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Carbohydrate Timing


We talked about insulin and its role in controlling blood sugar and signaling fat cells to store fat. We also talked about how having chronically high blood sugar leads to a whole host of chronic conditions like Type 2 Diabetes and causes your cells to become resistant to insulin making your pancreas secrete more and more insulin to get the cells to respond also leading to a host of chronic metabolic conditions.



With all that said, carbohydrates are not the enemy, especially if you an athlete. First it was Fat that got attacked and vilified and now Carbs are taking their turn on the chopping block as they seem to be blamed for everything these days. The reality is more likely that added sugar and processed foods that trick our brain lead to overeating and our bodies becoming insensitive to insulin and leptin (remember, leptin is the hormone released by your fat cells that is read by your lipostat to determine how much body fat your brain thinks you have). When our body doesn't respond normally because it is misinterpreting its hormone signals, it leads down dark roads.



So, the key is to make sure that our cells and our primitive brain are getting the appropriate signals and are responding appropriately to them. Carbohydrates are not bad, and if you are working out in a high intensity fashion consistently, then having that quick and powerful fuel source is extremely beneficial, but we can be smart about when we have larger carbohydrate meals to help control how our body responds.





First Meal of the Day and Right After a Workout

The "gym bros" love to talk about a "window of gains" that happens within 15 minutes after you workout. They say that in that time, your body is depleted of glucose (restored best by consuming carbohydrate) and the muscle damage caused by training (this is completely normal) needs immediate protein to rebuild. The reality is that research suggests that as long as you consume adequate protein and carbohydrate throughout the day, you already have enough in your body to handle recovery. Now, if you are doing another workout, then there's likely benefit to having a post-workout snack to replenish glucose to provide the quick burning fuel to help boost your performance in your next session.



What research does suggest is that your body is extremly sensitive (a good thing) to insulin up to your first meal of the day and the first meal after you workout. This means that the glucose from a high carbohydrate meal after a workout will tend to be used to recover the body and be less likely to get signaled to be stored as fat.



There are many reasons, in my opinion, that the 15 minute to 1 hour Window of Gains post workout, although not necessary for recovery, is valuable and why the "bros" still do it. Here are my thoughts on post-workout:

1) As long as you are getting adequate protein, carbohydrate, and fat throughout the day you probably don't need to worry about refueling in the the Window of Gains.

2) In the MOMENTUM Program, if you are focusing more on performance and building muscle, then the first meal post workout is where we would add additional carbohydrates because our body is more able to respond normally.

3) The "bros" likely get something out of the Window of Gains, but not what they expect. Your body can only absorb about 45g of protein in one sitting, so these powerlifters, CrossFitters, bodybuilders, and other athletes pushing their bodies to the limits, to consume and actually absorb enough nutrients throughout the day, they need to eat 5-10 meals/snacks a day! Some, wake up in the middle of the night to eat because they are trying to maximize the absorption of macronutrients and only so much can be absorbed at a time. So for these bros, consuming protein and carbs immediately post workout likely just allows them to get that one extra meal in. So, unless you are training like it is your job, the need for a post workout supplement meal is likely not necessary.



Review:

If you are going to have a higher carbohydrate meal, first meal of the day or first meal after a workout is the place to do it. Your body is more sensitive to insulin and can handle regulating the higher blood sugar with less insulin released, making your body respond correctly to the hormone. If your goal is muscle gain and performance biased, then these meals are where you would add some extra carbohydrate to support higher loads of training. If your goals are fat-loss based, this is good to know, but we won't be pushing for higher carbohydrate meals anywhere, so just stick to the real food in the proportions we've been discussing.



Keep in mind it is the chronic elevation of blood sugar we want to avoid.