For those who weightlift, there are lots of decisions they have to make regarding their workouts. How much do they lift? How often do they lift? How many repetitions and sets should they do? There is also the choice of what should be consumed after the workout. Before you go buy some fancy shake, try milk. Yes, you read it right: milk.

Now, milk contains a lot of important elements that help you with weightlifting. First, there is casein, which is a protein that slows digestion so that you are fuller for longer periods. Whey is another element in milk that is quickly digested, so you get more energy faster. It also contains fat, which is slowly digested, too. Another slowly digested element is carbohydrates, which are available in milk. They help restore the energy in your system. Milk also contains water, which constitutes for about 87% of it. Hydration is so crucial for you, especially if you weightlifting, because it helps with the recovery or muscles. In addition, there is calcium in milk, which helps with losing fat and with developing bones. Also, electrolytes are available in milk and they help in rehydration and retaining fluids.

There are many reasons why milk should be on your list of possible drinks after a workout. First, milk helps muscle gain, fat loss, recovery (because of the electrolytes), and it is cheap and easy for you to consume.

Hold it, though. Not all milk is created equal. As opposed to regular milk, soymilk has the ability to improve your blood lipid profile: it does not contain saturated fat or cholesterol. It helps prevent prostate cancer as well as osteoporosis because soymilk contains isoflavones, which are man-made estrogen cells. Many soymilks are fortified with vitamins B, E, and D. Do not worry about calcium with soymilk. It also contains calcium, just like regular milk.

Research also shows that soymilk may prevent diabetes and kidney disease. Whether you choose to consume real? milk or soymilk, what matters is that you have to be conscious of your diet and your intake of milk especially. Be careful not to over-drink milk because it has fat in it. Be careful not to overdo it with the soymilk, either, because there are a lot of questions about its health value and its relation to cancer. We do not know a lot about milk quite yet and there is not enough to make it a safe part of our daily diet. You have to be conscious of your diet, either way, and of your intake of not just milk, but also of other foods you have in your system. Remember that calcium does not come only from milks, but also from almonds and vegetables. Keep in mind that nature has lots of beneficial foods available for us. So eat your greens, eat your fruits, and drink regular milk, almond milk, soymilk, rice milk! Whatever floats your boat. Just remember to make careful choices about what you eat and what you drink so that you are healthy, strong, and capable of lifting weights or doing cardiovascular exercises to be fit.

And, as always, be open to experiment with various kinds of milk. Maybe skim milk is the right one for you, or maybe you are lactose intolerant and need to drink other kinds of milk like soymilk (yum), rice milk (so much yum), almond milk (a ton of yum). Try new things that you may have assumed would not taste so good. I am vegan, so I drink almond milk and soymilk, but I remember trying chocolate almond milk and being completely mind-blown. What will blow your mind and taste-buds?

Featured images:

• License: Image author owned
• License: Image author owned

If you’re interested in further discussions regarding muscle building and health, healthscapes.org has some great information. Keep exercising and don’t forget to drink your milk.