Does it matter what I eat after a workout

Pandasarecool
Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member
edited December 2024 in Food and Nutrition
So I am doing the be fit in 90 challenge on you tube, just did day one. Couldn't quite keep up, but sweated buckets, so I guess I did something! My question is, what should I eat now for lunch? Does it really matter? Can I have the peanut butter sandwich and carrots sticks that I was planning? Or should I stay away from PB? Let me know ASAP, because i am hungry!

Replies

  • Ivana331
    Ivana331 Posts: 230
    PB is actually great for the protein. As long as it's not junk food, you can eat what you like. Drink plenty of water and include some good protein after a workout.
  • Pandasarecool
    Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member
    PB is actually great for the protein. As long as it's not junk food, you can eat what you like. Drink plenty of water and include some good protein after a workout.
    Thanks!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Assuming over the course of the day you are getting adequate calories and appropriate macronutrients for your goals, it does not matter what you eat after a workout. Whatever is your preference and makes you feel best.
  • fitQueenbeast
    fitQueenbeast Posts: 298
    It DOES matter what you eat after working out:

    http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html

    The most critical time to restock your body with critical nutrients is within one hour....preferably within the first 30 minutes. Pay close attention to the PROTEIN section. You need a liquid source, not solids. It's all about how quickly things can be absorbed by the body.

    I drink Endurox R4 during and after working out because I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week. Low-fat chocolate milk has been known to be a good source to drink right after working out, as well, but it's not the first choice.

    Erica
  • Pandasarecool
    Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member


    I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week.

    That's crazy! What do you do??
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    It DOES matter what you eat after working out:

    http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html

    The most critical time to restock your body with critical nutrients is within one hour....preferably within the first 30 minutes. Pay close attention to the PROTEIN section. You need a liquid source, not solids. It's all about how quickly things can be absorbed by the body.

    I drink Endurox R4 during and after working out because I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week. Low-fat chocolate milk has been known to be a good source to drink right after working out, as well, but it's not the first choice.

    Erica

    Just for the record, that site is just one of thousands of sites that is put up by some trainer as part of thier marketing schtick. There are no citations of legitimate studies that back up their contention.

    Thier line of thinking was a common one in the fitness industry for years and has since been disproven. The anabolic window for protein intake for workout recovery which was once thought to be fairly short is now believed to be 24 hours. Additionally, you did not workout in a vacuumn did you?? Had you not ingested nutrients including protein in the 24 hours before the workout? Where did they go? Also, how long will it take for the protein ingested within an hour take to digest, breakdown and be available for use for muscle repair? (I'll give you hint, it won't all be available within the hour).

    Try a google search on the anabolic window and you may find some interesting info. The trainer is just repeating what I'm sure they were once taught. But, the fact that they are would make me skeptical of them based on the fact that they have not kept abreast of more current research regarding this subject.
  • Pandasarecool
    Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member
    It DOES matter what you eat after working out:

    http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html

    The most critical time to restock your body with critical nutrients is within one hour....preferably within the first 30 minutes. Pay close attention to the PROTEIN section. You need a liquid source, not solids. It's all about how quickly things can be absorbed by the body.

    I drink Endurox R4 during and after working out because I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week. Low-fat chocolate milk has been known to be a good source to drink right after working out, as well, but it's not the first choice.

    Erica

    Just for the record, that site is just one of thousands of sites that is put up by some trainer as part of thier marketing schtick. There are no citations of legitimate studies that back up their contention.

    Thier line of thinking was a common one in the fitness industry for years and has since been disproven. The anabolic window for protein intake for workout recovery which was once thought to be fairly short is now believed to be 24 hours. Additionally, you did not workout in a vacuumn did you?? Had you not ingested nutrients including protein in the 24 hours before the workout? Where did they go? Also, how long will it take for the protein ingested within an hour take to digest, breakdown and be available for use for muscle repair? (I'll give you hint, it won't all be available within the hour).

    Try a google search on the anabolic window and you may find some interesting info. The trainer is just repeating what I'm sure they were once taught. But, the fact that they are would make me skeptical of them based on the fact that they have not kept abreast of more current research regarding this subject.

