Paleo Nutrition for Athletes: What to Eat After Workouts & Other Hacks

Workout nutrition is an age-old debate with tons of bro-science and bodybuilding message boards to prove it. From carbing up to fasted cardio, protein shakes and pre-workout snacks, there are hundreds of opinions claiming they know the way to enhancing performance, fitness and body composition. So what should you eat when you workout? It all depends on your goals, your workout, and your current health!

Workout nutrition is an age-old debate with tons of bro-science and bodybuilding message boards to prove it. From carbing up to fasted cardio, protein shakes and pre-workout snacks, there are hundreds of opinions claiming they know the way to enhancing performance, fitness and body composition. So what should you eat when you workout? It all depends on your goals, your workout, and your current health!

Here’s all you need to know about the role of workout nutrition—from a real food perspective (read: no candy-bar favored protein bars and shakes with chemical ingredients, macro or calorie counting slavery, and FitBit food-earning stepping included).

Workout Nutrition 101

There is no one size fits all approach to nutrition—or workout nutrition for that matter, but when it comes to getting the MOST out of your fitness in the gym, there’s no question that food matters…a lot. In fact, it’s been estimated that 80-90% of your fitness, performance, and body composition results are related to what goes into your mouth (or doesn’t go into your mouth) alone.

Without a cornerstone of nutrition, it’s as if you are trying to build a house without a foundation. Sure you can make a pretty white panel siding frame, and design Pottery Barn catalog worthy rooms, but without a solid foundation, all the pretty things or things you worked so hard to build won’t last.

So what does a “solid foundation” of good workout nutrition look like? While many people debate minute details (such as post-workout windows, nutrient timing, protein powders or fasted training), the 5 MOST important game changers when it comes to getting the most out of your personal workout nutrition plan are:

• Eating Enough
• Micro Nutrients
• Hydration
• Good Digestion
• Consistency

Let’s chat about these 5 Nutrition “Game-Changers” then talk about how to use them in the context of your personal fitness goals.

Eating Enough

Are you eating enough? A common roadblock many fitness enthusiasts run into is under-eating—especially those who tend towards the “clean eating,” real food or paleo philosophy as well.

It’s easy to get full on proteins, veggies, and some healthy fat, but in the same breath fall into the trap of accidental dieting. The result? Slowed progress, plateaus, slowed metabolism, impaired appetite, and spinning your wheels in the gym!

Food is fuel! If you are serious about reaching your fitness goals, it can be good to conduct a baseline assessment of yourself to see if you are eating enough.

Calories = Energy

For a quick, general approximation of “how much” you should be eating use this calculation:

• Multiply your current weight in pounds by 12 to 14 to get a baseline range of daily calorie needs
• Then add 100 calories to this number for every 10 minutes of moderate- to high-intensity activity (spin, CrossFit, strength training, boot camp, Orange Theory).

No matter whether your goal is to build strength, boost performance, lose weight or lean out, if you are under-eating, you can bet your bottom dollar, progress will stall. Keep in mind: calories are energy and nutrients, the good kind, and the more quality cals you consume, the better your bod can maximize your fuel. Additionally, remember these are guidelines, not the gospel. Every body is different, and depending on your health history, current health status and body type (ectomorph or hard gainer versus endomorph or easy gainer), individual needs will vary.

Proteins, Carbs & Fats

Once you establish a ballpark range of caloric needs, you can figure out the “just right” balance of proteins, carbs, and fats for you. General fitness recommendations include:

• Protein: 25-35% of total calories
• Carbohydrates: 20-50% of total calories
• Fats: The leftover percentage once proteins and carbs are determined

Keep in mind:

• 1 gram of protein = 4 calories
• 1 gram of carbs = 4 calories
• 1 gram of fat = 9 calories

So for instance, say you weigh 130 pounds and you workout in the gym five days per week and lead an active lifestyle with a combination of strength training, HIIT style boot camps, walking, and yoga. For best fitness, let’s do the math:

1. Figure Out Baseline Health Calorie Needs.
   • Multiply 130 pounds x 12 calories and 130 pounds x 14 calories. You will get a range of 1560-1820 Calories (as your baseline requirement range).
2. Figure Out Fitness Calorie Needs.
   • Multiply 100 calories x 6 (for the 60 minutes total of training you do most days each week). You’ll get 600 calories. Add 600 calories to your baseline numbers to get a target range of 2,160 calories-2,420 calories for your BEST health and fitness.
3. Figure Out Baseline Protein, Carb & Fat Needs.
   • For 30% Protein: Multiply 2,160: x 0.30= 648 calories from protein, then divide 648 by 4 calories per protein gram to get 162 grams of protein as your baseline.
   • For 40% Carbs: Multiply 2,160 x 0.40=864 calories from carbs, then divide 864 by 4 calories per gram to get 216 grams of carbs for a baseline.
   • For 30% Fats: Multiply 2,160 x 0.30=648 calories from fat, then divide 648 calories by 9 fat calories per gram to get 72 grams of fat as your baseline.
4. Eat Enough
   • Once you understand your baseline needs and find a rhythm for your body…PUT THE CALCULATOR AWAY.

