Protein Shakes

[Rob Frase]

gettingstarted, you just won the internet with that post.   

 

Great advice. 

[Daniel Taylor-Shaut]

Thanks for that gettingstarted. What would you suggest as the best thing to eat post-workout then? Fruit and oatmeal? Or something comparable?

[Karen Zanon]

Thanks for that gettingstarted. What would you suggest as the best thing to eat post-workout then? Fruit and oatmeal? Or something comparable?

 

The short answer is - anything nutrient-dense.   Yes, oatmeal, fruit, or something comparable are all great choices.  The long answer is - it depends on what you are trying to accomplish.  For example, if you have an aggressive fat loss goal (such as you are trying to cut as much as fat as possible in 12 weeks or less) protein might be a better choice. 

 

 

In case you feel like reading a ‘novella’ here’s more:

 

Oatmeal and fruit would be an appropriate post-workout choice for either of these two scenarios: 

 

1) For most people who are just looking to improve their body composition or maintain their weight, nutrient timing isn’t all that important.  Just be sure to make nutritious food choices and eat the proper portions for your health and body composition goals throughout the day when you feel hungry and time your meals according to what feels right for you. 

 

2) If you are looking to achieve consistent, progressive, weight loss you can maximize your body’s ability to utilize the carb-dense foods you eat by choosing to eat them only within 1-2 hours after exercise.  Some people call this earning their carbs.  This generally applies to starches and grains, but it can also include fruit.  (Some individuals can handle small portions of fruit outside of the post-exercise window without affecting their weight loss.  However, carb-sensitive individuals (typically endomorphs) may find it best to limit fruit to only after exercise).  In general, men can eat two cupped handfuls of carb-dense foods as a portion.  You can reduce that to one cupped handful for more aggressive results. 

 

Within the two hours after exercise, energy demands are higher.  Blood is circulating more rapidly and muscles are primed to accept nutrients.  So if you have used up significant glycogen during your workout, the idea is the carbs you consume after the workout will be utilized for energy or used to replenish depleted glycogen stores or for muscle synthesis and repair. 

 

(Conversely, if you eat carb-dense food when energy requirements are low such as after a day of lounging around or before going to bed they are more likely to contribute to fat stores.)

 

If your goal includes an aggressive timeline to cut fat (12 weeks or less): protein is recommended in the two hour window after a workout instead of carb-dense foods.  This is because you are trying to maximize your fat burning potential.  Ideally, fatty acids have been released from storage as a result of your workout and are freely circulating in the blood stream.  The idea is to keep your body utilizing those mobilized fatty acids for energy.  Since Glucagon and insulin are competing hormones, the idea here is to keep glucagon high and insulin low.  Consuming protein relies more heavily on glucagon for processing.  If you dump a bunch of carbs into the bloodstream after exercise, insulin will spike rapidly and shut off glucagon, thereby turning off the process of utilizing primarily free fatty acids for energy.  In a fat-cutting scenario, you would want to maximize the post-exercise fat burning window.  It would serve you well to cycle your carb dense foods (starches and grains), eating them only 2-3 days per week.  On carb days, you would still want to eat them after exercise, but at a later meal, so that they don’t interfere with the post-exercise fat-burning window.  You would want to rely primarily on lower carb vegetables and a conservative amount of fruit for daily consumption. 

 

 

Fasted cardio, intermittent fasting, and ketogenic diets are three examples of techniques rooted in the same premise – utilizing free fatty acids for energy and trying to keep that process going for specific windows of time.  The first two hours after waking up or after exercise are most optimal and then it diminishes from there.  You kind of have to play with the window and see what works for you.

 

If an individual is trying to gain weight or preserve muscle mass the game changes completely.  In that case, the individual would want to keep glycogen stores full and he would benefit from regularly eating carb-dense foods or protein or a combination of both within 1-2 hours after a workout.  This primarily applies to athletes or fitness competitors or individuals who engage in a lot of endurance activities and need to keep up their energy and glycogen stores.

 

In closing, also keep in mind you don't have to eat a post-workout meal within a certain amount of time.  It really does come down to personal preference. Overall, energy balance is the key.  Eat when you are hungry and in the proper portions for your health and body composition goals.  The rest can just bog you down with mind-numbing details. 

[Daniel Taylor-Shaut]

Understood. Thanks.