What to eat post cardio?

What is your concern here? For the most part, I just eat normally...most of my rides are pre lunch so I know I have lunch coming shortly after...same on weekends...the only time I really worry about actual recovery food is if I'm really training and I've just been out for 35 miles or something and cranking hard.

I get enough nutrition in my day to day as to really not need to worry about recovery food for my run of the mill workouts.

I do cardio 3x/week with at least 2 lifts of 3 sets... I fuel my workouts with a builder's bar (20g of protein). then I have a salad heavy on the protein side after the work out (with at least 24 ounces of water) 1 boiled egg, 2 tablespoons of crushed walnuts, a stick of cheddar cheese about 100g of baby spinach and a 100g of field greens with a dash of vinagrette for flavour and that will hold me for a couple of hours... essentially I "eat back" my cardio calories by 1/3 before I work out so that I have the energy to complete my workout... I have tried to work out without the fuel up before hand BUT I have found that I just don't work as hard. Ultimately there is no one size fits all.. some folks can't exercise with food in their stomach...

Samm471 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

What is your concern here? For the most part, I just eat normally...most of my rides are pre lunch so I know I have lunch coming shortly after...same on weekends...the only time I really worry about actual recovery food is if I'm really training and I've just been out for 35 miles or something and cranking hard.

I get enough nutrition in my day to day as to really not need to worry about recovery food for my run of the mill workouts.

My main concern is that I don't pile back on what I've took off or "spike" my insulin by eating the wrong things , I'm just looking for ideas as to what's best to eat after a cardio workout really , and also if me doing HIIT cardio three times a week is enough to get rid of the last of the BF that I'm trying so hard to banish! Also is it essential to hit macros? Sometimes I fall short and sometimes I'm over my protein etc but I'm always under my calorie goal

You are not alone in this. I too worry about what to eat after exercise, as I am often hungry but don't want to undo what I have done. No advice, sorry, but just to let you know others are in same boat :-)

Samm471 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

What is your concern here? For the most part, I just eat normally...most of my rides are pre lunch so I know I have lunch coming shortly after...same on weekends...the only time I really worry about actual recovery food is if I'm really training and I've just been out for 35 miles or something and cranking hard.

I get enough nutrition in my day to day as to really not need to worry about recovery food for my run of the mill workouts.

My main concern is that I don't pile back on what I've took off or "spike" my insulin by eating the wrong things , I'm just looking for ideas as to what's best to eat after a cardio workout really , and also if me doing HIIT cardio three times a week is enough to get rid of the last of the BF that I'm trying so hard to banish! Also is it essential to hit macros? Sometimes I fall short and sometimes I'm over my protein etc but I'm always under my calorie goal

Are you using TDEE or NEAT (MFP) method? If you're using TDEE then an estimate of your requisite calories are included in your calorie goal...you just eat to your calorie goal. If you're doing MFP, exercise is unaccounted for which is why you're supposed to log it and you get calories to "eat back". The difficulty with the MFP method is estimating calorie burn.

Lola2248 wrote: »

Samm471 wrote: »

cwolfman13 wrote: »

What is your concern here? For the most part, I just eat normally...most of my rides are pre lunch so I know I have lunch coming shortly after...same on weekends...the only time I really worry about actual recovery food is if I'm really training and I've just been out for 35 miles or something and cranking hard.

I get enough nutrition in my day to day as to really not need to worry about recovery food for my run of the mill workouts.

My main concern is that I don't pile back on what I've took off or "spike" my insulin by eating the wrong things , I'm just looking for ideas as to what's best to eat after a cardio workout really , and also if me doing HIIT cardio three times a week is enough to get rid of the last of the BF that I'm trying so hard to banish! Also is it essential to hit macros? Sometimes I fall short and sometimes I'm over my protein etc but I'm always under my calorie goal

You are not alone in this. I too worry about what to eat after exercise, as I am often hungry but don't want to undo what I have done. No advice, sorry, but just to let you know others are in same boat :-)

With MFP, the purpose of exercise isn't to burn calories to lose weight...that's already built into your calorie targets...that's why when you log exercise you get calories to eat back...your weight loss deficit is already built in as if you weren't going to workout at all..exercise is "extra" activity that needs to be accounted for...you aren't undoing anything.

When you start to look at fitness for the sake of fitness rather than simply burning calories or to lose weight, this becomes much more clear.

As an example (using TDEE). My maintenance level of calories with all of my general activity and exercise is around 3,000 calories. If I want to cut at a rate of 1 Lb per week I simply eat 2,500 calories...both calorie amounts include my exercise...I'm not undoing anything by exercising and eating my allotted 2,500 calories.

Using MFP, my maintenance is around 2,500 calories WITHOUT exercise...so to cut 1 Lb per week I would eat 2,000 calories net...but remember, this doesn't include exercise. Given my going on 3 years I know that pro-rated across a week I burn about 500 calories per day...it's not exact...some days it's more and some days it's less, but basically it works out to 500 calories per day with exercise...so I would consume a gross of 2,500 calories but still be in a deficit because now my maintenance is 3,000 calories just as it is using the TDEE method.