While fitness and nutrition tracking apps can be helpful for ensuring you’re meeting your nutrient needs, more often than not, I find individuals who use these things religiously, feel attached to the numbers—more so than listening to our bodies.

There is a slew of other essential fitness game changers to consider when it comes to hacking your fitness nutrition (below). This is just the top of the iceberg to help keep you from overtraining. We will address more fine-tuned nutrient intake recommendations below for your unique goals (ie. leaning out, strength gain, performance or all-around general fitness) in the Nutrition Hacks section.

Micro-Nutrients

Eating enough is important, but eating ENOUGH quality, real foods matters more—at least for taking your health and fitness from good to great. True, macros are a piece of the equation (ie. proteins, carbs and fats), but not all chicken breasts, broccoli spears or sweet potatoes are created equal.

Moreover, many athletes and fitness enthusiasts tend to focus more on calories and macros, neglecting food variety and the micro-nutrients (i.e. the vitamins and minerals) that give your body the extra “umph” for power and nutrients.

For instance, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize the nutrition value difference in a meal consisting of a farm-raised Tyson chicken breast, microwaved frozen green beans, processed olive oil and white rice versus a pastured raised chicken breast, with sautéed dark leafy rainbow chard in coconut oil and a side of rich, orange butternut squash and cinnamon. Just to be clear: B-Vitamins,beta-carotene, calcium, magnesium, and essential (digestible) amino acids in the latter. In short: color=nourishment, and tons of vitamins and minerals that are often unseen if you are just focusing on counting your macro-nutrients alone.

Here are some of my favorite quality foods for fitness:

• Meat and Poultry. Beef and lamb, but also pork, chicken, turkey, duck and wild game like venison, ostrich, etc. Organic, pastured, grass-fed and/or free-range is always preferable. Natural means nothing.
• Pastured Egg Yolks. The albumin in egg whites is closely associated with autoimmunity and allergies.
• Organ Meats (especially liver). The most nutrient-dense food on the planet. If you don’t like the taste of liver, one good trick is to put one chicken liver in each cube of an ice cube tray and freeze them. Then, when you’re making any meat dish, dice up one chicken liver and add it to the meat.
• Bone Broth & Meat Broth Soups. Balance your intake of muscle meats and organ meats with homemade bone broths. Bone broths are rich in glycine, an amino acid found in collagen, which is a protein important in maintaining a healthy gut lining.
• Wild-Caught Fish. Especially fatty fish like salmon, halibut, sardines, mackerel, and herring. Wild is preferable. Aim for 1 pound per week in lieu of fish oil supplements or reach for a fermented cod liver oil.
• Starchy T ubers. Yams, sweet potatoes, yucca/manioc, winter squash, beets, carrots plantain, parsnips, etc.
• Non-starchy Vegetables. Cooked and raw. Especially dark leafy greens.
• Fermented Vegetables and F ruits. Sauerkraut, kimchi, beet kvass, coconut kefir, etc. These are excellent for gut health.
• Fresh Fruit. (1-2 servings/day). Especially berries and green tipped bananas.
• Traditional Fats. Coconut oil, palm oil, lard, duck fat, beef tallow and olive oil.
• Olives, A vocados, and Coconut (including coconut milk-no additives, coconut butter, unsweet coconut flakes).
• Ghee & Grass-fed Butter
• Sea Salt, Herbs & Spices.

What about protein powders? Protein powders are not essential, but they can help some fitness enthusiasts meet their baseline protein requirement needs, granted you need to choose a digestible, anti-inflammatory powder.

Unfortunately, most fitness nutrition shops and grocery store supplement shelves are adult candy stores with protein powders flavored like “Cookies & Cream” and “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough” that don’t do anything but end up out the other end in the toilet, and disrupt your gut bugs.

Nevertheless, if you choose a quality formula, you can maximize performance.

