To eat or not to eat after an evening workout?

[jane_grace]

I listened to metabolism advice on Jari Love's "Ripped 1000" DVD and the guys from Peak Performance recommend eating after working out - a little protein and carb.

Bob Greene, Oprah's guru, suggests no eating 2 hours prior to sleeping.

I eat dinner at 5:30 - 6pm and workout starting at 7pm or 8pm for 60 minutes, or so. I'm finished aobut 8pm or 9pm and go to bed by 9:30 or 10pm.

Any thoughts? Or any other theories?

Cheers,
-Jane

 

[mnglamourgirl]

I would suggest eating a 1/2 cup of non fat cottage cheese and no carbs. Working out so close to bedtime isn't ideal because your body can't take advantage of the post exercise burn but if it's the only time you can exercise, then I'd say it's better than nothing. Could you switch your workouts and your dinner time so you're working out first and then dinner? If that doesn't work, maybe you eat something small like a banana at dinner time and then workout 30 minutes later. Ideally aim for all workouts and meals to be completed by 7:30 or 8:00 if at all possible.

Terri

 

[kathryn]

Definitely have something with about a 4-to-1 carb-to-protein ratio, like a smoothie. This will fuel your muscles and help speed recovery. ((I wouldn't take my diet advice from Oprah.)

 

[jane_grace]

Thanks, Terri. I really don't like working out so close to dinner but my husband likes to eat right after work. He's been going to the gym lately and has been complaining that dinner is too much right before. So, maybe we can both adjust our times.

-Jane

 

[LauraMax]

<sigh> this is just one of those questions I don't think we'll ever know the answer to. During the last year I saw at least 3 news stories with diet/fitness "gurus" who said it didn't matter what time of day you ate, what mattered was calories/fat burned & calories/fat consumed.

So basically if you burn 1500 calories & consume 1500 calories it's a wash.

At this point I don't know what to believe so I just do what my body tells me. If I'm hungry 30 minutes before I go to bed I eat, I just make sure it's something light & won't give me heartburn. :9

 

[LauraMax]

See, this is what I mean! It's all so confusing:

http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm/cmi_1741946/cid_33

http://www.cyclingforums.com/articles/a-30.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?What-to-Eat-Before-Bed&id=111370

http://www.thebodysculptress.com/june02.htm

 

[candi]

Makes me nuts x(

 

[maddiesmum]

Bob Greene is writing for the layperson for whom 3 cardios per week of 30 mins duration is their target. He is not writing for anyone who does vigorous training with Cathe. Ignore him and listen to your stomach. If you are hungry, eat. If you have been weight training in the evening, you definitely could use some lean proteins to help repair those microscopic tears in the muscle that weight training incurs and whose fixing simply makes you stronger. Peanut butter on crackers and a yoghurt. A couple ounces peanuts and some fruit. If you have been doing cardio, concentrate on something light simply to replenish stores: a yoghurt, some fruit, or a bowl of healthy cereal and milk. Not brownies, choc, cake, popcorn, etc.

I'd listen to Jari in your case.

Clare

 

[Flyweight]

I glass of chocolate milk is all you need to get the correct protein/carb ratio and restore your muscles' glycogen levels if you've had a hard workout.

-Lucinda

 

[beckymd]

In response to the post that said it is better to workout early due to after-workout burn, that isn't really the case.

The increase in metabolism really isn't significant. If working out at night suits you better, by all means keep it up.

Remember, we still burn calories while we sleep. (You burn more while sleeping than you do while watching TV)

-Becky
2nd year med student

 

[JT]

What works best for me, I workout within an hour of coming home from work, eat right after that-healthy dinner, then go to sleep about two hours later.

It depends on what works best for you, your lifestyle, and if you're seeing any changes. My big thing was proportion sizes for dinner and not plateauing on my workouts (big issue for me before Cathe). As soon as I changed those two things, my body improved.

 

[Boybert]

I would think eat something light before your workout as well as something after. I wouldn't be able to do much in the way of a workout after a meal. I'd want to throw up on something. You have to listen to what your body tells you first. Just eat fairly cleanly, period.


Debbie


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