    Thanks for the info!
  • fitQueenbeast
    fitQueenbeast Posts: 298
    It DOES matter what you eat after working out:

    http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html

    The most critical time to restock your body with critical nutrients is within one hour....preferably within the first 30 minutes. Pay close attention to the PROTEIN section. You need a liquid source, not solids. It's all about how quickly things can be absorbed by the body.

    I drink Endurox R4 during and after working out because I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week. Low-fat chocolate milk has been known to be a good source to drink right after working out, as well, but it's not the first choice.

    Erica

    Just for the record, that site is just one of thousands of sites that is put up by some trainer as part of thier marketing schtick. There are no citations of legitimate studies that back up their contention.

    Thier line of thinking was a common one in the fitness industry for years and has since been disproven. The anabolic window for protein intake for workout recovery which was once thought to be fairly short is now believed to be 24 hours. Additionally, you did not workout in a vacuumn did you?? Had you not ingested nutrients including protein in the 24 hours before the workout? Where did they go? Also, how long will it take for the protein ingested within an hour take to digest, breakdown and be available for use for muscle repair? (I'll give you hint, it won't all be available within the hour).

    Try a google search on the anabolic window and you may find some interesting info. The trainer is just repeating what I'm sure they were once taught. But, the fact that they are would make me skeptical of them based on the fact that they have not kept abreast of more current research regarding this subject.

    That's just one of many articles stating the same thing. You can pull up any article (and they don't have to be written by a fitness trainer...try a specialist) and they all will tell you about the one hour window. That's why they all suggest LIQUID form and not solids. For the record, everything that I have read about post-workouts suggests getting the required 4:1 nutrients back into the body within one hour. (I did another search on anabolic windows and some of the articles are actually pushing for 30 minutes. Show me one where it says 24 hours.)

    Question was presented to several fitness professionals with degrees in sports nutrition and they all agreed with the one hour window.

    I work out 5-6 days a week for up to 2 hours of high-intensity and resistance training and will be training for a half marathon in December. What works for me might not be a good fit for others. However, I do know it is critical to get that 4:1 ratio taken care of as soon as I am done working out.

    So, you stick to "eating whatever you want" and I'll stick to replenishing my body with nutrients that it needs, based on how hard I work out.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    It DOES matter what you eat after working out:

    http://www.intense-workout.com/post_workout.html

    The most critical time to restock your body with critical nutrients is within one hour....preferably within the first 30 minutes. Pay close attention to the PROTEIN section. You need a liquid source, not solids. It's all about how quickly things can be absorbed by the body.

    I drink Endurox R4 during and after working out because I work out for up to 2 hours very intensely, five-six days a week. Low-fat chocolate milk has been known to be a good source to drink right after working out, as well, but it's not the first choice.

    Erica

    Just for the record, that site is just one of thousands of sites that is put up by some trainer as part of thier marketing schtick. There are no citations of legitimate studies that back up their contention.

    Thier line of thinking was a common one in the fitness industry for years and has since been disproven. The anabolic window for protein intake for workout recovery which was once thought to be fairly short is now believed to be 24 hours. Additionally, you did not workout in a vacuumn did you?? Had you not ingested nutrients including protein in the 24 hours before the workout? Where did they go? Also, how long will it take for the protein ingested within an hour take to digest, breakdown and be available for use for muscle repair? (I'll give you hint, it won't all be available within the hour).

    Try a google search on the anabolic window and you may find some interesting info. The trainer is just repeating what I'm sure they were once taught. But, the fact that they are would make me skeptical of them based on the fact that they have not kept abreast of more current research regarding this subject.

    That's just one of many articles stating the same thing. You can pull up any article (and they don't have to be written by a fitness trainer...try a specialist) and they all will tell you about the one hour window. That's why they all suggest LIQUID form and not solids. For the record, everything that I have read about post-workouts suggests getting the required 4:1 nutrients back into the body within one hour. (I did another search on anabolic windows and some of the articles are actually pushing for 30 minutes. Show me one where it says 24 hours.)

