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3 things in nutrition Layne changed his views on - Peter Attia, M.D. w/ Layne Norton, Ph.D.Optimal nutrient timing -
If lead times are much shorter a pre-7 a. workout, for example , eating a smaller meal of less than calories about an hour before the workout can suffice. For a pound athlete, that would equate to about 68 g or servings of carbohydrate, 1 hour before exercise.
For reference, 1 serving of a carbohydrate food contains about 15 g of carbohydrate. There are about 15 g of carbohydrate in each of the following: 1 slice of whole-grain bread, 1 orange, ½ cup cooked oatmeal, 1 small sweet potato or 1 cup low-fat milk. It is generally best that anything consumed less than 1 hour before an event or workout be blended or liquid-such as a sports drink or smoothie-to promote rapid stomach emptying.
Bear in mind that we are all individuals and our bodies will perform differently. It may take some study to understand what works best for you. Preworkout foods should not only be easily digestible, but also easily and conveniently consumed.
A comprehensive preworkout nutrition plan should be evaluated based on the duration and intensity of exertion, the ability to supplement during the activity, personal energy needs, environmental conditions and the start time.
For instance, a person who has a higher weight and is running in a longer-distance race likely needs a larger meal and supplemental nutrition during the event to maintain desired intensity. Determining how much is too much or too little can be frustrating, but self-experimentation is crucial for success.
The athlete ought to sample different prework-out meals during various training intensities as trials for what works. Those training for a specific event should simulate race day as closely as possible time of day, conditions, etc.
when experimenting with several nutrition protocols to ensure optimal results. See how to count macros to keep your nutrient timing as effective as possible.
Supplemental nutrition may not be necessary during shorter or less-intense activity bouts. If so, carbohydrate consumption should begin shortly after the start of exercise.
One popular sports-nutrition trend is to use multiple carb sources with different routes and rates of absorption to maximize the supply of energy to cells and lessen the risk of GI distress Burd et al.
Consuming ounces of such drinks every minutes during exercise has been shown to extend the exercise capacity of some athletes ACSM However, athletes should refine these approaches according to their individual sweat rates, tolerances and exertion levels.
Some athletes prefer gels or chews to replace carbohydrates during extended activities. These sports supplements are formulated with a specific composition of nutrients to rapidly supply carbohydrates and electrolytes. Most provide about 25 g of carbohydrate per serving and should be consumed with water to speed digestion and prevent cramping.
To improve fitness and endurance, we must anticipate the next episode of activity as soon as one exercise session ends. That means focusing on recovery, one of the most important-and often overlooked-aspects of proper sports nutrition.
An effective nutrition recovery plan supplies the right nutrients at the right time. Recovery is the body's process of adapting to the previous workload and strengthening itself for the next physical challenge.
Nutritional components of recovery include carbohydrates to replenish depleted fuel stores, protein to help repair damaged muscle and develop new muscle tissue, and fluids and electrolytes to rehydrate. A full, rapid recovery supplies more energy and hydration for the next workout or event, which improves performance and reduces the chance of injury.
Training generally depletes muscle glycogen. To maximize muscle glycogen replacement, athletes should consume a carbohydrate-rich snack within this minute window. The recommendation for rapidly replenishing glycogen stores is to take in foods providing 1.
For a pound athlete, that equates to between 68 and g of carbs or ~ 4. Since this can be difficult to consume in whole foods shortly after activity, liquid and bar supplements may be useful and convenient after exercise. Consuming smaller amounts of carbohydrates more frequently may be prudent if the previous recommendation leaves the athlete feeling too full.
Bananas are a great source of healthy carbs , if you didn't know! Muscle tissue repair and muscle building are important for recovery. Whether you're focusing on endurance or strength training, taking in protein after a workout provides the amino acid building blocks needed to repair muscle fibers that get damaged and catabolized during exercise, and to promote the development of new muscle tissue.
Recent research has further demonstrated that a similar amount of protein approximately g after resistance exercise may even benefit athletes on calorie-restricted diets who also want to maintain lean body mass Areta et al. It is important to note that some literature emphasizing extremely high levels of protein intake-well beyond these recommendations-for strength training may be dated and lack quality research Spendlove et al.
Virtually all weight lost during exercise is fluid, so weighing yourself without clothes before and after exercise can help gauge net fluid losses.
It is important to restore hydration status before the next exercise period. However, water may be all you need if exercising for less than 1 hour at a low intensity.
While these recommendations are a good starting point, there are no absolute sports nutrition rules that satisfy everyone's needs…so paying attention to how you feel during exercise and how diet affects performance is of utmost importance.
You may have to use different timing and alternate routines to create a nutrition and exercise combo that works best. Timing certainly is critical in sports nutrition, and optimizing that can make all the difference! Read also: Muscle Clocks - The Value of Synchronized Training.
