Quick! Do I Eat After a Workout?! page

[happyprimate]

3/6 workouts of the week are in the evening. I come home after 6pm...i Usually do not feel like eating much after these workouts, although according to LeanGains folks, and other folks, the time after an intense workout is when i should be eating the most.

Can I get away with eating enough during my non-IF times, and only eating a very small amount of protein (1 egg, 2 oz of pork, whatever) after a workout.

Can I get away with not eating anything at all?

Thanks. The quicker the answer the better, as I'm heading out soon and this is tearing me up inside! (lol, j/k)

[IcarianVX]

Well, you won't die if you don't eat but the best time to actually eat food (and lots of it) is when you are done working out (LHT, not cardio).

There is some evidence leading to a longer sustained release of HgH by not eating after lifting, but IMO (especially at my age - 40) I would rather feed my body than hope that I can squeeze a nanomicrogram of HgH out of my pituatary gland.

[iniQuity]

The more I read, the more I’m inclined to think that it doesn’t make a huge difference.

For many months I worked out first thing in the am (usually around 6:30) and didn’t eat until around 1pm. Some months I’d take BCAA as suggested by Leangains, but most months I did no such thing. I didn’t lose any strength or muscle mass, if anything I gained in both (more strength than mass, I’m not a big guy) and I leaned out a fair bit.

Now I workout around 6pm, about 4-5 hours after my first meal of the day, and I eat about an hour or two after this workout. It’s been about 2 months of this “regimen” and I haven’t noticed any substantial gains in muscle MASS and my strength gains are just about the same as they were before. I keep progressing, or adding more weight, to my workouts as I did before.

As long as you’re eating your meat and vegetables, timing is not the end-all-be-all. A lot of this timing thing I think comes down to a lot of neurotic behavior that a lot of health conscious people tend to have. It’s only normal to want to do what’s BEST or most OPTIMAL for you.

I think it’s more worthy to worry about food quality which you already cover by being primal, than how many minutes you take in getting your post workout meal.

[happyprimate]

thanks for the reply. i'm laughing at your pituitary gland statement.

i know i won't die. lol. it's my usual MO to not eat. but i wasn wondering if i was doing any damage...like my muscles won't rebuild or something. i did a little googling after writing this...some folks say as long as i get my caloric/macronutrient needs all in it's not going to damage my muscles to not eat after LHT...it's just not optimal...or an efficient use of those nutrients.

do most people agree with this?

[Thor Falk]

What would Grok have done? :-) but seriously the best solution might be to sometimes eat, and sometimes not, as to further stimulation to your metabolic system. Your body was designed tontolerate both but it might have to practice

[federkeil]

simple answer is.... if you want to

[Dragonfly]

The more I read, the more I’m inclined to think that it doesn’t make a huge difference.

+1 Read this:Muscle Building 101 | The Lean Saloon

[happyprimate]

thanks everyone!! nice read dragonfly...i got caught up reading the rest of the blog!