    Question was presented to several fitness professionals with degrees in sports nutrition and they all agreed with the one hour window.

    I work out 5-6 days a week for up to 2 hours of high-intensity and resistance training and will be training for a half marathon in December. What works for me might not be a good fit for others. However, I do know it is critical to get that 4:1 ratio taken care of as soon as I am done working out.

    So, you stick to "eating whatever you want" and I'll stick to replenishing my body with nutrients that it needs, based on how hard I work out.


    You mad?? lol Believe what you chose. Just don't stunt your growth.
  • JasonDetwiler
    JasonDetwiler Posts: 364 Member
    Post workout is a great time to trigger an insulin response and depending on the time of day there are different ways to go about doing that.

    Early AM - Whey Isolates, Whey Hydrolosates, Casein Hydrolosates, 20-40g dextrose, 10g Leucine, 5g Creatine.

    Lunch - Same

    5PM or later - Same, but 40-60g dextrose followed by a high-carb (high GI) meal (this should be nearly all of your non-fiber carbs for the day).

    Good luck!
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Came across another thread on this subject that I thought the OP might find helpful as well as a quote from Alan Aragon, one of the top nutrition and fitness professionals in the industry.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/758371-pre-workout-and-post-workout

    To quote Alan Aragon:

    Alan: The post-exercise “anabolic window” is a highly misused & abused concept. Preworkout nutrition all but cancels the urgency, unless you’re an endurance athlete with multiple glycogen-depleting events in a single day. Getting down to brass tacks, a relatively recent study (Power et al. 2009) showed that a 45g dose of whey protein isolate takes appx. 50 minutes to cause blood AA levels to peak. Resulting insulin levels, which peaked at 40 minutes after ingestion, remained at elevations known to max out the inhibition of muscle protein breakdown (15-30 mU/L) for 120 minutes after ingestion. This dose takes 3 hours for insulin & AA levels to return to baseline from the point of ingestion. The inclusion of carbs to this dose would cause AA & insulin levels to peak higher & stay elevated above baseline even longer.

    So much for the anabolic peephole & the urgency to down AAs during your weight training workout; they are already seeping into circulation (& will continue to do so after your training bout is done). Even in the event that a preworkout meal is skipped, the anabolic effect of the postworkout meal is increased as a supercompensatory response (Deldicque et al, 2010). Moving on, another recent study (Staples et al, 2010) found that a substantial dose of carbohydrate (50g maltodextrin) added to 25g whey protein was unable to further increase post-exercise net muscle protein balance compared to the protein dose without carbs. Again, this is not to say that adding carbs at this point is counterproductive, but it certainly doesn’t support the idea that you must get your lightning-fast post-exercise carb orgy for optimal results.

    Something that people don’t realize is that there’s no “magic anabolic window” that’s open for a short period of time near the workout & then rapidly disappears. As a result of a single training bout, the receptivity of muscle to protein dosing can persist for at least 24 hours (Burd et al, 2011).
  • mama040506
    mama040506 Posts: 2
    Fat Free Organic Chocolate Milk is what we have after an intense workout! It has the right protein to carb ratio.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member


    5PM or later - Same, but 40-60g dextrose followed by a high-carb (high GI) meal (this should be nearly all of your non-fiber carbs for the day).


    Why would you spend calories on dextrose?
  • danasings
    danasings Posts: 8,218 Member
    Came across another thread on this subject that I thought the OP might find helpful as well as a quote from Alan Aragon, one of the top nutrition and fitness professionals in the industry.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/758371-pre-workout-and-post-workout

    To quote Alan Aragon:

    Alan: The post-exercise “anabolic window” is a highly misused & abused concept. Preworkout nutrition all but cancels the urgency, unless you’re an endurance athlete with multiple glycogen-depleting events in a single day. Getting down to brass tacks, a relatively recent study (Power et al. 2009) showed that a 45g dose of whey protein isolate takes appx. 50 minutes to cause blood AA levels to peak. Resulting insulin levels, which peaked at 40 minutes after ingestion, remained at elevations known to max out the inhibition of muscle protein breakdown (15-30 mU/L) for 120 minutes after ingestion. This dose takes 3 hours for insulin & AA levels to return to baseline from the point of ingestion. The inclusion of carbs to this dose would cause AA & insulin levels to peak higher & stay elevated above baseline even longer.

