:What (and when) to eat before/after a workout? :-P

 That's for actual training/workouts though. If you aren't exerting yourself at at least a 5-6 on the Paige Scale for longer than 20-30 minutes you don't need either pre- or post-workout nutrition.

Thank you everyone for your responses. I think I got what I needed.