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Post-Workout Meal

​After a hard workout, I like to replenish my body with real food, not junk!  I'm not a big person to begin with, nor am I blessed with good genetics. 

 

There are going to be a few rules that I abide by when it comes to my post-workout meals:

* I eat within 1-2 hours after I work out, and I've been doing this for quite some             time, and I absolutely love it. 

* I Always have a balanced meal of FATS, CARBS and PROTEIN.   ​



Note: For those of you who were always told to eat high glycemic carbohydrates to

replenish your glycogen stores, this is not true.  Not replenishing your glycogen stores may lead to decreased energy and fatigue, but everyone is different, and I don't feel the need to replenish them most of the time. In contrast, this might be the reason why you're gaining a few extra pounds.  Your glycogen stores do not need that much to replenish. In fact, once they are replenished, the excess will most likely be turned into fat because that is called "spill-over". So, be careful and know your body very well to prevent spill over. 

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What is spill over?  Spill over is when too many carbohydrates spill out into adipose fat cells, causing you to gain fat.  You need to know your body very well in order to determine the correct amount of glycogen your stores need when replenishing.

There are tons of times that I intermittently fast and still work out. My body is jacked, I'm feeling amazing, my energy is through the roof, and my head is clear.

 

It doesn't take a lot to replenish your glycogen stores.  I can eat fat on top of fat and not gain any fat.  It's when you drink sugary drinks, tons of oatmeal, carbohydrates, and power bars in excess.  Not only are you eating all 70 grams of carbohydrates, but then you have sugars on top of that, compounding the problem even more.  So now, your cells are getting all that glycogen from carbs and from the sugars. 



Let's say your glycogen stores are empty, then what gets burned > > > F-A-T, because you have no carbohydrates to burn, that's why a ketogenic diet is so popular. That's why people who are on keto diets shed fat and shed it quickly.  Your endurance or performance is NOT, and I repeat, is NOT limited by how much glycogen stores you have in your body.  Your body will use your fat as energy and use it quite well!  I can only tell you and give you examples of what I have done in the past and what works for me.  It's up to you to decide whether or not it will work for you.   

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If you choose to lose weight, then do not eat carbs before or after your workout, in my opinion.  If you do, there will be no chance of your body using stored fat as energy, because you have already eaten carbohydrates before and after your workout. More than likely your body will only use 1/3 of the carbs you have eaten post-workout.  Remember, your muscles can store around 425-550 of carbohydrates in the form of carbs at one single time, and a normal person's workout doesn't even come close to glycogen depletion.

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It's a complicated thing to lose weight, but once you know how your body reacts to carbohydrates, and you start getting a feel for food, you will start shedding excessive fat pretty quickly!  You must eat protein after your workout, or a process called gluconeogenesis will occur. This process will break down all your lean mass and muscle if there is no protein.  So, if your goal is to retain muscle, then a protein is needed after a workout, in my opinion. And there are times after my work out that I just like to fast and have my body feed off itself. I like to switch things up and switch them up pretty hardcore because I like to push my body pretty hard ~ but that's me!  That is why you hear bodybuilders always want a constant supply of protein, so their bodies don't go into catabolism.  This is a state where the body feeds on the body itself.   

 

Remember: Too much protein puts a lot of stress on the liver and kidneys, so be very careful.     

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Please talk with your physician or nutritionist if you have any questions.  

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