Post Workout Recovery Food - HIIT vs Lifting - High GI but low sugar?

jmorgannz · February 2018

Hi All,

I am relatively new to MFP, Doing workouts, and managing my diet in general.

My goals are: To trim stomach fat, and to gain some muscle - ultimately being able to see some muscle where my spare tyre is right now would be nice.

I've been doing an hour weights, then 30 min cardio (bike), three times a week for roughly 4 months (100 days odd)

I haven't dropped fat as fast as I want, and I don't think I'm gaining muscle as fast as I could be either.

I've heard a lot about HIIT and was thinking of changing my cardio from 30 min standard to 20 min HIIT
(The matrix machines at my gym have 'Sprint8' - which is basically HIIT I think)

From what I've learned about HIIT, it's great because it works all the types of muscle fibres in your muscles - slow twitch, fast twitch, etc.
It also is unique in the level of HGH (Human growth hormone) it triggers your body to release. Which is great for fat burn and muscle build.

However I also have come across this:

It would be best to AVOID all sugar and fruit juice for two hours after your workout, otherwise you will obliterate the growth hormone response and ruin the major benefit of the workout, which is to increase your growth hormone level. Remember that after age 35, your growth hormone levels radically decrease.

From https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2010/07/27/the-growing-promise-of-shorter-more-intense-strength-training-workouts.aspx

This has me in a bind, as I have been consuming high-sugar foods directly after working out to replenish my glycogen stores.

So my question is what can I eat/drink within the 'window' to replenish my glycogen stores and prevent muscle breakdown, but that also has no sugar or fruit juice?

gearhead426hemi · February 2018

I like a protein shake blended with a spoonful of natural peanut butter and a banana. Fills me up and seems to work for me. There are probably a lot of people on here with health degrees that will probably give you more of a medical based answer. I have heard that a lot of people actually drink chocolate milk after workout for a poor mans recovery drink.

As far as the HIIT training you are opening a can of worms for debate on what is true HIIT and what isn't. Just keep is simple. Burn more calories than you consume and you will lose weight. Best of luck!!

MichelleSilverleaf · February 2018

Mercola is a quack. Disregard that entire site.

If you have very little to lose (20lbs or less) your weight loss is going to be slow. Just the way it is. If it's still on a downward trend, what you're doing now is obviously working. Muscle will also take a long time to build and except under particular circumstances you won't gain in a deficit.

jmorgannz · February 2018

I wish I could eat peanut butter. Allergic

I am a poor man - I have been using the chocolate milk method!

(low fat of course)

However one serving has 23g sugars - leading me again to:

I'm pretty sure it's solid science that HIIT increases HGH secretion, and rising blood-glucose suppresses HGH secretion.

So my question stands - how best to rapidly replenish muscle glycogen stores without a blood-glucose spike.
I guess there isn't a way by definition?

goatg · February 2018

If you're only doing 30 minutes of workout you don't need to replenish anything (90 min+, and you do, and it'll be a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of carbs:protein). You might be craving electrolytes. Try a little nuun.

goatg · February 2018

Personally, I would start with the cardio, keeping it in the low heart rate zone (under 3 zone). This will burn more fat and not make you as hungry. If you've had a meal in the last 2-3 hours and feel fine (hunger is different from low energy; hunger is fine, low energy is not), then start strength. If you feel weak, have 100-200 calories of high glycemic index snacks before starting your strength. Recover with a strength-based protein shake (other people here can probably give you better advice for recovering from strength, but I've read that the body struggles to absorb more than 20g protein at any given time, and my nutritionist recommended a 1:1 ratio carbs:protein after strength). So I'd say consume 20g protein as soon as possible afterwards, and have a more protein-rich and fiber-rich snack after that when you're hungry (e.g., lean chicken breast with broccoli, cod with zucchini, etc).

AnvilHead · February 2018

Second the advice to avoid anything and everything Mercola says. He's a known quack, snake oil peddler and pretty much a laughingstock amongst evidence-based researchers.

HIIT is another trendy thing at the moment which has all kinds of magick and wizardry attached to it, most of which is just hype (the HGH bull*kitten* is a prime example). And most of what is marketed/pitched as HIIT isn't actually HIIT at all.

You're overthinking the whole thing about replenishing your glycogen stores - you're not coming anywhere near exhausting/depleting them in a 20-30 minute workout.

