eating, exercising, and trying to win

cmbneeley

In an effort to be healthier and have some fun with my in-laws, we're doing a Biggest Loser Challenge.

These are the components of my eating plan goal.
Eating Plan
1. Do not eat after 8pm
2. Do not eat more than 3 dessert per week; do not eat more than 1 dessert in a day.
3. Eat at least 1 veggie and 1 fruit per day (fresh).
4. Eat at least 3 times per day.

Looking at my goals, they all seem really good and healthy goals. But one goal in particular is becoming a challenge to keep mostly because of the times when I exercise. I go to my alma mater's fitness classes (it's like a gym membership, but much more affordable and at the campus instead of a gym) almost every day that they are offered. The snag is the times they are offered-- one of my favorites is HIIT (high intensity interval training), and it's held at 7:30pm-8:20pm.

I've been doing some research on exercise and what you should eat before and after exercise and how to really build muscle and lose fat. And I learned that you should eat some quick absorbing carbs for energy 30 minutes- 2 hours before doing strength training. After exercising, you should eat lots of protein and some carbohydrates to help build and repair muscle (most importantly after strength training). Here's some articles that explain it:
(the quick, simple version)http://ezinearticles.com/?Use-the-Metabolic-Window-in-Your-Quest-For-Heart-Health&id=1472353
or (the research based explination)http://www.utexas.edu/features/archive/2004/nutrition.html

My problem: one of my goals is to not eat after 8pm. I made that goal with my husband before the Biggest Loser Challenge and before I started a more intense exercise regimen. It is a good goal, because eating late at night usually results in greater weight gain because the metabolism slows down at night. But now that I'm working out later at night, specifically the HIIT class at 7:30-8:20pm, I'm in a tough spot. I want to do the healthy thing and eat some protein and carbs to help my muscles grow and repair after working them out, but it's after 8pm.

So, I'm left with 3 options that I can see-- do I...
(1) keep the "letter of the challenge" and not eat after my HIIT class and get my 10 points for the challenge but not give my body the nutrition it needs to build and repair muscle,
(2) keep the "letter of the challenge" and eat after my HIIT class and lose my 10 points but give my body the nutrition it needs to build and repair muscle, or
(3) keep the "spirit of the challenge," which is to be healthier, and eat after my HIIT class and also give myself the points even though i technically broke one of my goals because I was doing the "healthy" thing.

What do you think I should do?

lutzsher

Regardless of if I get my exercise at night I still don't eat after 8pm. I won't hurt to do this on a weekly basis at all.

NCAllie

I have been thinking a lot about this, and I guess even though I know it probably isn't what you want to hear, My opinion is that you should go with option 1 or 2... It probably isn't honest or fair to do #3. The good news is the challenge won't last much longer and then you won't have the dilemma. Could you bring a protein bar with you to your class? Then you wouldn't have to choose. I have been tempted to go with the "spirit of the law" on the water goal b/c I don't think it is necessarily healthy to drink that much water especially on the days when I drink other beverages which are actually better after exercising (e.g.gatorade). In my case, I decided I would just not give myself points on the days I don't drink the full amount of water. Anyway, I know it is a hard choice. :-)