There are about ten thousand different opinions on what to eat after working out. Some are wrong, some are being applied out of scope, and some are mostly right.
One of the most common myths is that you need to eat back your workout. If you’re working out to lose weight, you’re undoing a portion of what you just worked so hard to accomplish when you eat back the calories you just burned in your workout.
NOTE: This topic is a “gray area” according to Mrs. trshmnstr, and the info described here may not be accurate for all workouts and all post-workout meals. Also, it is going through a filter (me) that doesn’t understand this stuff at a very deep level, so I’m liable to screw things up.
When you’re working toward a goal of weight loss, one of the primary purposes of your workout is to create a calorie deficit. The math is simple. Calories in minus calories out equals change in weight. 3500 calories in a pound of fat means that if you have a 500 calorie/day deficit, you’ll lose a pound of fat per week. The complexity comes in determining the calories in and the calories out, but for our purposes this week, all that matters is calories in minus calories out.
There’s a tension at play when you’re working out to lose weight. On one side, if you can eat less than your basal metabolic rate (usually in the 1500-2500 calorie range), any additional calories lost through working out are icing on the cake. If you have a BMR of 2000 calories and you eat 1500 calories per day, you’re losing 1 lb per week. If you also burn off 1000 calories at the gym every day, you go from 1 lb per week to 3 lbs per week.
On the other side of the coin is sustainability. Your body will begin to push back against your abuse if you don’t fuel it properly. When you workout, whether you do cardio or weight work, you are tearing up your muscles, literally. Your body has to repair your muscles with protein. If you’re eating a 1500 cal/day deficit, but your protein is deficient, you’re going to feel miserable, struggle to recover from your workouts, and be prone to injury and illness.
However, factors such as intensity of the workout come into play when determining how much of your workout to eat back. If you’re doing relatively low intensity work, you need less protein than if you’re burning the same number of calories in a high intensity workout.
Personally, I shoot for the fewest amount of calories where I don’t feel my body increasingly drag through a week of working out. It’s not very scientific, and it requires a bit of experimentation, but you want to fuel your body’s regenerative process without undoing your calorie deficit.
For strength training, the calorie deficit isn’t as important, but giving your body the fuel necessary to build muscle is very important. The biggest mistake you can make is to do a strength based workout and not bother to make up for your body’s increased need for protein. There are easy ways to get a quick hit of protein after a workout. Some of the shakes aren’t disgusting. Some of the bars aren’t terrible. You could eat a hard-boiled egg, as an example. You want to ingest a significant amount of protein within 30 minutes of the end of your workout because your body begins repairing your muscles almost immediately after the workout, and you don’t want your body to start tapping into your unused muscles as a protein store.
Personally, I’ve found that it’s a night and day difference between strength training without a protein supplement and with a protein supplement. Fatigue and soreness go from a major issue to a minor annoyance at most when protein is properly administered after a workout.
HIIT workout of the week
Ass kicking treadmill intervals:
3 Min at 2% incline and a slow jogging pace (3.5-4 mph) (“Warmup/Cooldown”)
2 Min at 5% incline and a jogging pace (5.5 mph) (“Jog”)
1 Min at 8% incline and a running pace (6.5 mph) (“Run”)
2 Min at Jog
1 Min at Run
2 Min at 8% incline and a jogging pace (5 mph) (“Hill Jog”)
1 Min at 10% incline and a running pace (6.5 mph) (“Hill Run”)
2 Min at Jog
1 Min at Run
2 Min at Hill Jog
1 Min at Hill Run
2 Min at Jog
1 Min at Run
2 Min at Jog
1 Min at Run
2 Min at Hill Jog
1 Min at Hill Run
3 Min at Cooldown
Recipe of the week
I shameless ripped this recipe from Cooking Light, so I’ll link the recipe so that they get the clicks.
That recipe is making me hungry. We make something similar at home. We just make a bunch of taco/fajita components, then you build your own bowl by starting with rice or lettuce if you’re going low carb.
Back on the “two dinners and ice cream after” plan. Closing in on 160.
From which direction?
Under. I was hovering at 140 forever.
I think I’ve had that carne asada bowl. Mrs. Dean has been working kind of a deconstructed/bowl thing lately. I approve, although I think she’s doing it to make me eat slower. Which it does.
“deconstructed/bowl thing lately”
Dog food?
The girlfriend’s late mother did that to one of her ex-husbands at least once (according to the girlfriend, the late mother has nothing to say on the matter). She didn’t trust meatloaf until I had her watch me make the whole thing, at which point she became a fan.
I continue to utilize the two part UNCLE WARTY FITNESS PLAN FOR GREAT JUSTICE;
1. LIFT. LIFT MOAR. I SAID LIFT MOAR!
2. DON’T WANT TO BE A FAT FUCK? DON’T EAT FAT FUCK FOOD.
224 this morning. 225 by Veteran’s Day was my original goal.