Fast fix: You can positively affect event outcomes by eating the right foods in the right amounts at the right times. A good way to start recovery is to consume a snack with carbohydrates and a moderate amount of protein, plus fluids and sodium, within 30 minutes after exercise.
If you have no appetite post-exercise, a recovery beverage may be a good option. To recover quickly and completely, your body needs healthy fuel like the choices shown here-beginning within 30 minutes of your session's end. Alencar, M. Increased meal frequency attenuates fat-free mass losses and some markers of health status with a portion-controlled weight loss diet.
Nutrition Research, 35 5 , American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM position stand. Exertional heat illness during training and competition.
Areta, J. Reducing resting skeletal muscle protein synthesis is rescued by resistance exercise and protein ingestion following short-term energy deficit.
American Journal of Physiology: Endocrinology and Metabolism, 8 , E Burd, N. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45 , Campbell, C. Carbohydrate-supplement form and exercise performance. International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism, 18 2 , Dunford, M.
Nutrition for Sport and Exercise 2nd ed. Boston: Wadsworth Publishing. Rosenbloom, C. Sports Nutrition: A Practice Manual for Professionals 5th ed.
Chicago: American Dietetic Association. Schisler, J. Running to maintain cardiovascular fitness is not limited by short-term fasting or enhanced by carbohydrate supplementation. Smith, A. Wardlaw's Contemporary Nutrition 10th ed. New York: Morgan-Hill.
Spendlove, J. Dietary intake of competitive bodybuilders. Sports Medicine, 45 7 , Lee Murphy, MPH, RD, LDN, has been an instructor in the department of nutrition at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since Which is fine, but just know the difference.
For those cutting, it can be beneficial to have fewer meals because you can eat more at each meal. This is one of the benefits of skipping breakfast — enabling larger lunches and dinners. The majority of my clients over the years skip breakfast when in a cutting phase and many choose to skip it when in a bulking phase.
There is a caveat to this: for those who train fasted in the morning, I have them take a whey protein shake first to minimize the risk of muscle breakdown. More details on this in the meal timing section.
For those bulking, it can get to a point where it is not comfortable or practical to eat just two meals a day because of the volume of food that needs to be consumed. Though there are likely no benefits to eating more than four meals a day, it is perfectly fine to do so if you wish.
Whether you care enough about the incremental differences between 2 and 3 meals, and 3 and 4 meals, is something you have to decide for yourself. Physique professionals may wish to opt for the higher end to maximize any potential benefits. You do you. Nutrient timing is not as important as we once thought it was.
There are three fairly simple rules to follow when it comes to meal timing during the day. As long as you follow them, you should be totally fine.
I myself, as well as many clients, prefer to train first thing in the morning without having eaten a meal prior. If you choose to do this also, make sure you have a whey shake 30—60 minutes before you start lifting heavy so that when your body seeks amino acids the building blocks of protein , it takes them from your bloodstream rather than breaking muscle down to get them.
Whey protein is better than EAA or BCAA supplementation in this scenario. It is fast-digesting a good thing in this context at a rate of 8—10 g per hour, therefore, if your first meal of the day is more than 3 hours after your first scoop was taken, take a second scoop.
I prefer to have 50 g of whey in the morning rather than splitting it into two shakes. If you find yourself struggling to train with the same intensity you usually do, have 30—60 g of carbs with the shake. This can be as simple as eating a banana or two or anything you find easy to digest. Toward the end of a cut, when your liver and muscle glycogen stores are low, this could help you maintain training intensity.
If you eat twice per day, make that lunch and dinner, and roughly hours apart. If you eat three times per day, make it breakfast, lunch, and dinner. As long as meals are evenly spaced, there is likely very little benefit to worrying about more specific protein or carbohydrate timing. Here are some detailed meal timing examples of when to eat, relative to when you train.
This setup is the most popular with clients. They all have full-time jobs and most have families, so they choose this because it allows them to train before the rest of the day takes its toll. My preferred setup is the left column. This is popular with folks who can take a slightly longer lunch than the typical hour and have a gym close to their office or in the same building.
The key to success is often preparing lunch the night prior. Training in the evening is completely fine, but if you find that stuff often comes up which prevents you from leaving work early to do it, consider training in the morning. In this specific case, a slow-release protein shake like casein may be better than whey prior to bed.
A pre-prepared small chicken breast would do equally well if not better, and the banana is just an example of some quick and easy carbs.
Some people find that carbs make them sleepy. Breakfast eaters that feel lethargic mid-morning should consider eating fewer calories from carbs, and more calories from fats at breakfast time, and reversing this at dinner. Breakfast skippers should do this but with lunch. As an added bonus, this may help you sleep better in the evening.