Studies have shown two things:

-the fastest, most efficient way to cut body fat is by lifting weights, not doing cardio

-after doing a cardio workout, a proper recovery snack should be about 100-200 calories with a carb to protein ratio of somewhere between 2:1 to 4:1 based on the intensity of the workout. (more intense means more carbs to protein) The best window is 15 to 45 min. after exercise.

On top of that, most bodybuilders when in a cutting phase eat a low carb diet. The science supporting this is not as strong as those other two things, but it does seem to work, at least for me.

Based on that, I suggest doing less cardio and more strength-training in general. And then saving your carb for immediately after your workout.

Samm471 wrote: »

I don't use TDEE all I use is this mfp tbh I log my food and my exercise and try and stick to macros tbh but I'm
Guessing I have a lot to learn then? I think I've read that much stuff sometimes I worrybwhat to even eat. Some say they eat pasta wtc whereas some people say avoid pastas and white bread and stuff so I eat brown pasta brown bread etc .. All I basically eat is like Greek yoghurt , brown bread , peanut butter, banana fruit , veg, chicken , fish avocados all that kinda stuff and drink water I think I really restrict myself with food but try and eat often but I have noticed when I eat for example I had a banana this morning at 5am before work next thing I'm hungry at 6.30am and having a yoghurt and I don't even get breakfast till like 9am

paralysis by analysis...you're overthinking and over complicating things. "white" foods are just the latest and greatest of dietary demons due largely to the fact that so many people these days have metabolic issues...if you don't have metabolic issues and insulin sensitivities you really don't have to worry about the same things that people with those issues have to worry about.

Other than that, just focus on whole food nutrition...eat a ton of veg...eat some fruit...eat some whole grains and get your healthy fats and lean sourced protein...if you have some calories left over, have a cookie. Also...Haggis...I love that *kitten*...and some blood pudding.

Do not over complicate that which is really not complicated. Hit your calorie targets...use your macros as a baseline to balance out your diet, but don't get too worked up about them...ultimately they don't matter all that much unless your diet is way out of whack. Rock your nutrition and exercise regularly and win.

Nothing if I can avoid it. It's too easy to eat back more than what I actually burned with a snack.

Samm471 wrote: »

its hard because everyone eats differently and works out differently , some people swear strength training is the way forward for fat loss some swear by cardio and some say both! Same with food some say don't eat this and don't eat that others say eat this and eat that

fat loss has nothing to do with your exercise. people exercise and lift weight and what not and still get fat..lose fat...and maintain. exercise is for fitness; diet is for weight control. your fitness goals should be what dictates how you exercise...that's why I ride and I primarily do Olympic lifting...I like doing endurance cycling events and racing cyclocross in the fall...so I ride and lifting just helps improve my riding and the Olympic aspect of it improves my explosiveness...it has nothing to do with whether I want to lose fat or not.

On average I ride about 60 miles per week (more when I'm training and I lift 3x weekly...I've done this while losing weight, maintaining weight, doing and intentional bulk, and then another cut. The difference between those weight control objectives wasn't my fitness...it was my consumption of calories.

I did 4.5+ miles of walking today (gotta love your car being in the shop), and had two eggs afterwards as my breakfast, and a high protein lunch. Really doesn't matter what you choose, as long as you hit your goal. I personally love to do hard boiled eggs, chicken salad, or something with protein in it, since it makes me feel full. Generally I'm very hungry after a lot of exercise, and it makes me feel full + helps me hit my protein goal, which my muscles like.

MacMadame wrote: »

Studies have shown two things:

-the fastest, most efficient way to cut body fat is by lifting weights, not doing cardio

-after doing a cardio workout, a proper recovery snack should be about 100-200 calories with a carb to protein ratio of somewhere between 2:1 to 4:1 based on the intensity of the workout. (more intense means more carbs to protein) The best window is 15 to 45 min. after exercise.

On top of that, most bodybuilders when in a cutting phase eat a low carb diet. The science supporting this is not as strong as those other two things, but it does seem to work, at least for me.

Based on that, I suggest doing less cardio and more strength-training in general. And then saving your carb for immediately after your workout.

Can you link some of those studies showing a meaningful difference in results for everyday people when they do or don't eat the proper recovery snack in the proper window?

there is so much differences among individuals on how the store and burn fat/glycogen during cardio. I would suggest you model yourself after an athlete or trainer who has similiar training. Lots of athletes have Facebook pages and they talk a lot about nutrition. Very helpful. I see lots of complex carbs, fat (nuts and avocado) and whole grains. I don't see much protien powder.

The deal is that 98% of the equation is getting your calories right and making sure you get the right amounts of macros and nutrients. Those will vary by person. The other stuff like meal/nutrient timing, pre/post workout, carb cycling, other supplements, all that jazz is the other one percent. Can it help? Absolutely, but it is negligible to non existent if you aren't 98% there.

Carbs before workout (banana, oatmeal, toast with PB)
Protein after workout (chicken, salmon, protein shake/bar)