Congratulations
Woohoo!
Congrats, dude.
I believe I’ve found a decent rhythm that works for me. 4 work outs a week, 2 on the stationary bike, 2 on the bowflex (the girlfriend and I would not be able to use the same weights, and she said she would use it…). New low again this week (and the week’s not over yet), on track to drop under 200 at or around Thanksgiving week. The trend line is still pointing down, and the weekly average weight keeps going down.
Next week will be tough. Cleveland Beer Week is here, the job will at least keep me away from most of the weekday events. But the weekends… the weekends.
I believe I’ve found a decent rhythm that works for me.
The rest of your comment was not what I expected.
I’m sorry to have disappointed you. I thought we left all that kind of stuff back in the Sugarfree thread.
Once you’ve been Sugarfreed, you can’t ever really leave it behind.
*thousand yard stare*
+1 tomb of her vagina
13 years of Catholic education provided me with strong mental blocks. Surrounded by females in tight white blouses, short skirts, and thigh high stockings, how else were any of us males supposed to walk up to the board during class?
Makes you wonder how that became the uniform for students getting a religious education.
To attract the fathers and the male students?
Keep in mind there were “rules” for the shortness of the skirts, and the sheerness of the blouses. But the girls at my school were very adept at dropping to their knees and unrolling their skirt so it would touch the ground when they did. Then carefully hiking it back up as they stood up. Only a couple of the teachers routinely called girls out, and they didn’t seem to realize (or maybe they did) that having a girl drop to her knees in front of the class only invoked a certain and specific prayer from those watching, “Sweet Jesus!”
So how do glibs feel about articles of fiction that are not humorous, not traumatizing, nor even particularly libertarian? While doing worldbuilding for “Prince of the North Tower” I turned out a 2800 word short that takes place in a different part of the world at a different time involving people and places not even mentioned in that book. It’s technically fantasy, but doesn’t have too many fantastical elements.
You wouldn’t be the first.
Interesting reading is always good in my opinion.
I’m all for it, especially for after-lunch reading.
As long as there’s pictures and big text so I can skim it with my fingers while I read.
I have no pictures, and the <font> tag is depricated.
Will the descriptions of sex be better than Mojeaux’s?
None happens. Only violence.
Well, I COULD just submit a random sex scene from any of my books…
I’m still trying to rid myself of the last bit of shoulder pain from my rotator cuff injury. I’m fine doing most things but I still have some pain at the very edge of my range of motion. Due to my progress, insurance has denied paying for more PT. Right now I’m trying out a TENS unit. I’m using it on my shoulder a few hours a day. It does help with pain and I hear it *might* promote healing by increasing blood flow. Anyone else hear of that?
Perscription Leeches?
Here is a tip: don’t work on your truck in a sweltering garage for hours before going to do a workout. Man I’ve had a sad week of lifts since I’ve been doing truck and house projects. Another tip: hanging doors is harder than it looks.
Hanging doors sucks. Although, I’d take a sweltering garage over this wet/cold bullshit we have going here.
hanging doors is harder than it looks
Like an interior door? what’s the difficulty, should be very simple.
Assuming that is you have the proper tools.
For you, nothing. For those of us who do it once every 15 years, it sucks.
Yeah interior. Maybe if I had a router, but cutting the slots for the hinges with a hammer and chisel takes more precision than I’m used to. Also getting the door to swing level is tough to do by myself. Also I’m an idiot so that does help.
Just cut your door 1/8″ shorter and dont mortise anything.
Ta. Dah.
Alternately he could just get gate hinges and surface mount everything.
I did this on a half-door to the underside of a staircase.
Gates hinges would look terrible. *fires up sawz-all*
These are the tips I need.
I did this. It was, indeed, a bitch, but I managed.
Sadly, I framed the doorway about 1/4″ too small. I had to trim the side of the door by 1/4″ then had to chisel out the hinge slots by hand (fortunately, I have had an art class in woodcarving).
Remember, plumb, level, square, and true.
But… my frames are not plumb, level, square, or true.
Shims are your friend, my friend.
My son’s bedroom door sticks when there is humidity in the air. I told him I’d fix it, but I liked. It looks like an MC Escher doodle.
Would you like to visit sunny Orlando and hang some doors? I have whiskey.
I don’t drink, but I’ll take a couple slabs of prime rib.
Trimming your door and not mortising anything is good advice. Makes everything so much easier.
I have a door that won’t clear a rug by about 1/8″. I’m thinking of buying a new house rather than
butchertry to fix it.I’m very tempted to sell my house and hmget a new one. I’m trying to get an appointment with an attorney to fire my contractor and hopefully get a refund. Owning a house definitely has it’s downfalls.
Don’t get me started on doors. Just finished putting in a new garage door. Now I’m trying to stop a draft coming in on our front door. It makes no sense. The weatherstripping fills the gap perfectly and the door is level yet air still flows through like it’s wide open.
