Post-Workout sugary treat?

HockeyBjj

HockeyBjj

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So I've been seeing more research about the benefits of simple carbs combined with protein after lifting. I've also seen that many are taking this and using it as justification for a little junk food. Wondering if its still beneficial?

Normally my go-to PWO is a smoothie with 1/2 a frozen banana, 1/2 cup other frozen fruit, 1/2 cup greek yogurt and a scoop of whey about half hour after I finish lifting. Recently I started using Vanilla greek yogurt since it has sugar added and I don't really see anything wrong with that.

I'm now wondering how far I can take the "window" where your body can use sugar optimally. Like, having a scoop of whey at the gym when I finish, then getting home ~15-30mins later and having a delicious bowl of Reeses Puffs cereal with no guilt :)?

I am trying to relax more with how I eat. Eat healthy when I'm hungry, don't grab crappy snacks when bored, and don't force myself to eat when I don't want to just to get calories up to where they should be for the day for a lean build. The one place I don't want to just listen to my body is around workouts since if I'm putting the hard energy of lifting in, I want to get the best results possible for my time/effort. Plus my hunger signals pretty much disapear after I lift.
 
Are you asking if you could substitute a bowl of Reeses Puffs for a cup of fruit and a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt? I'm no expert, but I'd say you are better off sticking with the fruit and yogurt.
 
after eating healthy for a while, roasted carrots are sweet to me and sweet potatoes are really sweet, just add a bit of cinnamon to them and mash it all up.

i do still enjoy the occasional ice cream though.
 
awymore said:
Are you asking if you could substitute a bowl of Reeses Puffs for a cup of fruit and a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt? I'm no expert, but I'd say you are better off sticking with the fruit and yogurt.
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Yep, I realize this. I'm wondering if once a week would be alright, and not have to think of it as a little "cheat" snack with the whole window thing. But I suppose I cheat enough due to enjoying college social life I would be better off staying good when I'm actually in control.

48mpg said:
after eating healthy for a while, roasted carrots are sweet to me and sweet potatoes are really sweet, just add a bit of cinnamon to them and mash it all up.

i do still enjoy the occasional ice cream though.
Click to expand...

And yep, this is me as well. One of my favorite sides is some sweet potatoes roasted in Olive oil, with a splash of a lemon, cinnamon, and single teaspoon of maple syrup thrown in at the end. But like you said, you enjoy the occasional ice cream. Sugary cereals are my love from childhood, and this is kind of me trying to find the best chance to justify it. I hear a lot of people saying they take a protein shake with sugar added to it for post-workout. Surely if someone is planning on doing that, enjoying said sugar is fine, right?

But for now I'm still sticking to whey and water in a rush. The fruit and yogurt smoothie if I come home after the gym. Only gonna go for cereal/other sweets if I'm really craving it. It helps keep me sane. And as I've learned from the past, stops me from binging like an absolute idiot when I do decide to have a full cheat meal that turns into a cheat night.
 
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The research I read say that it's optimal to get it w/in 30minutes but w/in 60 minutes will do.

Also, in this situation simple carbs are ideal as they get absorbed more quickly and immediately start replacing deleted glycogen stores.

And, I think the generally approved and research supported standard is 4:1::carb:protein ratio.


Total sidenote/thread jack:
I think the fact that people so often use the word "guilt" and other guilt-esque terms w/r/t food is an indication of how eff'd up our relationship as a society/culture is w/food. There's healthy food and not-so-healthy food but guilt and food shouldn't be linked. Bad sh!te happens when people start in with moralizing over the nutritional content of their food.
 
chocolate whey mixed with red gatorade
 
All simple carbs are not the same. Sugar pwo is not ideal from what I have read bc it gets stored in your liver, which is why fruit pwo can be detrimental. I found a good link on it... Ill post in a second.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=86946&page

There is a lot of pages, but real good stuff about pwo shakes and what carbs to take.
 
First, please don't link to bb.com, especially as a reference.

Second, carbs are not needed post workout. If they fit in your daily macros that at that time then that is fine, but they do not make a difference.

See Alan Aragon's latest paper, which I have already posted a thread on.

Excerpt:

The synergistic effects of protein-carbohydrate have been attributed to a more pronounced insulin response [28], although it should be noted that not all studies support these findings [29]. Jentjens et al. [30] found that given ample carbohydrate dosing (1.2 g/kg/hr), the addition of a protein and amino acid mixture (0.4 g/kg/hr) did not increase glycogen synthesis during a 3-hour post-depletion recovery period.

