Facts up front:
- Many (good looking) bodybuilders and weight lifters can be observed dumping loads of sugar directly into their post-workout shakes
- Marathon runners and other endurance athletes "carb-load" up to a full day before their race. They also consume fast sugars during their events for continuous fuel, as well as after for recovery
- The body prefers to store extra glucose (broken down carbohydrates) in the muscle cells, in the form of glycogen, instead of storing it as fat
- Many (fat) gurus demonize carbohydrates because they do not understand basic physiology and how the human body operates. Ignore their advice and look better than all their followers when bathing-suit season comes around
- The only people who should take special care when consuming carbs are those with serious metabolic conditions, diabetes and/or people who are obese
- As long as you conduct the right training (see HIIT), are fairly active on most days, and eat at the right times during the day, you should have no reason to fear carbs!
"Pre-workout, during, and post-workout"...unless you have lived under a rock for the last decade then you know these terms well. All athletes use peri-workout nutrition in order to stay well fueled so that they can train hard, recover, and then get on with the rest of the day. It's very simple: Basically, within one to two hours before training they eat the proper food as a "pre-workout" and then within two hours after training they take their "post-workout." You may have noticed people people chugging some brightly colored drink before training, and then slurping down a protein shake right after as well. They are implementing peri-workout nutrition, although not in the best manner. I'm not saying you should go out and buy a bunch of expensive products and carry a shaker cup everywhere you go. In fact, if you follow the basic laws of human physiology you can learn to fuel yourself in such a way where you kill your training, lose fat effortlessly, and feel better throughout the rest of the day as well.
But first, you must stop demonizing certain groups of foods....
Carbohydrates, glucose, and glycogen: a refresher
Your body is constantly using up energy in order to keep you alive. When you conduct a strenuous activity the body requires a lot more energy; this is Biology and Physiology 101. This energy typically comes from carbohydrates, which are either free (blood glucose) or stored in muscle tissue as glycogen. Therefore, the primary source of energy for working muscles and organs is carbohydrates [1,2,3]. Glucose is so preferred and efficiently used that, when lacking them, the body will utilize other methods (gluconeogenesis) in order to synthesize it regardless. Every athlete that is worth anything utilizes the process of glycogen storage, usage and replenishment in order to train hard and perform at optimal levels. The secondary effect is that most of them look amazing; they feel great as well. And most importantly, they are healthy! Peri-workout nutrition is based on basic sport physiology, which can be implemented with the following principles:
1. The body prefers carbohydrates for fuel; fill your "tank" up before training.
2. Glycogen (energy) is stored in the muscle cells as readily-available energy. The more muscle mass one has, the more glycogen he or she can store. *A 150 lb, lean man can store up to 1600 calories in his muscle tissue alone!
3. Unlike fat storage, glycogen is easily used as well as replaced. It is very costly (and slow) for the body to conduct gluconeogenesis - creating glucose from other molecules - for fuel when glucose is absent. Thus, endurance athletes describe this condition as "hitting a wall;" if this absence of preferred fuel exists, the medical condition known as "ketosis" occurs.
4. On the other end of the spectrum, for the body to store extra glucose in the fat cells (de novo lipogenesis) is extremely costly as well. An estimated 30% of energy is utilized in order to conduct this process. Thus, excess carbohydrates are most likely either used for direct energy or stored in the muscles as glycogen. [6]
5. A workout on an empty stomach and/or absent of plenty of carbs is almost wasted because you will not train near as hard as you would when fueled properly. While many dieting women think training while starved burns more fat, they couldn't be more wrong. A well-fueled person trains much harder, which means they gain/maintain muscle and burn more fat. This means looking good naked!
6. Consuming protein after training is great, but it is not nearly as important as consuming more carbs. Protein is valuable for muscle repair but is useless after training, unless you replace your glycogen stores in the muscle as well.
Eat about 1/4 of your daily carbohydrates for breakfast (to fuel your body for the day), 1/2 as a pre-workout, and the last 1/4 as your post-workout.
Pre-workout nutrition
Despite what the commercials and your still unfit friends tell you, pre-workout does not come in a shaker cup. To truly fuel your body for training or heavy activity, you must eat food. Those pre-workout drinks are mostly junk, a bit of sugar, and some caffeine. With terms like "more alertness, more energy, better training, etc," they are a failed attempt to mimic what actual energy is: FOOD! To make things worse, many women starve themselves around training time thinking they will burn more fat in the process. Instead, they are sluggish, they train like shit (if at all) and basically waste their time. The bottom line is this: you are about to place a lot of stress on your entire system and make your muscles work very hard; this requires a great amount of energy. Starving or drinking what is basically an over-priced soda will do nothing in terms of fueling your body.
Eat almost half of your carbohydrates for the entire day, some protein, and a bit of fat as a pre-workout
The harder your training will be, the more carbs you should eat
Two hours before: eat slow-digesting carbs that will last through your workout. (wheat bread, pasta, vegetables, etc)
My favorite is two large slices of multi-grain/wheat bread with peanut butter and a cup of coffee*: tons of carbs, some protein and some fat......and yummy!
