Chocolate Milk. It Does a Body Good.

Fact: I probably drink more chocolate milk than any other person on the planet over the age of 10. Remember those cartons of chocolate milk in elementary school? I loved those little cartons of chocolate milk. Now that I've entered the whole "working-girl-with-income" stage of life, I choose to buy it by the gallons. Along with a gallon of skim and a half-gallon of 2%, but my milk drinking habits are another post for another day. At least my bones will be strong when I'm 83.

Please allow me to explain that chocolate milk is not something that I must have every single day. In fact, my fridge is currently free of all things chocolate. However yesterday I discovered that perhaps chocolate milk is something that I should have everyday. Or at least on those days when I decide to throw the Saucony's on to boost the heart rate a bit.

As weird as it sounds, I do crave chocolate milk during and after a pretty intense workout. Picture it: a warm summer day, I'm cruising along [at a tortoise's pace] and the only thing I can think about is a tall glass of chocolate milk. Who here immediately thought of the following movie scene when you read that?

Oh, Ron Burgundy...you are a funny, funny character.

Yesterday at work, I was talking about the fact that I crave chocolate milk after exercising and Emily O-W, ABD wealth of knowledge that she is, informed me that there are benefits to drinking chocolate milk post-exercise. What? Could it be? I was doing something right all along without even knowing it? I wonder if chocolate milkshakes offer up the same benefits. Kidding. Kind of.

Suddenly I had my Google Research Project for the day. Apparently there is something to it because there are many results when you search this topic. This one in particular kind of summarizes everything up for those of us without degrees in exercise physiology. Can one even earn a degree in exercise physiology? Probably those who had a much higher level of discipline than I had between the ages of 18 and 22 can earn such a degree. Essentially, drinking chocolate milk post-exercise is good for the taste buds, helps your muscles recover, keeps you hydrated, tastes great, packs a great carb/protein combo punch, and lastly I should mention that it just tastes delicious. But don't take my word for it.