A small percentage of clients find that a large meal before bed disturbs their sleep. If this causes you to sweat or just otherwise feel uncomfortable, eat one or two hours earlier or reduce the calorie content of your evening meal.
I do it, many of my industry friends do it, and many of my clients do it also. However, there are a few different types of intermittent fasting I. Leangains is a style of intermittent fasting developed by Swedish nutritionist Martin Berkhan.
It combines skipping breakfast with fluctuating calorie and macro intake — more calories and carbs are consumed on the training days; fewer calories and carbs are consumed on the rest days.
Fat intake is lower on the training days, and more on the rest days. Martin popularized the term by telling people to eat all their food within an 8-hour window. So, Leangains preceded I. Marketing and practicality, in my opinion. This is an attempt at getting more favorable calorie partitioning.
More calories and carbs on the training days when they can be utilized for growth and recovery, with a low fat intake to minimize the risk of any storage. The rest days just flip it, so that the balance for the week is maintained.
Probably not. Still, I offer a pattern similar to this with clients because it breaks the monotony of dieting. The majority of clients choose to do this but it is their choice, not my demand.
My advice: try it, see if you like it. Why include them? They provide a helpful break from the monotony of dieting by introducing some variety in possible food options across the week. Will they be beneficial beyond that?
Probably not for beginners and early intermediates, possibly for those more advanced. So only implement these strategies if they help improve your adherence, not hinder it due to the added complication.
Calorie cycling is the name given when different days of the week have different calorie targets. If you find yourself keeping to your diet during the week but struggling at the weekends, consider building more flexibility into your plan to allow that.
So for example, to maintain the daily average calorie intake, you could eat calories fewer on the weekdays so that you can eat calories extra on the weekends:. I recommend avoiding fluctuations much greater than this as it will make adherence harder and likely compromise results.
Cheat days are the name given to days where people eat whatever they want. They have no place in a diet and I strongly suggest you avoid them. The most common pattern of people screwing up their diets or getting fat when they bulk is staying tight during the weekdays and blowing it all on the weekend.
It is perfectly possible to do this over one day as well. This means that over the weekdays you will have built up a kcal deficit. But if you eat or drink kcal extra over the weekend, you are back where you started.
Macro cycling is the name given when different days of the week have different macros targets. I recommend you avoid extreme splits in macro intake as that could also compromise recovery and hamper adherence. As carbs balance the calorie budget, this means the training days have more carbs than the rest days.
See examples at the end of this section. Refeeds are the name given to days where more calories and carbs are eaten. The idea is to replenish muscle glycogen and help boost performance during cutting phases. Some people do this every training day like with Leangains , but when most people talk of refeeds they are referring to a once per week, carb-heavy day, which is often above caloric maintenance.
Often fat intake will be limited on these days in a bid to minimize storage, though whether this has any effect is unclear. Note : I will purposefully spare you the math in this section. But if you wish to see the formulas used, hover or click for the calorie cycling math 1 and the macro cycling math 2.
Note how personal preference is the reason behind the choice for all of these examples. He decides that he wishes to sacrifice some flexibility on the weekdays so that he has a calorie buffer on the weekend. He chooses to split the kcal additional budget between fats and carbs evenly, so he adds 20 g of fat and 55 g of carbs to these days.
Thelma wants to make her life easier, not more difficult by adding a layer of complication, so she decides against calorie or macro cycling. As she prefers a little more fat in her diet, she chooses to swap 20 g of carbs for an additional 10 g of fat.
She wants to do both calorie and macro cycling, as she feels it will add variety in her diet each day which will make things easier to adhere to. Got a question? Ask me below. Please keep questions on topic, write clearly, concisely, and don't post diet calculations.
Privacy policy. Skip to content A Nutrient Timing Guide To Maximize Fat Loss and Muscle Growth.
When you eat is just as important as timint and how much you eat for peak performance. Optimmal fueling helps you Optimal nutrient timing through high-intensity Nutrienf, training, and extended operations. By itming certain Optimql carbohydrates, protein, Tailored meal plans water Optiimal match activity phase before, during, and after exerciseService Members can fuel and hydrate to perform at their best. Strategic nutrient timing also can help maintain energy, decrease injury risk, and maximize recovery. Environmental conditions, such as heat, cold, humidity, and altitude also play a role in nutrient strategies. Everyday foods from home, dining facilities on base, grocery stores, and convenience stores can meet the nutritional needs of most Service Members. Carbohydrates are the best fuel for exercise—for both mind and body.
Nutrition American Fitness Magazine. Optiml Phytochemical-rich diet recommendations in the spring issue of American Fitness Nutriwnt. Diet and exercise are the primary pillars of a healthy lifestyle plan. But can coordinating eating and workout schedules improve our fitness results? And if so, how should our eating patterns differ before, during, and after activities?
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