I still have to put on a storm door this fall, had to special order it at Menard’s ’cause its a 34 incher. Door should be in in a couple days, I’ve always hung doors alone, hope the weather is nicer than today.
Thanks, trashy!
Will do the carne asada bowls – those look great!
I don’t worry so much about specific grams of protein right after lifting, but I do usually do a shake on my way back to the office. Today I’m eating a big salad of spinach, tomatoes, avocado, NY strip and balsamic italian. Damn good.
Deadlifts and cleans were on the menu at the gym today. I did the cleans really light and did a sort-of HIIT, with a bunch of sets with only 30 seconds between them. Good bang for the buck.
If you are interested in learning more about it, this paper lays out the relevant considerations, but the TLDR is
1) We don’t have much high quality information
2) Unless you are doing extreme modifications to your diet like an extended fast, it probably doesn’t matter too much as long as your daily nutrients are in line
3) But having a protein-heavy meal right before or after working out falls in the “won’t hurt you, maybe a little helpful, so no reason not to”
Nutrient timing revisited: is there a post-exercise anabolic window? (178 citations according to Google Scholar)
For my own part, if I’m not working out my breakfast is fat and protein only – usually eggs, maybe with cheese or sausage. If I am working out (which happens before the work day) breakfast is oatmeal + peanutbutter or yoats, then I get really hungry around 10:00 and have another snack with complex carbs.
Oh yeah, I ate fewer calories than I burned. I didn’t fast because I had shit to do, but I’m “only” eating 3,000 calories a day and burning about 3,700 a day according to my spreadsheet that tells me these things.
Had two conversations with friends I hadn’t seen in a while that started with “how did you do it” and ended with them telling me that that doesn’t work but they lost like 8 pounds doing other stupid shit that doesn’t work. I made good use of my dead-eyed “oh yeah?” and brain-dead active listing skills.
No change this week. Which is a victory considering the weekend was a celebratory one. And I got back to the strictness on Monday so I think it will be fine.
I’m checking out a climbing gym tomorrow. Hope that goes well.
Down to 158 as of today. That’s a bit over 1 lb down since last week.
Weight: 156.9#, HR: 54bpm.
Today: 4.75 mile run, 4.2# pack, 35:01, 154bpm, 7:22 min/mile
Saturday was: first day of Balloon Fiesta: 6.05mi, 1:31:29, 133bpm, 15:06 min/mile, 40# pack, 3 miles up mountain (La Luz Trail), 3 miles down.
Balloon Fiesta is taking its toll. I am up about a pound and a half from last week. Saturday’s run should have been 4.75 up and 4.75 down, but I was too lazy to do the entire thing. OTOH, I normally do that run with a 35# pack and chose to run with a 40# pack instead, so I have that going for me.
Today’s run was at about a 7:00 min/mile pace, but it was all down hill. I was running from my house to the balloon I crew for and got stopped at lights for a total of 2:10.6. So, I’m happy with my performance, but it really wasn’t much of a workout. Normally I do a 40# 13.1 mile pack run on Wednesdays.
This Saturday is the second to last day of Balloon Fiesta. I don’t yet know what I’ll do as my “long run”. Quite possibly I’ll go back to La Luz trail and try to do 4.75 up and 4.75 down w/40#, or I may do something even less taxing, since our crew party is Friday night.
My post workout food is typically also my breakfast because on most days I exercise before adding non-espresso calories. I eat 1/3 cup of oatmeal cooked in 1 cup of water, augmented with 2 tablespoons of chia, two tablespoons of hempseed, 1/2 tablespoon of Udo’s 3-6-9 blend and about a cup of soy milk. I make that concoction in the morning right after I get up and put it in the fridge to cool.
When I get back from my run (or bike ride) I eat it and also drink homemade rice milk that’s a mixture of rice, water and salt (I don’t know the proportions; I got the recipe from Eat and Run and my wife or kids make it for me). Both of those taste exceptionally great after exercise but are meh at best in other situations.
3.0
It’s not firefox, you don’t need to increment the version with every progress update.
/dnrtfa
Down 1 pound to 267 today. As long as I’m trending down, I’m happy. The advice I got last week has really helped. I’ve been able to push through my workouts this week instead of barely making it or having to take extra breaks.
I’m happy to report that I have once again moved from the bed to the sofa. Was progressing nicely from my knee replacement, and then had a bad allergic reaction from the tape they used over top of the incision – the whole area was puffy and irritated, with oozing blisters. Was back in bed for about three days due to the agony it caused whenever I moved. Today it is still red and irritated, but most of the blisters have dried up. Got back on the bike for about 3 minutes at an RPM of about 5. And yes, this is progress.
Just hope that after I recover I’ll actually be able to get back to my rowing/biking to lose some weight…