How important is a post workout meal?
-
If one were to have the same meal Pre or Post workout, would it make a huge difference if the meal is had after training?
I am not talking about skipping a meal.
Lets say training was late at night and the meal is rather had as dinner, 1 hour BEFORE the training. (because of timing reasons, dinner after training makes me stay up at night and lose sleep)
compared to:
Training at night (last meal before this was lunch 4 - 5 hours before) and then dinner is had AFTER the training.Metabolism wise, gains wise, health wise, which one of these is optimal and why?
-
You need both I always get fuck hungry after training. And if i have 0 fuel beforehand I obviously don’t enjoy training
-
@White For me, the way I eat for “going to bed” is significantly different than how I eat post workout, or pre workout. For instance while I eat a very low fat diet, I have my largest fat intake before bed. If I were to train and then eat my fattier pre-bed food then I might not recover optimally. In general I would advise against training at night simply because the opportunity to refill glycogen stores before then going to bed and sleeping, (also depleting them) seems like a recipe for a 2am wake up with sweats, (what I assume for me is a cortisol response).
If I train during the day I would replenish glycogen immediately after training, and then eat a meal somewhere around an hour or so after. I think glucose powder is somewhat underrated as a post workout. I want glycogen filled and no shot at triggering stress hormones.
I know you asked about “if the meal was the same” but in my opinion you wouldn’t want the meal to be the same. Not sure if my words are clear here. This is just what I’ve experienced personally.
-
@evan-hinkle yeah I am aware that training earlier in the day is more optimal but my work doesnt allow it, I can only train at around 9pm.
Curious why your largest fat intake is before bed. For me if I start my day with too high carb I get tired around 2-3pm. So I try to have my fats earlier and my carbs more around training.
Would some gelatine with like a glass of orange juice be enough to replenish glycogen instead of having a full meal?
So I would eat a full meal PRE training, then after the training only a snack of gelatine and OJ.With "Meal was the same" I meant same macros in order to hit my calorie and protein goal.
-
@thyroidchor27 hunger is not an issue for me, in fact its the opposite. I am never hungry but eat and burn a lot. Most of the times I have to force myself.
-
@White I’d say give it a shot, (OJ and gelatin) post workout, and try to evaluate quality of sleep. You may be able to do it. We’re all so differently abled in our stress adaptation. At least then you’ll know if it works for you or not.
When I do get a stress response that wakes me up at night I like whole milk to get me back to sleep. Sometimes I’ll put a tablespoon or two of maple syrup or honey in there.
-
With regard to the fat intake, it’s part of Peat’s suggestion to try fat before bed for better sleep. I believe he said it’s a slower burning fuel ideal for sleep. At any rate I sleep really well with full fat milk, or ice cream, or cheese with my pre-bedtime snack.
-
@evan-hinkle Greek yogurt / caseine before bed is alsof great for sleep.
-
Might as well not workout if not eating post-workout protein rich meal.
But 40g of protein in the pre-workout meal will offset some of the losses in gains. -
@GreekDemiGod really? post workout meal is THAT important?
-
Depending on what you eat and the amount of calories you'll still be digesting after the workout, but I don't know if it'll be enough, I think you'd have to pay attention to how you feel after the workout and the next day and adjust accordingly
That being said, if eating disrupts your sleep why don't you try a "liquid meal"? Milk + gelatin/collagen(or whey/casein) + sugar and salt
From a "workout perspective" the importance of the post-workout meal is to stop muscle protein breakdown(MPB) and stimulate muscle protein synthesis(MPS):
"Indeed, in addition to the 3-fold rise in MPS from essential amino acids(EAA), there is also a significant anti-proteolytic (∼40–50%) effect of feeding on skeletal muscle which is apparently entirely attributable to insulin."
"It follows that increasing dietary EAA availability after exercise enhances both the magnitude and duration of the increase in MPS."
