Mindy Irish is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, a mom of FOUR, a housing re-design expert and a true fitmom who lifts more than just her kids. Mindy is a bodybuilder who competes at the national level, and her journey to get there is inspiring. She knows that a fit life is a journey and a true balance between food and fitness. Many readers have asked, “what do you eat after you workout?” After working with Mindy on my nutrition, I thought she was much better to explain what to eat and why.
I spent the first two years of my journey simply focused on trying to lose weight and make the numbers on the scale move. With consistent efforts they did, but in time I learned there is SO much more to the equation if you’re truly wanting to make a permanent change to your physique, rather than just getting to a new number on the scale. In 2012 I was introduced to weight training in my third year of this new lifestyle, and it was then I learned the value and importance of fueling a body to maximize a workout and the impact post-workout nutrition has on the big picture of your training plan.
There was ultimately MORE to just showing up and getting a workout in. There was a nutritional science to capturing the benefits of the activity I had just completed. Regardless of all those past moments where I had missed an opportunity to replenish the fuel I had just used, I was grateful to learn new strategies for the future. It was never too late to institute new systems for years to come!
So what is nutrient timing?
Nutrient timing is the purposeful and intentional timing that food and liquids are introduced to the body with regards to the proximity of the workout. The scientific point is that you’re replenishing with food the energy stores you’ve used up in a workout and you want to keep the body from going after your current muscle as a fuel source. You can look online and find 110 different ways and tips to strategize this, but in all reality, you have to decide to get started and then be willing to ultimately listen to your body and keep reevaluating what it likes and uses best. It’s an ongoing practice and my biggest mantra in all this is to remember to become a student of you. For me, I’ve revamped to this current point from where I originally started with nutrient timing, so I’ll explain what I do now and how it’s benefiting me the best.
Depending on my work schedule and kids’ activities, I tend to do my lifting all over the place with regards to the time of day. On the days where I train early morning, after getting in 32 ounces of water, I make sure to get in a good amount of protein and fats as my chosen fuel to start the day. I practice a strategy called “Carb Backloading”, so I put the bulk of my carbs in at midday and beyond. That’s a post and topic for a different time!
Before & During A Workout:
Since I put carbs in post-workout and later in the day, an early AM training will be fueled by fats and proteins and for me that looks like lean meats, egg whites, avocados, coconut oil, almonds or walnuts. I also like to have a pre-workout caffeine, which is my iced coffee or hot coffee with an added coconut oil and stevia to throw in some flavor. If I’m working out midday or evening, I like to have good solid meals in my system before I go train. I’ll often eat a balance of carbs, healthy fats, and proteins at this point to make sure I go in to a workout full and not hungry….so I have energy to lift. All through the day I’m also hydrating to be proactive versus trying to rehydrate midway through a workout. Water is critical to your progress.
{Here is where I want to interject about ingesting food sources: focus on EATING foods! It is easy to get hung up on drinking our meals and protein shakes, but in all reality our bodies were made to digest foods. Some liquid nutrition is fine, but don’t make it a main staple. Breaking down whole foods in the digestive system is actually very thermogenic and to your benefit long term. Be shake and liquid-meal cautious!}
Ok, back on track…..Intraworkout nutrition (during the lift) is just water and the remainder of my coffee, but some fitness folks do added proteins and carbs during their workout as well. This is a great place to really get that water in and stay well hydrated so your muscles function best. So far, my body is not needing intraworkout nutrients at this point, but I may explore that in my future building seasons down the road.
After a Workout:
Post workout is where the ultimate focus with nutrition comes in. I usually wait about 15-30 minutes post workout to start my regimen. Why the wait? This is a great time to get some post-workout fat burning from the training and I wait to enter the fuel replacement. By the time I end the workout, stretch, get my things, grab the kids from childwatch and get a few minutes down the road, I’m about at that timeframe.
