What Is the Thermic Effect Of Food?
By vishwa on Nutrition
February 19, 2013
I have missed an important aspect of why a post workout meal becomes important. The food you eat after a workout increases the thermic effect of that meal. What is the thermic effect of food? Some of the calories in the food you eat are burned—expended during the digestion of the food. The net amount of calories absorbed by your body is actually less than the amount contained in the food. This is referred to as the thermic effect of food.
It means that the thermic effect of a meal is increased following an exercise regimen, compared to the same meal eaten apart from a workout. It also explains why taking in large amounts of carbohydrates after intense training does not result in body fat gain. The energy from a post workout meal is directed towards replenishing energy stores.
There are many other factors, however, that influence the magnitude of the thermic effect of the food. Certain factors that are under your control are meal size, meal frequency, meal composition, meal pattern, and body composition. A few more factors that are not under your control are age, gender, hormone levels, and genetics.
Moreover, regardless of consuming a post workout meal, certain foods have a high thermic effect. They increase your metabolic rate because your body has to work harder to digest process and utilize the food.
Foods that have a high thermic effect. Continued.