    So much for the anabolic peephole & the urgency to down AAs during your weight training workout; they are already seeping into circulation (& will continue to do so after your training bout is done). Even in the event that a preworkout meal is skipped, the anabolic effect of the postworkout meal is increased as a supercompensatory response (Deldicque et al, 2010). Moving on, another recent study (Staples et al, 2010) found that a substantial dose of carbohydrate (50g maltodextrin) added to 25g whey protein was unable to further increase post-exercise net muscle protein balance compared to the protein dose without carbs. Again, this is not to say that adding carbs at this point is counterproductive, but it certainly doesn’t support the idea that you must get your lightning-fast post-exercise carb orgy for optimal results.

    Something that people don’t realize is that there’s no “magic anabolic window” that’s open for a short period of time near the workout & then rapidly disappears. As a result of a single training bout, the receptivity of muscle to protein dosing can persist for at least 24 hours (Burd et al, 2011).

    Alan Aragon is the MAN!!
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    I always have a protein shake after my workouts ..helps the muscles :wink:
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I always have a protein shake after my workouts ..helps the muscles :wink:

    That's great that you prefer that. Me too. But the question is how critical is the timing. See posts above.
  • Pandasarecool
    Pandasarecool Posts: 508 Member
    so, would you consider this an intense workout? http://www.youtube.com/user/BeFitin90 I do one each day... I am only on day 4 though...
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    so, would you consider this an intense workout? http://www.youtube.com/user/BeFitin90 I do one each day... I am only on day 4 though...

    Intensity of a workout is relative
  • Tilran
    Tilran Posts: 627 Member
    I'm still curious about this window. I can never find a clear answer...It was always my belief and understanding that the window is quite large to get your workout protein in...8 hours or so.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
    638c0fc3-9a34-4739-a352-249c008a0c07.jpg
  • WhoTheHellIsBen
    WhoTheHellIsBen Posts: 1,238 Member
    638c0fc3-9a34-4739-a352-249c008a0c07.jpg

    AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNND Acg67 wins the thread :drinker:
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    I always have a protein shake after my workouts ..helps the muscles :wink:

    That's great that you prefer that. Me too. But the question is how critical is the timing. See posts above.

    I have mine as soon as I stop panting :laugh:
    Seriously I drink it about 10 minutes after my workout
  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
    I would eat some good quality carbs. By that I mean whole wheat, not refined/enriched stuff. You muscles will need the fuel after a workout and whole grain carbs are great because not only are they needed after your workout the extra fiber will help you stay full and there's protein in them too. So, you could have like spaghetti and soem sort of lean meat, or eggs and wheat toast, or oatmeal and greek yogurt.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    I always have a protein shake after my workouts ..helps the muscles :wink:

    That's great that you prefer that. Me too. But the question is how critical is the timing. See posts above.

    I have mine as soon as I stop panting :laugh:
    Seriously I drink it about 10 minutes after my workout

    If that works for you that is great! As the quoted info from alan Aragon above indicates, while that is your preference is is not critical to intake nutrition in a short window after a workout.
  • BinaryPulsar
    BinaryPulsar Posts: 8,927 Member
    I agree with mmapags and the Alan Aragon links. It's just common sense if you actually think about how our bodies process and use the food we eat (it's not instantaneous), and about how muscle repair happens over at least a 24 hour time frame (that's why we take rest days). And we do not need to drink protein shakes if we are getting just as much protein from any source we choose to eat or drink. There is nothing magical about isolating whey protein. Greek yogurt has just as much protein, for example.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
    I always have a protein shake after my workouts ..helps the muscles :wink:
    I actually make it before my workout and have about 1/4 of it (just to have something in my tummy at 6am) then drink the rest after I get back.
    (or eat a big of my greek yogurt/PB/chia and the rest when I get back...)
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