# exercising before/after dinner



## Necro (Apr 26, 2010)

i was wondering if there are differences between exercising before you eat and after you eat and if so which is most beneficial.

im talking about both losing weight and gaining muscle.


----------



## Drac (Apr 26, 2010)

I never eat before class or weightlifting..After class we may go out for a sandwich..After weightlifting I have a protien shake..Look for a supliment to help boost your metabolism..I used Hydroxycut by the MuscleTech group and lost a lot of weight..


----------



## Ken Morgan (Apr 26, 2010)

You need to eat within an hour of exercise, in order to rebuild your muscles. Proteins are a must.
Everything else depends on what you want. Generally if you're serious about losing weight, very few carb after 6pm generally works well.


----------



## Drac (Apr 26, 2010)

Ken Morgan said:


> You need to eat within an hour of exercise, in order to rebuild your muscles. Proteins are a must.
> Everything else depends on what you want. Generally if you're serious about losing weight, very few carb after 6pm generally works well.


 
Well said..The gym use to carry this excellent protein shake I and I downed one while cooling down..I dont think I ate after 6 PM..


----------



## Malleus (Apr 26, 2010)

Well man,

Good question. Nutrition is nearly as important as actual exercise when it comes to building muscle and more important than exercise when it comes to losing fat. The nasty thing is that, if you want to see the absolute biggest gains, you have to get your timing right. Which you've already begun considering.

The lads above me are right: general consensus is that you eat after you work out. There's a few reasons for this.

Firstly: if you're going for a run before breakfast, you'll be running on an empty stomach. This limits the amount of blood glucose available for energy, and means you'll fuel switch to triglycerides faster. Thus you'll be burning fats directly sooner than you would if you were running on a full stomach. (According to one of my textbooks, it takes the 'average' person about 10 minutes operating at moderate aerobic capacity to burn through skeletal glycogen and start burning fat directly.)

Secondly, you'll be less likely to cramp. I know that going for a MA workout within an hour after eating leaves me lethargic and heavy-footed. Cramps don't really seem to be a problem for me personally though.

Thirdly, exercise increases your metabolism. By eating after exercise, your body will burn the incoming calories more effectively than if you had eaten before.

As for building muscle, what is key to anabolism (muscle construction) is generating a large spike in amino acids. This is to say that the main dietary signal that triggers muscles to start building themselves up is a spike in protein above the baseline. This is why you're supposed to take whey protein during/after a weights session: the amino acids supplied are very soluable and can cause a huge increase in amino-acid levels: and as your metabolism is in overtime they go directly where they're needed. I've read that you should have your whey shake within 1 hour of finishing the workout, anything later and you start to lose benefits.

This also means that simply shoving in protein all day won't do that much for you. Protein is trickier to switch to fat than carbs, but if there's a calorific excess it'll be done anyway. Far more effective is to time your workout with a massive influx of protein to ensure it goes to the right place.

I also use casein as an adjunct to the whey. It's another type of shake you take about 3 hours after your whey shake. Casein is exactly the opposite of whey: slow releasing and doesn't cause any major spike in serum proteins. It's function is anti-catabolic (anti-muscle breakdown.) By providing a long lasting (7hr) supply of protein you ensure that your body won't have to switch to your muscles for fuel if you're on a carb/fat restricted diet.

Speaking of which: cut the carbs right down. Carbs are a massive cause of cholesterol, triglycerides and unfavourable HDL/LDL ratios. They're the devil. Stuff like fruit and cereals are good, but I try to stay away from chocolate, breads, potatoes and pastas. Fatty foods and fast foods are obviously a no-no. If you want meat, try to limit red meats and go for chicken/turkey/tuna/salmon/cod. But reward yourself every now and again with something, otherwise you'll go nuts.

So, if I had to give you tips in a succint format:
1) Eat after workouts. Your metabolism is elevated for roughly 1hr after aerobic exercise, and 4 hours after resistance training. That's your window.

2) Whey protein shakes during or immediately after a weights session to stimulate muscle growth. Casein shake 3 hours later to stop your muscles eating themselves.

3) Watch your carbs, fatty meats, sweets and fast foods.

4) Make sure to drink water.

5) Realise you're in this for the long haul. Each pound of fat is 3000 calories, and even if you cut 3000 calories through exercise/diet, some of that deficit will be taken from your muscle. Which means it can take an awful amount of effort to lose even a little bit of weight. Once you realise the magnitude of the task ahead, you won't be as discouraged a week or two down the line when you've only lost a kilo or two, despite being in the gym every day.

6) Stick with a weights program for 12 weeks before giving up. Muscle develops slowly. Also, don't lift everyday, give yourself time to recover by going every second day. (Alternately, you can work totally separate muscle groups on different days.)

Good luck with it!


----------



## terryl965 (Apr 26, 2010)

Well I have always eaten a power bar before a workout and sopme sort of protien shake afterwards. One thing I like to do after dinner is go walking about 45-60 minutes sit helps me relaxe and get to sleep.


----------