See this article on “how” to choose the best powder for you, along with some of my faves here:

• Collagen Protein
• Equip Foods Beef Isolate
• Pure Paleo Beef Isolate
• Equip Foods Prime Plants (if vegetarian/vegan)
• Wild Foods Grass-fed Whey (if you tolerate dairy)
• Primal Paleo Perfection Beef Isolate

Hydration

It’s no secret hydration is essential for fitness performance. In fact, just a 3-percent fluid reduction in the body can cause a 10 to 20 percent decrease in performance. Read more about research on active dehydration.

However, adequate fluid intake is easy to overlook. Thirst alone is not the first indicator of dehydration, and for this reason, mindfulness with drinking water throughout the day is encouraged.

Moreover, find yourself super hungry—often—between meals, or feeling fatigued or run down? It could be a sign your body needs more water. The same organ that triggers hunger (your hypothalamus) also triggers thirst, and fatigue and power in your workouts are not always just related to sleep and recovery hacks, like saunas and mobility sessions.

A general rule of thumb for a baseline of adequate fluid intake is half your body weight in ounces. So if you weigh 140 pounds, that’s about 70 ounces or almost 9 cups of water.

When you add your workout sessions and heat into the mix, add 16 ounces for every pound of bodyweight (fluid) lost. No need to weigh yourself though! Factor in at least 16-32 ounces more to your daily water intake if you lead an active lifestyle, and sip throughout the day.

Straight up water, or water infused with citrus or cucumber and mint, is best. (No, Bulletproof coffee does not count as hydration—in fact, coffee dehydrates you). In addition, add a pinch of sea salt to a glass of lemon water in the morning and sea salt your food to taste for electrolyte boosting power (sodium, potassium, and magnesium).

Sports drinks are not essential unless you are training for intense athletic activity, sweating a lot or working out in a hot climate, to replace extra lost electrolytes and maintain proper fluid balance in the body. Pass on the Gatorade in favor of a >homemade mix like this natural lemonade one.

Good Digestion

Digestion is an often overlooked component of any fitness nutrition protocol. You can drink all the protein shakes, creatine or pre-workout supplements, multi-vitamins, post-workout carbs, or chicken and broccoli in the world, but if you are not digesting your food appropriately, then you are not going to maximize the nutrients you’re taking in.

Athletes and fitness enthusiasts are at higher risk for impaired digestion, primarily because exercise is a stressor to the body.

While it is a positive stressor, two things happen when the body is stressed:

1. Cortisol levels (stress hormones) go up
2. Stomach acid goes down

Since optimal digestion happens in a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state, elevated cortisol can impede with good digestion—especially directly after your workout. In addition, elevated cortisol suppresses stomach acid—leaving you more at risk for hypochlorhydria (low stomach acid).

For these reasons, a baseline digestive protocol for fitness enthusiasts includes:

1. Soil Based Probiotic
2. Pre-Biotic Fiber
3. 1 tbsp. Apple Cider Vinegar in water or HCL Tablets with each main meal (to boost stomach acid)
4. Digestive Enzymes (optional, but recommended for maximizing digestion)

Also, don’t neglect digestive hygiene at meals! Instead of inhaling your chicken and sweet potato, or slamming down your protein shake, do these 3 things to maximize digestion:

1. Breathe. Pause for 1-2 minutes before meals to just breathe, and stimulate rest and digest mode.
2. Chew your food—really well (you don’t want to recognize that chunk of chicken as a chunk of chicken when you swallow it)
3. Prep your own food as much as possible. Food quality doesn’t just mean organic or non-GMO—the number of hands that have touched your food, or the length of time in storage in your fridge matter too. When you prep your own food, you know what oils and cooking practices went into the meal, as well as how old your foods are (for leftovers, consume within 3-5 days or freeze; for produce and meats, consume within 7 days)

Consistency

Lastly, but equally important: Consistency. The slow and steady wins the race when it comes to nutrition, and one or two days of “good nutrition” followed by five days of sporadic nutrition will not pay off. Fuel the machine. No, this does not mean “perfection,” but when trying a “new approach” to the way you eat, give yourself at least 3 to 4 weeks of consistency to see (and feel) the difference).

Q. What About Nutrient Timing? Does it matter when I eat? The short answer: No, for most fitness enthusiasts nutrient timing does not matter as much as you think. At least compared to considering what you eat consistently overall in a given 24-hour period.

Studies have confirmed that the “post-workout” window or “perfect time” for eating a post-workout meal really only matters if you haven’t been fueling up consistently or eating enough. Read about nutrient timing here.

