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Nutritional Regimen after Exercise for Muscle Rebuilding

Regular exercise helps to increase energy expenditure, maintain lean body mass, improve functional capacity, reduce cardiovascular risk, and promote a sense of personal well-being. The activity can be any exercise that uses large muscle groups and is rhythmic. It should be consistent with individual interests and an activity that can become a permanent part of the lifestyle. Low-impact aerobic activities such as walking and bicycling are desirable because they are less likely to cause orthopedic injury and they carry a smaller risk of cardiovascular complications.

Insulin resistance in the offspring of parents with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) is the best predictor of development of the disease and probably plays an important part in its pathogenesis.Exercise increases insulin sensitivity in both normal subjects and the insulin-resistant offspring of diabetic parents because of a twofold increase in insulin-stimulated glycogen synthesis in muscle, due to an increase in insulin-stimulated glucose transport–phosphorylation.

Sometimes blood sugars go up with exercise. This may happen because you are excited and are releasing a hormone called adrenaline. This is a normal response in people with or without diabetes. The adrenaline causes sugar to be released from stores in the muscle and liver and raises the blood sugar for awhile. This usually happens in the first hour of exercise.In order to achieve the best results in preventing chronic diseases, the strategies and policies that are applied must fully recognize the essential role of diet, nutrition and physical activity.

There are lots of benefits to strengthening your muscles. When you work your muscles, they become stronger and able to work longer without getting tired. Stomach muscles support the back, so strengthening this area is really important. One of the greatest benefits of strength training is that it helps you burn more energy when you are at rest. Muscle mass burns more calories than fat so as your muscle increases so does your ability to burn calories.

Exercise is a stressor and the stresses of exercise have a catabolic effect on the body - contractile proteins within muscles are consumed for energy, carbohydrates and fats are similarly consumed and connective tissues are stressed and can form micro-tears. However, given adequate nutrition and sufficient rest to avoid overtraining, the body's reaction to this stimulus is to adapt and replete tissues at a higher level than what existed before exercising. The results are all the training effects of regularly exercise - increased muscular strength, endurance, bone density and connective tissue toughness.

The more frequently occurring situation is for persons not to consume enough water. This may be a chronic situation, where an individual fails to get adequate fluids over a period of time or it may be an immediate state resulting from, for example, intense exercise. In this state a person is said to be dehydrated.The losses may occur through exertion during exercise especially in hot, dry conditions and at high altitudes.It is important to remember to keep hydrated before, during and after exercise. It can take the body as long as twelve hours to become properly rehydrated after exercise.Some foods especially fresh fruits and vegetables make significant contributions to our fluid intake and are a part of a healthy diet.

When you eat and what you eat can affect your performance and the way you feel while you're exercising. Coordinate your meals, snacks and what you drink to make the most of your exercise routine.When you exercise after a large meal, you may feel sluggish or have an upset stomach, cramping and diarrhea. That's because your muscles and your digestive system are competing with each other for energy resources.To help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both protein and carbohydrates within two hours of your exercise session if possible.

You are also paying more attention to what you are eating. However, it’s likely that much of the weight you lose is from water and lean muscle, not body fat. Also, most people are not able to keep up with the demands of a diet that strictly limits their food choices or requires them to eat the same foods over and over again. People who use fad diets usually end up gaining back any weight that they lost.

Recovery is one of the most important aspects of any serious athlete’s regimen. When you push your body regularly with training and competition, you need to refuel the muscles so you are ready for the next event or training session. If you neglect post-exercise nutrition, you will run low on energy, and either your training or event performance (or both) will suffer.

Carbohydrate is the preferred fuel for the muscles both during and after hard exercise. The body uses carbohydrate during intense training and competition. Eat meals and snacks that contain all the macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat) after exercise, but with carbohydrates in the highest percentage.Sports nutrition books recommend consuming at least 50-100 grams (200-400 calories) of carbohydrate within two hours after hard exercise.

Since fat is burned at high rates during the post exercise period regardless of what food you eat, during this time most of the ingested energy (protein and carbohydrates) will go to replenish the depleted muscle energy stores and to enhance recovery.Some research has indicated that consuming protein in addition to carbohydrates immediately following exercise may aid recovery. Choose foods that are higher in carbohydrates along with some protein.

You should consume carbohydrate-rich snacks within 30 minutes of finishing, such as a sports drink, fruit, cereal bars and crackers. If you have been weight training, consume some carbohydrate rich snacks that also contain some protein such as yogurt, fruit smoothies and a liquid meal replacement. Your next meal should also be rich in carbohydrates, with some protein and minimal fat, such as spaghetti bolognese, or chicken and vegetable stir-fry with noodles or rice. Of course you should also re-hydrate with lots of fluids.

