Theory time- good or bust?

viren19890

Hello,

So theory time again. Assume I know nothing -so help me learn. TIA

First question

Since working out uses energy coming from fat/carbs right?
Body already has those fats/carbs -(being overweight) - so after workout if I don't take my protein/carbs right away and delay it by an hour or so- shouldn't my body technically do a better job at burning fat/excess weight? and then later I replenish it with fresh protein/carbs and Voila?

Second question

What's the theory behind getting protein/carbs within 30 mins after working out? I mean wouldn't it be even better if we take *during workout* supplying body with stuff right there and then

Third question

My deficit goal is at 2300 cals a day- sometimes I genuinely don't feel hungry. Is it fine if somedays I'm undereating by 200-300 cals a day? You look at my diary for yesterday and you'd see what I mean.


I went from 230 lbs on Jan 1 to 214.6 feb 28 - does that seem okay ?

rybo

A basic understanding of physiology and digestion would answer your questions

Carlos_421

viren19890 wrote: »

Hello,

So theory time again. Assume I know nothing -so help me learn. TIA

First question

1)Since working out uses energy coming from fat/carbs right?
2) Body already has those fats/carbs -(being overweight) - so after workout if I don't take my protein/carbs right away and delay it by an hour or so- 3) shouldn't my body technically do a better job at burning fat/excess weight? and then later I replenish it with fresh protein/carbs and Voila?

Second question

4) What's the theory behind getting protein/carbs within 30 mins after working out? I mean 5) wouldn't it be even better if we take *during workout* supplying body with stuff right there and then

Third question

6) My deficit goal is at 2300 cals a day- sometimes I genuinely don't feel hungry. Is it fine if somedays I'm undereating by 200-300 cals a day? You look at my diary for yesterday and you'd see what I mean.


7) I went from 230 lbs on Jan 1 to 214.6 feb 28 - does that seem okay ?

1) primary energy source during exercise is carbs (specifically glycogen if you're lifting)

2) sorta. You have intramuscular glycogen stores and you have fat stores which the body will burn after the carbs are burned up (say you eat a banana and then go for a run, you'll burn the banana until it's gone and then start burning fat...dumbed down and ignoring variables).

3) not really. It's a good theory but from what I've read on it, it doesn't pan out that way in testing. Fasted cardio in particular gets touted as being great for this but long term research seems to indicate that it makes no difference in the long run.

4) the point in post workout nutrition is that you've just beaten your body up and now you need to give it the fuel it needs to repair damage and recover from the workout (muscle is built AFTER the workout during the repair phase, not during the workout itself). The 30-60 minute window is overhyped but it is better to make sure you feed your body so it can recover from the workout.

5) many people do this (myself included) by drinking BCAAs (branch chain amino acids which are simple, quick absorbing proteins) during their workout. It's still important to get good post workout nutrition though.

6) are you using a food scale? It may be possible you're not hungry because you're actually eating more than you think (it's very common), especially if you're eyeballing portions.

7) that's on the fast end of a healthy loss rate. Expect it to slow down to closer to one pound per week the further down the road you get.

Long story short, don't sweat the meal timing. It only matters for the extreme elite level athletes and bodybuilders with very strict goals and routines.
As for weight loss and getting your body to burn more fat during a workout, it still comes down to how much you burned today and how much you ate today.
If you burn 500 calories more than you eat overall throughout the day, it doesn't matter how much of your workout was fueled by fat and how much was fueled by carbs. At the end of the day, you burned 500 calories of fat.
If you workout on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and burn 400 calories from body fat but then go on to eat your maintenance level (including exercise cals) of calories later in the day, your body will burn what it needs and then put those 400 calories right back into storage.
So sure, you had less body fat right after your workout but not at the end of the day.

It all comes down to how many calories you eat vs how many you burn. The difference between the two will be added or subtracted from your fat stores no matter how you timed your eating around workouts.

viren19890

Carlos_421 wrote: »

viren19890 wrote: »

Hello,

So theory time again. Assume I know nothing -so help me learn. TIA

First question

1)Since working out uses energy coming from fat/carbs right?
2) Body already has those fats/carbs -(being overweight) - so after workout if I don't take my protein/carbs right away and delay it by an hour or so- 3) shouldn't my body technically do a better job at burning fat/excess weight? and then later I replenish it with fresh protein/carbs and Voila?

Second question

4) What's the theory behind getting protein/carbs within 30 mins after working out? I mean 5) wouldn't it be even better if we take *during workout* supplying body with stuff right there and then

Third question

6) My deficit goal is at 2300 cals a day- sometimes I genuinely don't feel hungry. Is it fine if somedays I'm undereating by 200-300 cals a day? You look at my diary for yesterday and you'd see what I mean.


7) I went from 230 lbs on Jan 1 to 214.6 feb 28 - does that seem okay ?

1) primary energy source during exercise is carbs (specifically glycogen if you're lifting)

2) sorta. You have intramuscular glycogen stores and you have fat stores which the body will burn after the carbs are burned up (say you eat a banana and then go for a run, you'll burn the banana until it's gone and then start burning fat...dumbed down and ignoring variables).

3) not really. It's a good theory but from what I've read on it, it doesn't pan out that way in testing. Fasted cardio in particular gets touted as being great for this but long term research seems to indicate that it makes no difference in the long run.

4) the point in post workout nutrition is that you've just beaten your body up and now you need to give it the fuel it needs to repair damage and recover from the workout (muscle is built AFTER the workout during the repair phase, not during the workout itself). The 30-60 minute window is overhyped but it is better to make sure you feed your body so it can recover from the workout.

5) many people do this (myself included) by drinking BCAAs (branch chain amino acids which are simple, quick absorbing proteins) during their workout. It's still important to get good post workout nutrition though.

6) are you using a food scale? It may be possible you're not hungry because you're actually eating more than you think (it's very common), especially if you're eyeballing portions.

7) that's on the fast end of a healthy loss rate. Expect it to slow down to closer to one pound per week the further down the road you get.

Long story short, don't sweat the meal timing. It only matters for the extreme elite level athletes and bodybuilders with very strict goals and routines.
As for weight loss and getting your body to burn more fat during a workout, it still comes down to how much you burned today and how much you ate today.
If you burn 500 calories more than you eat overall throughout the day, it doesn't matter how much of your workout was fueled by fat and how much was fueled by carbs. At the end of the day, you burned 500 calories of fat.
If you workout on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and burn 400 calories from body fat but then go on to eat your maintenance level (including exercise cals) of calories later in the day, your body will burn what it needs and then put those 400 calories right back into storage.
So sure, you had less body fat right after your workout but not at the end of the day.

It all comes down to how many calories you eat vs how many you burn. The difference between the two will be added or subtracted from your fat stores no matter how you timed your eating around workouts.

Thanks a lot for detailed explanation. I do use a weighing scale.

I thought since one is overweight and if they workout on empty stomach that fat would be used and when the new nutrition is provided it'll go straight to build up muscle ergo- no need for storing hence just building muscle straight up lol

I'm trying Intermittent fasting as well that's why I was wondering if I could delay protein intake after my workout to around 1 hour later after my workout I could increase my fast a bit longer hence benefiting more from it.
30-60 min window is overhyped- I didn't know that.

Thanks again.

Carlos_421

No problem. Good luck!