In other words: Whether you eat 30-minutes after a workout or 2 to 3 hours after a workout is seen pretty much the same way to the body if you are meeting your daily energy needs (as discussed in point one).

Moreover, the food you eat today actually impacts tomorrow’s workouts and performance more than today’s, based on digestion and maximum power output since glycogen stores (energy for your muscles) are usually replenished within a 24 hour period (provided that daily energy needs are met). Nevertheless, eating around workouts is not a bad thing.

Generally, if you are eating regular, balanced meals and maybe one to two snacks each day to support energy needs, just time these accordingly around meals to allow for proper digestion before moving and grooming in your workouts (you don’t want to eat too close to your workouts and feel your sweet potato coming up; although some can tolerate simple-to-digest meals like a smoothie, protein powder in water, or banana).

For individuals wanting to maximize strength and muscle gains, a pre-workout meal of about 10-30 grams of carbs and 10-15 grams of protein. Some folks even do ok off of a dense serving of fat pre-workout, particularly endurance training athletes who actually run off fatty acids (not glucose) as the preferred source of fuel believe it or not.

Here are some ideas…

Pre-Workout Meal Ideas (2-3 hours before training)

Pre-Workout Snack (30-60 minutes before training if you just need a little something to tide you over)

If you tolerate healthy fats around workouts, you could also try:

Nutrition Hacks for Your Goals

What’s your why—the reason why you train? It’s vital to recognize your primary goal behind your fitness in order to align the right dietary approach to your training. After all, if your goal is to gain muscle and strength, but you are eating as if you are leaning out or fueling for a marathon run, then you are spinning your wheels.

The most common fitness goals include:

• Gain Strength/Muscle
• Lean Out/Lose Body Fat or Lose Weight
• Enhance Sport or Fitness Performance (ie. get faster, make the team, etc.)
• Be Healthy! (Enjoy Your Workouts, have fun, break up with the diet mentality & improve general fitness)

So why are you training? Here are some nutrition hacks for taking your fitness goals to the next level.

Gain Strength/Muscle or Gain Weight/Size Hacks

“I want to add 10 more pounds to the barbell or see some muscle definition.”

• Maximize Carbohydrates
• Adjust carbohydrate intake until you begin seeing “gains.” Carbohydrate needs may be anywhere from 40-50% of total daily calorie intake if you’re looking to add lean muscle.
• Fasting & Intermittent Fasting: Not So Fast:
  Fasting and intermittent fasting can work great for some, however, I generally see this as a better approach for those looking to lean out, more than build size. Moreover, guys tend to do better with these methods than women over the long term. Remember: if your goal is for size and strength, eating is your friend, not your foe.
• Just A Little Bit More.
  Putting on strength or size can feel daunting for us hard-gainers, but if you approach it with a simple, “I-can-do-this” mindset, and think about how you can add “just a little bit more” to what you currently eat for maintenance, it gets easier. Consider adding ¼-1/2 an extra serving of sweet potato with dinner, another tablespoon of coconut oil in your morning hash, or a liquid meal, like a smoothie, in addition to your three balanced meals to make it do-able. Baby step it up until you begin seeing the results you want.
• Optimize Digestion.
  If you’re not digesting your food maximally, then no matter how much you eat or add to your diet, it’s not going to stick. Conditions like SIBO, fungal overgrow, h and leaky gut can keep your body spinning its wheels.

Sample Meal Plan

Meal 1:

Training: 60–75-Minutes, weights & HIIT

Meal 2:

Meal 3:

Meal 4:

Meal 5:

Lean Out/Lose Body Fat or Lose Weight

“I want to tone up or lose those last 5 pounds.”