To trim stomach fat, eat in a caloric deficit. You can't control where you lose fat from and there's no such thing as "spot reduction". Your genetic fat distribution patterns determine where you gain it first/lose it last, and for most guys that's the midsection. Do a Google search for "Android fat distribution" to learn more about it.

jmorgannz · February 2018

Thanks all. Appreciate the input.

It's a 90 minute workout i'm doing - 60 min weights, 30 min cardio.

I put an estimate for weights at about 260 cals burn for the 60 minutes, and I generally burn 300 doing cardio for 30 minutes.

I put them into MFP and it adjusts my target, basically eating the burned cals back.
Should I be doing that if I'm aiming to trim fat?

On the other hand I don't want to retard any gains I might get from the weights.

I try to eat enough cals before the weights to support strength for lifting (whether that be a breakfast 2 hours before, or a snack 30 mins before)

I try to aim for my strength to run out right about when I jump on the cardio for the fat burn.

ap1972 · February 2018

It's been a while since i was keeping myself informed but from memory the general advice was not to do cardio at the same time as weights as it resulted in fewer muscle gains. I'd also be wary of over estimating calorie burn and perhaps only eat back 50-75%.

sijomial · February 2018

jmorgannz wrote: »

Thanks all. Appreciate the input.

It's a 90 minute workout i'm doing - 60 min weights, 30 min cardio.

I put an estimate for weights at about 260 cals burn for the 60 minutes, and I generally burn 300 doing cardio for 30 minutes.

I put them into MFP and it adjusts my target, basically eating the burned cals back.
Should I be doing that if I'm aiming to trim fat?

On the other hand I don't want to retard any gains I might get from the weights.

I try to eat enough cals before the weights to support strength for lifting (whether that be a breakfast 2 hours before, or a snack 30 mins before)

I try to aim for my strength to run out right about when I jump on the cardio for the fat burn.

"I put them into MFP and it adjusts my target, basically eating the burned cals back.
Should I be doing that if I'm aiming to trim fat?"
Yes - whatever your goal is as the goal set by MyFitnessPal excludes exercise.

"I try to eat enough cals before the weights to support strength for lifting (whether that be a breakfast 2 hours before, or a snack 30 mins before)"
Not really necessary, just fit it in your daily eating regime. Not necessary to immediately replenish your glycogen stores either or have special recovery foods - unless you are going to be training again in a few hours.

"I try to aim for my strength to run out right about when I jump on the cardio for the fat burn."
Cardio doesn't really burn body fat, just think of it as improving your health and fitness while burning some calories.

The benefits of HIIT are vastly over-stated, it's suitable for very few people and then in limited amounts. Luckily the vast majority of what is called HIIT these days actually isn't it's just interval training! Which is a perfectly fine way to train and doesn't need a trendy label or a load of woo to be attached to it.

You really are over-thinking this in a major way. Both on the diet and fitness side - it's not as complex or special as you are making it out to be.
Eat a good overall nutritious diet, with space for a few treats, at a sensible calorie deficit, do some cardio and strength training. The rest is just fluff!!

PS
If you think Mercola is worth reading you need to develop better skills to vet your sources.... He has zero credibility.

KarenSmith2018 · February 2018

Newbie gains are possible in a calorie deficit if doing a progressive lifting program but really the purpose of lifting while in a calorie deficit is to preserve muscle mass. Any muscle gained will be only a 1lb or 2 and not really significant. It is incredibly hard for anyone to pack on the muscle to be honest and really does require a calorie surplus. What kind of muscle gain were you looking for?

Unless you are an elite athlete then meal timing and composition really wont have much of an impact. Its the extra 1%. Eat good quality and nutritious food from a good range of whole sources that fits within your calorie goals and you will loose body weight.

jmorgannz · February 2018

Thanks.

Re Mercola hate: Sources are not what need vetting. Facts are. Couldn't care less who the guy is.

stanmann571 · February 2018

jmorgannz wrote: »

Thanks.

Re Mercola hate: Sources are not what need vetting. Facts are. Couldn't care less who the guy is.

IF Bernie Madoff or Charles Ponzi tells me the sun is shining at 9AM. I'm getting a second opinion or checking for myself.

Same goes for Mercola, Oz, etc.

spiriteagle99 · February 2018

30 minutes on a bike doesn't usually burn that many calories - maybe 200 or so. You don't need to refuel after that. If you are doing it at very high intensity and do burn more, you could just have a half sandwich after your workout.

Post Workout Recovery Food - HIIT vs Lifting - High GI but low sugar?

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