How bad is it if I don't eat after a workout?

redsun57
redsun57 Posts: 6
in Health and Weight Loss
I usually can't eat at least an hour before my workouts and after I'm done I don't feel hungry for at least a couple of hours.
I want to lose weight but building muscle mass is also very important to me.
So my question is, should I force myself to eat right after an intense workout?

The funny thing is after I do yoga or light cardio, I feel hungry within one or two hours but after a session of insanity or p90x, I feel fine for at least 4 hours.

Replies

  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
    If you want to make gains in muscle you need to eat within an hour of working out, I do a low carb protein shake, 2 rice cakes , I tbl of almond butter and few strawberries
  • degausser234
    degausser234 Posts: 157 Member
    I usually don't feel hungry after working out either, but what I do to get protein after a workout is I take about 1/2 - 1 cup of milk or soy milk and mix in about 1/2 scoop of protein powder. It's not filling, but it will give you a decent amount of nutriance for your body.
  • supermodelchic
    supermodelchic Posts: 550 Member
    you can add me:flowerforyou: as a friend and see what I do if you want
  • ladynocturne
    ladynocturne Posts: 865 Member
    Unfortunately it's nearly impossible to gain muscle while in a caloric deficit. I wouldn't worry too much about when you eat as much as getting enough calories in the day.

    Eating carbs before a workout can give you more energy and perform better, and eating protein after can help build or maintain some muscle, but it won't be a lot.
  • v70t5m
    v70t5m Posts: 186 Member
    A strenuous workout will curb your appetite for several hours afterward (and you are unlikely to get around this physiological response). This is absolutely normal. Do not dwell on it much, this helps you control your caloric intake (and aids in weight-loss).

    Help your body to maintain/maximize your muscle-mass by drinking a full or partial protein shake after your weight workout (I do more of a protein/carb mix after a strenuous cardio workout). Eat normally when you finally get hungry.
  • stt43
    stt43 Posts: 487
    Yeah, exercise can be an appetite suppressant.
    Contrary to what most people think, it doesn't really matter if you don't take in protein right after a workout, as long as you do so at some point a few hours before or after. It's a myth that you need to have protein right after a workout to build muscle effectively. Some say that carbs right after a workout are important to give your body back it's energy, some say waiting an hour or two after the workout to eat means your body burns off more fat, but I don't know if there's enough truth in either to make a massive difference.
  • alyhuggan
    alyhuggan Posts: 717 Member
    You can't build muscle and lose fat, pick one or the other. Or do what most bodybuilders do and do a bulk and cut split.
    If you want to make gains in muscle you need to eat within an hour of working out

    You don't NEED to eat within the hour, however, it is definitely beneficial.
  • Mantislady
    Mantislady Posts: 23 Member
    Really? You can't gain muscle and lose fat? I was hoping if I did strength training it would help me lose more fat. I will have to keep rereading... I am so confuzzled!
  • kellzi89
    kellzi89 Posts: 65 Member
    Really? You can't gain muscle and lose fat? I was hoping if I did strength training it would help me lose more fat. I will have to keep rereading... I am so confuzzled!

    Me too I was under the impression that muscles burns more than fat so if you created more muscle you in turn created more weight loss??
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Really? You can't gain muscle and lose fat? I was hoping if I did strength training it would help me lose more fat. I will have to keep rereading... I am so confuzzled!

    If you eat at a deficit, you will not gain significant muscle mass. Just as you can't build a house without material, you cannot build muscle without available calories. You need to eat at a surplus to build muscle. However (and this is a big however), weight lifting during fat loss helps to minimize lean body mass loss and maximize fat loss. When you eat at a deficit, your body will burn both fat and muscle. When the deficit is small and fat is plentiful, the ratio shifts towards burning fat. As your weight drops, there is less available fat, so you begin to burn a larger percentage of muscle to make up the deficit. If your deficit becomes too large (such as by not eating back exercise calories under the MFP method), your body will also tend to mostly burn muscle for teh sake of preserving an available energy source since it takes more calories to maintain muscle than fat. When you do resistance training, you convince your body that the muscle mass is necessary. Combined with a small deficit, this forces your body to continue to burn mostly fat in order to preserve muscle tissue that it believes is necessary (such as to outrun the tiger it thinks is behind you on the treadmill).

    TL:DR - Resistance training at a deficit won't allow you to build muscle, but it will prevent you from losing it.
  • redsun57
    redsun57 Posts: 6
    Thank you all.
    I think it's good to have a natural appetite suppressant and don't really wanna mess with that.
    I'll just have some bcaa powder prior or right after my workouts for now.
  • mikeinjapan
    mikeinjapan Posts: 8 Member
    TL:DR - Resistance training at a deficit won't allow you to build muscle, but it will prevent you from losing it.

    For anyone who enjoys the TLDR version of things I highly recommend picking up a copy of Which Comes First, Weights or Cardio. It's full of information about modern fitness research.

    (Sorry I snipped off your excellent explanation grimendale.)

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