OR
One hour before: eat faster digesting carbs. (white breads, power bars, some sports drinks)
OR
30 minutes before: eat more simple sugars for quick fuels for your workout (bananas, sports drinks, some snack foods)
My favorite: eat a few ripe bananas!
More muscle and athleticism = more fuel needed and burned. On the flip side: less muscle, lower fitness level = less energy required, which means the less "fun" you get to have.
If you have a big day ahead of you then load up on those carbs (like endurance athletes) you will pack the glycogen in your muscles and be able to breeze through your activity. While the low-carbers are fooled by the gurus into believing that sugars just get stored as fat, they couldn't be more wrong. Sure, if you eat a stack of pancakes slathered in butter and syrup, and then go straight to bed, then of course you will store it as fat! Lastly, many people fear the consumption of sugar before training because they believe they may crash during the workout. Only people with metabolic disorders and/or diabetes, and very unfit people have this problem. If you are fit and healthy then eat all the sugars you want (peri-workout). If you have metabolic disorders then always go for the slowest-digesting forms of carbs....too easy!
*Although you should primarily rely on food for energy, caffeine - a central nervous system simulant - has been proven to be a valuable supplement prior to training. In fact, the only decent ingredient in any of those pre-workout shakes is the caffeine. [4,5]
Peri-Workout Nutrition
Not many people think about eating during training or activity but this may be essential. If you are going for an hour-long leisurely walk with a friend then you may not need to carb up during that. However, if you are conducting an exhausting and long activity like hiking or biking all day, then you should consider bringing along some fast sugars to keep you fueled up. While a lot of the low-carbers think that going into ketosis (a sickness) and forcing your body to burn stored fats as direct fuel, is a good thing, the rest of us call that "hitting the wall." It is one of the worst things you can do to your body. Eat something small, easy to digest, and with a bit of sugar in it to stay fueled for your activity. Even better idea: take your low-carb friend out with you and run them into the ground! My favorites are homemade power bars, dry pancakes from that morning, or bananas and other fruits.
Post-Workout Nutrition
This is actually the easiest one to screw up. Today's pop-culture fitness industry has everyone believing that protein is the most important nutrient post-workout. Protein is important to rebuild muscle tissue and restore normal functions after training, but the absolute most important post-workout nutrient is actually carbohydrates. In fact, a ratio of 3/1 carbs/protein has been recommended to athletes around the world for at least for decades [1,2,4]. Consider this: you trained hard, depleted your glycogen stores and destroyed some muscle tissue. Why would you only replace one nutrient?
By not replacing those valuable glycogen stores, you will have little to no energy for the rest of the day. Even worse, your body will most likely break down protein in order to create the fuel it requires. And the chances are high that "stolen" protein will either come from your post-workout shake, the muscles themselves, or both. So drink protein all you want after training but it will most likely be wasted unless you eat carbs as well.
An important note here is for the people who cannot control their cravings for sweets:
*Due to the depleted muscle glycogen and overall low-energy state, the worked muscles are basically starving for carbs post-workout. Therefore, it is almost impossible to store carbs as fat in this "anabolic window." This is your chance to eat your cheat meal and those sweets that you crave!
One to two (maximum) hours after training, consume your post-workout meal
This amount should make up 1/4 of your day's carbohydrates
The carbs should be both slow and fast-digesting so that (a) insulin packs the nutrients where they need to go quickly and (b), you will have plenty of energy to continue on with the rest of your day. Remember, you still have to live after training! Do not fear insulin; it does not simply push fat into fat cells, as many gurus would have you believe. Post workout, it primarily shuttles glycogen and protein into the muscles [1,2,3,4] If you choose to ignore the actual science, just look at all the athletes who consume tons of sugar right after training, and do not gain an ounce of fat. Most highly educated and experienced experts will tell you this simple fact: "The fat you eat is literally the fat you wear."
Eating sweets or cheat foods during this time is basically guilt free and will satisfy your cravings. This should make the evenings a lot more bearable for the dieting women!
Do NOT over-do the cheats, especially if you are a beginner and/or do not have much muscle. Remember, more muscle = more glycogen (carbs) required, which means you have to eat more. Less muscle and easier training means you cannot get away with cheating too much.
In closing, carbohydrates are your friends, just as long as you utilize them properly. Bodybuilders eat a ton of them to build and keep muscle; also notice how when most of them "cut," without the assistance of steroids, they become much smaller and weaker. All other athletes use them to train hard and break world records. Besides having a legitimate metabolic disorder, not training properly (or not at all) or eating at the wrong times, carbohydrates should be your primary go-to nutrient before, during and after training. Remember, eating a bunch of bread, pasta, or a huge stack of pancakes before a long day of hiking up mountains with a rucksack: probably a very good idea. However, eating those same foods just before going to the couch? Probably not a good idea.....but you already knew that.
Carry on!
Sources:
Life as a Grunt
Clark, Nancy. (2012) Nancy Clark's Sports Nutrition Guidebook. 5th Edition
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