When it comes time to start eating (and boy am I usually VERY hungry by this point!), I take my protein with chosen supplements first. I’ve done a whole host of protein powders over time and while I do feel there are some minimal-ingredient options on the market, I always circle back around to the basics: pasteurized egg whites from a carton because it’s just straight up protein, no fats or carbs, and certainly no fillers and cheap chemicals to filter through. I intake about 150g of whites (which is about 15-20g of total protein) with my supplements of creatine, branch chain amino acids, and glutamine, adding stevia and coffee to it for flavor. Other great protein options would be a scoop of your favorite protein powder (keep the ingredient list low!), eggs, and lean meats. Again, some liquids are fine, but don’t feel you have to have a protein shake. A whole-food lean protein source is just as well!
Soon after the protein I go for a very high carb, low fat option as part of my nutrient timing.
Why does it need to be high carb, low fat?
The goal is to keep the fats to a minimum at this point. Your muscle glycogen stores have been depleted from the workout and now you need to replenish them, in tandem with the proteins mentioned above. You want a carbohydrate-rich source shuttling nutrition back in to the cells, avoiding fat as the fuel source. Fat slows down the absorption of carbohydrates and impacts its uptake into your cells. Don’t get confused in thinking that eating fat will make you fat. That is not the point I’m making. It has to do with optimal cellular absorption in relation to fats and carbs.
If you can, choose faster digesting, simpler carbs that don’t have a ton of fiber, again something that will slow the uptake process. Great sources include rice cakes, sweet potatoes, white potatoes, Ezekiel Bread, white bagels with strawberry jam, some whole grain cereals (sounds silly, but I like Envirokidz Corn Puffs Gorilla Munch), popcorn, white rice, brown rice, and in some cases a bit of oatmeal or oatbran (some people make protein pancakes out of this with egg whites and oats cooked like a pancake). Many like to eat fruit, but the fructose actually uptakes in the liver and not the muscle cells, so go minimal on that choice.
How many carbs should I eat post workout?
I suggest tracking your food within a day and if you do, you’ll want to eat about 25-50% of your day’s carb goal around your workout. So, for example, if someone is aiming to eat 40% of a 2000-calorie day in carbs, that would put the total day’s value at 200 grams of carbohydrates (2000 calories x .4=800 calories/4 calories/gram of carbohydrate). If you choose to eat 25-50% of your daily goal of 200 grams of carbs around your workout, you’re looking at 50-100 grams of carbs in that peri-workout timeframe, when your body is most desiring to utilize them best and least likely to store them as fat.
How to get started:
I commend you for taking interest in Nutrient Timing. This is definitely a focus for those that are ready to take their fitness up a notch. That said, don’t try to figure all this out over night. Make it a goal to get to it down the road once you’ve got your daily water drinking, food intake, activity plans, and sleep patterns honed and in place. Those items hold precedence for anyone on this journey before mastering Nutrient Timing. Doing too much too fast will be cause for being overwhelmed and we all know that a confused mind takes no action.
So please take it slow…..and overall don’t forget to EAT and enjoy the journey.
As always, #justkeepgoing and make sure to #liftlikeagirl!
-Mindy
Your turn- tell me!
What is your go-to pre and post workout eat?
How do you feel about nutrient timing?
Wow quite a transformation! She looks amazing. Always interesting to read about how other people figure out their meal planning.
What an inspirational woman and an informative post! I usually workout in the morning on empty (sometimes I’ll take in an energizer of sorts), but I always try to refuel with a good combo of protein and carbs after a workout – usually something small and under 100 calories. About an hour later, I have a bigger, more protein rich meal. I find that if I slack on my protein consumption post workout, I feel more sore the next day!
That is awesome that you know your body so well that you feel more sore with less protein- love that.
This is great information. Pre-workout fueling tend to be a challenge for me. My breakfast tends to be carb heavy because it’s after my run, but then I feel a little under fueled for strength training.
I think you have to figure out what works for you. If I have a long run day I don’t follow this as much. But on a normal strength + light cardio day I do. It also depends on what time you workout.
These are great tips! I will definitely share with friends who often asking about timing of food and such. That pre-workout meal looks sooo yummy!!
I want fat ALL the time! haha! All the avocado!
I hear you… mine is almond butter. MMMM
Great post. I usually do a protein shake after a workout because I’m usually always on the go and it’s the easiest!
I agree! I try to eat my food instead of drink it as much as possible but sometimes a shake is what is quickest. I do hard boiled eggs a lot too.