After a lengthy bout of physical exercise, eating a bowl of healthy cereal with skim milk may help muscles recover at least as well as, if not better, than downing a specialized sports drink, according to research reported at the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in New Orleans.

Exercise damages muscle tissue, and milk and a 100-percent whole-wheat cereal, which contain protein and carbohydrate, help rebuild damaged tissue, Lynne Kammer who led the study told Reuters Health.

"Sports drinks may have an advantage in convenience," she said. "But for the large population of people that exercise close to home, eating a bowl of cereal with milk is just as good as anything that is more exotic and expensive."

Kammer, a graduate student working under Dr. John Ivy at University of Texas at Austin, had 12 athletes (8 men and 4 women) fast for 12 hours, then cycle for 2 hours at least 5 days apart on a stationary bicycle. The subject did not ride to exhaustion. Immediately after each ride, the athletes consumed either a 100-percent whole-wheat flake cereal with nonfat milk or a typical carbohydrate-packed sports drink.

The drink and the small meal both produced a healthy rise in blood sugar and insulin levels; however, during recovery, cereal raised insulin significantly more and blunted the rise in blood lactate compared with the sports drink.

"What we showed was that cereal and milk was good for protein synthesis, or muscle rebuilding, after exercise. Because of the protein in the milk you would expect to see this," Kammer said.

"But what was most surprising," she said, "was that the lactate in the blood was greatly reduced after consuming the cereal and milk as compared to the sports drink -- and that's a good thing."

The cereal and milk, and the sports, drink helped the body replenish depleted glycogen -- a fuel the body uses during exercise -- but the cereal and milk displayed greater glycogen storage potential. Tests showed the tired muscles were ready to store additional glycogen after the cereal-and-milk regimen, even after glycogen had already been synthesized, Kammer explained.

So when exercising close to home, Kammer says -- skip the sports drink and grab a bowl of whole-grain cereal.

Some dietary nutritional tips after exercise :

Total fat intake should be less than 30% of energy
Saturated fatty acid intake should be less than 10% of total energy
Polyunsaturated fatty acid intake should be no more than 10% of total energy
Mono unsaturated fatty acid intake should make up the rest of total fat intake, about 10% to 15% of total energy
Cholesterol intake should be no more than 300 mg/d
Sodium intake should be no more than 3000 mg (3 g) per day.Physical exercise is the performance of some activity to develop or maintain physical fitness and overall health. It is often directed toward also honing athletic ability or skill
Most fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains have a low GL (low teens). However, the GI and GL increase significantly once fruit is pulverized into juice, or when whole grains are refined. Whole foods are better! For example, All-Bran has a GL of 4 and Cornflakes has a GL of 21.
Foods and fluids that are high in carbohydrate are best after exercise and competition. If appetite is decreased after exercise, try juice. The sugars in juices will give you the carbohydrate you need and the fluid will help you rehydrate.
If you crave salt, choose a salty food like pretzels, soups, salted crackers or sprinkle a little salt on your post-exercise meal.
Drink real fruit juices after exercise. Juices are rich in potassium, vitamins and carbohydrates all nutrients that enhance recovery.
Keep eating carbohydrate-rich foods for several meals after exhaustive endurance exercise.
Don’t miss the glycogen window after a workout, follow the 65-20-15 carbs-fat-protein balance, eat a wide variety of whole foods, and taper from high-GI foods after exercise to low-GI foods later in the day
Rest is important. Allow your body a rest day (or two) so muscles can store rather than burn carbohydrate
Stretching should be done after your warm-up but before you begin activities, sports, or games such as racquetball, tennis, or basketball. This will help prevent injuries. You should also stretch after your aerobic or strength workout. This will help increase your flexibility and help prevent muscle soreness.Stretch until you feel a slight pulling in the muscle. Hold for 20 -30 seconds. Don't bounce. The muscle will feel tight at first, but as you hold the stretch the muscle will adapt to the stretch.
More recently, older people have been encouraged to eat a healthy diet --- as large and as varied as possible while maintaining their weight --- and particularly to continue exercise.
Immediately after you exercise, your insulin, which controls your blood sugar levels, is particularly sensitive. Give sensitive insulin some carbs, and it will pack them into your muscles as glycogen. Give sensitive insulin some protein, and it will quickly repair any muscle damage. Give it both carbs and protein.
Aim to include some protein to help with muscle repair, for example, meat in a sandwich, low-fat cheese on crackers, or milk and yoghurt which both contain a good balance of carbohydrate and protein for recovery