Timing is Everything!
Valerie Gattis
There are so many articles out there with advice on what to eat, the ratios of carbohydrates, proteins, fats, other nutrients -- all very important. But what about when to eat what - wouldn't that be an important variable? Over this past season, I have coached three athletes not only through their first multisport experience, but also to successfully have lost over 25 pounds each at the same time! Sometimes the goal is not to be the first across the finish line, but to cross the finish line to a new beginning.
In this article, I will summarize a few good morsels that helped my clients achieve their goal. Let's start with definitions;
break•fast (br k f st) [Middle English brekfast : breken, to break; see break + faste, a fast (from Old Norse fasta, to fast; see past- in Indo-European roots).] Breakfast
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Breakfast is the first meal of the day, eaten in the morning. The word derives from the idea of breaking the involuntary fast of sleep.[1] The When:The most overlooked meal is the one that sets a person up the day, regardless of what their day may entail. In a nutshell -- eat breakfast, and be up to 50% less likely to be overweight or suffer from insulin resistance, commonly known as a precursor to diabetes.
The What: Fill your plate with high quality protein, slow-digesting carbohydrates and healthy fats.
The Why: Protein stops muscle breakdown ( from passed workouts) and provides the raw materials for laying down new muscle (for future workouts); carbohydrates replenish energy stores without hiking up our blood sugar (no highs and lows mood swing); and healthy fats assure your body that more is to follow, so go ahead and burn some stored fat.
Little Steps along the Way: The When: Frequent meals = every 3 hours from breakfast on (keeps that constant energy level and avoids the tanking of blood sugar and the subsequent irritable, cranky feeling). This can include snacks, lunch, dinner -- depending on the time of day one exercises.
The What: High quality protein, with either slow-digesting carbohydrates or healthy fats (preferably both). Protein is the major player here, since up to 30 percent of its calories are burned during digestion, compared with 8 percent of carbohydrates and 2 percent of fats.
The Why: Avoid "Muscle Wasting", 2 words you should never want to see paired together! That high/low blood sugar roller-coaster ride referred to above, is combated by the body secreting cortisol to raise that tanked blood sugar level back to normal -- problem is the body's mechanism for this process is by converting muscle protein to sugar (energy).
And, just as importantly, at the end of the day, I found that my athletes who ate frequently consumed less calories than their counterparts.
The Daily Grind: The When: Post workout/pre-waning (1) then 2 hours later (2)
The What: The Two--Step Solution =
(1) Fast-digesting carbohydrates ingested immediately after exercising, for example a liquid meal such as Ensure, Slim-fast, Gatorade Recovery shake, 12 ounces of chocolate milk! The perfect cocktail is ~~6 grams of essential amino acids and ~~35 grams of carbohydrates for promoting muscle regeneration.
(2) Good 'ol solid food. Combine fast- and slow-digesting carbohydrates with protein by choosing a lean meat and a green vegetable to go along with pasta, rice, or a potato.
The Why: (1) An intense workout changes the body's priorities: As sugar is absorbed into the blood-stream, it's preferentially shuttled to the muscles -- instead of being used as fuel -- and is stored there for later use. The kicker is that this forces the body to accelerate the rate at which it burns fat for energy. (2) Guilt-free What If: If you exercise first thing in the morning (before breakfast), have your post workout drink prior to working out, follow the guidelines for eating after exercise, and then resume the recommendations for "The Little Steps Along the Way". Valerie Gattis, TJM Associate Coach, USAT Level II
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