How long to eat meal after workout?

[Plastik]

I normally have a protein shake post workout. How long should I wait before eating a meal? I usually wait til Im hungry. Which is about an hour. Is this ok?

[pruneman]

I think that an hour would be just about right. That is the way most people i know do it.

[J450n]

I'd say an hour is fine, i usually do the same, sometimes 1hr30mins.....

[paisano]

I have mine about 1-1/2 - 2 hours later. I guess this would depend on how big your post workout shake is. I have 80 - 100 grams of carbs and 40 grams of whey (post workout). I'm not usually hungry again until about 2 hours later.

[Plastik]

well i only have about 5 carbs post workout in mine :eek:

[bradley]

Originally posted by Plastik
well i only have about 5 carbs post workout in mine :eek:

Definitely need to add some carbs in your post workout shake. I would recommend ~50g of carbs postworkout and ~25g of protein.

Carbs will aid in recovery and glycogen replenishment post workout.


I normally have a protein shake post workout. How long should I wait before eating a meal? I usually wait til Im hungry. Which is about an hour. Is this ok?

I usually eat a whole food meal ~90 minutes after my post workout shake.

[bradley]

Originally posted by paisano
I have mine about 1-1/2 - 2 hours later. I guess this would depend on how big your post workout shake is. I have 80 - 100 grams of carbs and 40 grams of whey (post workout). I'm not usually hungry again until about 2 hours later.

Have you considered breaking your post workout shake into a pre/post workout shake? IMO that would be better than taking in that many carbs postworkout.

You could mix up the shake and drink ~1/3 of the shake about 30 minutes before training and then consume the remaing 2/3 post workout.

[paisano]

Have you considered breaking your post workout shake into a pre/post workout shake? IMO that would be better than taking in that many carbs postworkout.

I tried eating right before my workout, but I find that I have stronger workouts on a semi-empty stomach. I usually have a meal about 1.5 - 2 hours before working out. This seems to give me enough strength for a good workout. If I eat just before I work out, I feel tired and queasy. Although, to your point, I never tried having 1/3 of my postworkout shake preworkout. I typically have real food, supplemented with glutamine, with this meal.

[bradley]

Originally posted by paisano


I tried eating right before my workout, but I find that I have stronger workouts on a semi-empty stomach. I usually have a meal about 1.5 - 2 hours before working out. This seems to give me enough strength for a good workout. If I eat just before I work out, I feel tired and queasy. Although, to your point, I never tried having 1/3 of my postworkout shake preworkout. I typically have real food, supplemented with glutamine, with this meal.

You could still have your whole food meal ~2 hours before working out, and then have a small preworkout shake ~30 minutes before lifting. The preworkout shake should be mixed in a small amount of water, so as not to cause any stomach problems while working out.

This might be a better approach than having 80-100g of carbs all in one shake.

[Ironman8]

Another question: I know cardio in the AM before breakfast is too catabolic. Does this apply for lifting weights also?

[bradley]

Originally posted by Ironman8
Another question: I know cardio in the AM before breakfast is too catabolic. Does this apply for lifting weights also?

Lifting weights on an empty stomach would not be ideal IMO.