Despite a sound theoretical basis, the practical significance of expeditiously repleting glycogen stores remains dubious. Without question, expediting glycogen resynthesis is important for a narrow subset of endurance sports where the duration between glycogen-depleting events is limited to less than approximately 8 hours [31]. Similar benefits could potentially be obtained by those who perform two-a-day split resistance training bouts (i.e. morning and evening) provided the same muscles will be worked during the respective sessions. However, for goals that are not specifically focused on the performance of multiple exercise bouts in the same day, the urgency of glycogen resynthesis is greatly diminished.

It is tempting to recommend pre- and post-exercise carbohydrate doses that at least match or exceed the amounts of protein consumed in these meals. However, carbohydrate availability during and after exercise is of greater concern for endurance as opposed to strength or hypertrophy goals. Furthermore, the importance of co-ingesting post-exercise protein and carbohydrate has recently been challenged by studies examining the early recovery period, particularly when sufficient protein is provided. Koopman et al [52] found that after full-body resistance training, adding carbohydrate (0.15, or 0.6 g/kg/hr) to amply dosed casein hydrolysate (0.3 g/kg/hr) did not increase whole body protein balance during a 6-hour post-exercise recovery period compared to the protein-only treatment. Subsequently, Staples et al [53] reported that after lower-body resistance exercise (leg extensions), the increase in post-exercise muscle protein balance from ingesting 25 g whey isolate was not improved by an additional 50 g maltodextrin during a 3-hour recovery period. For the goal of maximizing rates of muscle gain, these findings support the broader objective of meeting total daily carbohydrate need instead of specifically timing its constituent doses. Collectively, these data indicate an increased potential for dietary flexibility while maintaining the pursuit of optimal timing.
 
HockeyBjj said:
Yep, I realize this. I'm wondering if once a week would be alright, and not have to think of it as a little "cheat" snack with the whole window thing. But I suppose I cheat enough due to enjoying college social life I would be better off staying good when I'm actually in control.
Click to expand...

I understand. You're wanting to cheat once a week and hoping to find a time when doing so will not be so bad. I wouldn't worry to much about it. One bowl of crappy cereal a week isn't going to hurt you. Instead of timing it around workouts, I'd maximize the benefit by timing it around something you don't enjoy doing. You say you're a student, so perhaps this is studying for a particular class. Tell yourself, "Once I knock this out, then I can have my bowl of cereal." In other words, if you're going to cheat once a week, make it a reward for doing something you'd normally put off doing.
 
marian said:
Total sidenote/thread jack:
I think the fact that people so often use the word "guilt" and other guilt-esque terms w/r/t food is an indication of how eff'd up our relationship as a society/culture is w/food. There's healthy food and not-so-healthy food but guilt and food shouldn't be linked. Bad sh!te happens when people start in with moralizing over the nutritional content of their food.
Click to expand...

I get what you're saying and for the most part I agree, but I don't know what word besides guilt to use after, say, downing the majority of large pizza and about a dozen wings by yourself for no reason other than it sounded really good *cough* what I did Sunday *cough* and then realizing "Hmm. I probably shouldn't have eaten that." We all do it, healthy relationship with food or not. In fact, I'd think you have an unhealthy relationship if you don't splurge like that every now and then.

On topic: Hasn't the post-workout window been disproven anyways, or am I making that up?
 
How about a sweet potato with some butter/margarine and some brown sugar or maple syrup?

That's always a great midnight snack for me. Packed with vitamin A and potassium too.
 
Edgar Allan Hoe said:
How about a sweet potato with some butter/margarine and some brown sugar or maple syrup?

That's always a great midnight snack for me. Packed with vitamin A and potassium too.
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Yeah, sweet potatoes are a better source of potassium than bananas. I had a teammate who would eat them all the time. We'd be riding along in the middle of a long training ride and she'd whip one out of her jersey pocket and start noshing. It was hilarious the first time I saw it.
 
marian said:
And, I think the generally approved and research supported standard is 4:1::carb:protein ratio.
Click to expand...

Yeah I did some research on good post workout meals and I came out with chocolate milk being recommended because of it's 4:1 ratio, and being liquid so it's absorbed fast by your body.

So now I drink some chocolate milk (1%) as soon as I get home, and maybe have a few blueberries or strawberries with it or something. Feels like i'm cheating but it's supposed to actually be good for me, so it's a win win

It's criminally tasty, so TS maybe that is something you could consider.
 
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