• Make Sure You’re Eating Enough Healthy Fats
  Low-fat dieting is so 1992! Healthy fats help minimize insulin secretion, detour glucose storage (sugar) and balance blood sugar levels over all. They also help keep you satiated and keep cravings—especially sugar cravings at bay. Balance is still essential (no need to go full on keto), but many people who have been spinning their wheels with a low-fat diet, or low calorie diet find that when fats replace some of the carbs they’ve been turning to, metabolism spikes and the body turns into fat burning mode, versus sugar burning mode.
• Eat Enough
  Speaking of eating enough, just because you’re leaning out, doesn’t mean you need to starve. Meeting your baseline and activity requirement range is still essential. The leaning out happens when you begin to tweak fats and carbs (as mentioned above). Be your own experiment, and if you’ve been doing the same thing, and expecting a different result, consider doing something different.
• Simplify.
  Simplify the foods you eat. Meat, veggies, some starchy tubers, healthy fats and herbs and spices go a long way. Many folks find that they begin eating more emotionally, thinking more about food or eat based on cravings when they have lots of variety in their diet, and a strategy some find helpful is picking 2-3 rotating breakfasts and lunches to keep things uniform and help them eat the balance they desire.
• Little Treats.
  More on the deprivation note, food is meant to be enjoyable! Not militant or something to feel morally guilty or good about. If you find yourself getting into diet mentality mode, what generally happens? We want what we can’t have. That said, pick one small treat to add to your daily rundown—such as a piece of 80-100% dark chocolate, cinnamon tea, coconut butter energy bite, or a scoop of homemade coconut ice cream to keep the diet mentality at bay.
• Intermittent Fasting.
  If can be a helpful strategy for some (not all) people. It entails fasting for 12-16 hours, and an eating window of 8-12 hours in a given day. It’s not necessary, but again, if you’ve been doing the same things and expecting a different result, then it could be worth a try in the short term. Above all, it still matters most that you are eating enough.

Sample Meal Plan

Wakeup

Training: 60-75—Minutes, weights & HIIT

Meal 2:

Meal 3:

Meal 4:

Meal 5:

Enhance a Sport/Performance

“I want to get faster, make the team or win the CrossFit Open.”

• Recover
  Recovery is just as important as training, if not more. Over-training is really under-recovery. As far as nutrition on “off days,” you may find you can actually eat more, or you’re hungrier—primarily due to the fact that cortisol levels are not as high. Listen to your body and treat recovery days like “workout days”—vital to your success.
• Eat Enough (Especially Carbs & Fats)
  Do I sound like a broken record? Athletes tend to be pretty good on the protein front, but fall short in the carb and fat department. Most “performance” training women do best with at least 100-150 grams of carbs each day, if not upwards of 200 if you are doing lots of high-intensity training. Extreme diets of any sort—super high fat, or super high carb are not recommended though as much as a balance of all three macros. If you are finding you’re performance is stalling, assess what you are currently doing and evaluate where your carbs and fats are. Tweak one or both accordingly to find your fit.
• Digest.
  Since your training is more demanding than the average Joe, digestion is even more compromised and stomach acid more suppressed with stress. Consider taking digestive enzymes with each meal, along with apple cider vinegar (1 tbsp in 2-4 oz. of water), and your daily probiotic and prebiotic (supplements and fermented foods) for baseline support. In addition, peppermint oil, ginger and turmeric are amazing spices and herbs to get in teas, supplement form or essential oils.
• Support Hormones.
  Amenorrhea is common in those who train hard. Lost your period? That is usually a sign that a.) you’re not eating enough calories, or carbohydrates/fats, and/or b.) you’re not recovering enough (sleeping enough, varying your intensity in your training or resting enough between workouts). You hold great power over your body’s balance and if you’re not having your period, your body is speaking.

Sample Meal Plan

Wakeup

Training: 90-120 Minutes, weights & endurance training

Meal 2:

Meal 3:

Meal 4:

Afternoon

Meal 5:

Before Bed

Be Healthy

“I just want to look good naked and/or make peace with my body, food and fitness!”

• As If
  You know you don’t want to care so much about what you eat or what you look ike in the mirror. So practice the “as if” mindset—the pretend mindset, “as if” you were the girl you want to be—happy, healthy and thriving. The more you can imagine that you are her today, and think about embodying the mindset, decisions, and way she would speak to herself, the more you will become her.
• Balance
  No one ever did a study showing that balance—proteins, carbs, and fats—did a body good. Honestly, extremes (low fat, high protein, high fat, low carb, etc.) are not necessary for health if you’re eating a balance of all macronutrients and getting your fuel through real foods. Enough with extremes.
• Digest Well
  The gut is the gateway to health! If your gut is unhealthy, leaky or overgrown with bacteria, then chances are you will feel it—from bloating and constipation, to autoimmune conditions, unwanted weight gain or body fat storage, genetic diseases, thyroid conditions, plateaus in your fitness, skin breakouts, allergies—seriously, all health stems back to the health of your gut and digestion to nourish your body and metabolic processes for your daily life. Support healthy digestion with your daily probiotic and prebiotic supplements and foods, apple cider vinegar or HCL with meals, and herbal tea for good measure.

Sample Meal Plan

Wakeup

Training: 60-Minute Group Fitness Class

Meal 1:

Meal 2:

Meal 3:

Meal 4:

Before Bed