Everyday Systems

What is the opinion about post-exercise snacks? And I'm talking about say a very intense exercise session (I'm thinking of last nights spin class!!) that is not necessarily scheduled before a regular meal (ie, it's obvious what to do if you exercise in the morning before eating breakfast! .

In the NoS paradigm, is it better to just tough it out and wait until the next meal, or would a banana be OK? Or am I just being too anal? Reason I ask is that from what I know, it's "important" to replace glycogen stores within 1 hour after intense exercise (eating something in that time frame apparently results in a much faster/more efficient replacement of glycogen, and you're pretty freakin hungry after an intense exercise session!).

Any athletes out there NoSing??

Thanks,

-mark

mark,

If you feel a post-ex. snack is helpful for you, then budget for that. Your no-snack rule could be "no snacks except for one banana post-spin class." The banana might be extra-beneficial because it will replace some electrolytes.

On the other hand, I recently dropped my post-aikido training evening snack with no bad results. I make sure to drink lots of water and I do just fine until breakfast. I figure that time period between dinner and breakfast during which I teach a two-hour aikido session and do morning shovelglove probably burns a good deal of fat and I don't even get unduly hungry anymore.

Let us know what you come up with--I'm curious.

thanks,
David

Thanks for the infor re:your experience David. I think I'll experiment with and without the banana, post-high intensity exercise (ie the spinning) to see how I feel. I'll def. chime in once I've played around with it.

-mark

That's tough. As with several posts I've read, the key is when you eat. I don't see how creating a "habit" to eat something healthy post-workout would be a "bad habit". As long as the habit you are forming isn't to eat something between meals.

As for me, I'm lucky in that I hit the gym right after work, so I am eating dinner within an hour of finishing my workout. However, expecially after days that I weight-lift, I drink a really tall glass of milk immediately. I've also noticed/read that the calcium in milk helps curb one's appetite, and the protein in it is good for you as well.

i work out at various times (spinning class is 5:45pm, so yah, dinner would technically come within 1 hour normally, but I guess my question was more theoretical! , sometimes in the morning, sometimes mid afternoon, sometimes later (10pm) at night....

so do you consider your glass of milk a snack, or part of dinner?

actually, milk+banana would be a great post-exercise snack/meal as I believe 4:1 ratio of carbs to protein is considered an ideal (ha! that of course changes and depends on who you listen to, cbass.com is where I got that number) recovery ratio.

-mark

LOL! I guess I consider that glass of milk part of dinner. I just make sure to get it in my system the second I get home from the gym. Milk + banana is a fine post-workout meal. My roomie actually scoops in some whey protein with that combo for his post-workout meal. He's not on the NoSDiet though... He's doing his own thing... For Now! Again, I'm not the expert (I'm a newbie), but I like my workout plan since I am eating my third and final meal for the day shortly thereafter. It's nice if you can time your next meal shortly after your workout (whenever that may be during the day).

Personally, I don't think of a glass of milk as a 'snack' - but then again, I really honestly prefer to drink it skimmed, so it's not going to do me much harm!

C.

My advice would be to drink water until your next meal. If you need to replace some electrolytes, etc, then something like gatorade could work despite the sugar.

Hi all,

The post-workout nutrition thing largely sprung from the bodybuilding world. Since any bodybuilder doing No-S while training to win contests is clearly insane, much of the dietary advice which has trickled from the world of elite competitors (bodybuilding or otherwise) into the mainstream is not applicable.

If one's main goal is to lose or maintain fat then Freakwitch's advice is good. If you have other goals, like laying down sheets of rippling muscle, then there has been tons of research on how to to that--check out the work of Dr. John Berardi or Dr. Lonnie Lowery.

Just my 2 cents...

David

Milk and bananas are both foods, and food eaten between meals is a snack. But....you need to do what is best for your body at any given time. If you are really putting it out in a spinning class, it would be better to plan for a banana snack because you really need it, than to need something and have no plan and then to reach for anything available.

I agree with Jan about eating what you need.

Before No-S I would usually snack after evening exercise-type activities. Often I found that even though I would only intend to eat a handful of almonds or a Clif bar I would later break out the crackers or cereal or whatever other carbo-treat I could find and end up consuming Supper Mark II. In my case, my current priority is to reign in excess eating so my workout recovery consists of water and sleep (in that order). If I were training for some sort of athletic competition and my body composition were already lean enough a post-workout snack would be a must.

YMMV

thanks,
David

Thanks for all the great advice everybody! I think I'm going to try NOT snacking for now (but I WILL have that banana at the next meal darnit! and see what happens. Like David said, if you're already lean, or are an athelete training for a specific event (which I'm not right at the moment, but will change in a couple months, triathlon and possible marathon training) then it's a different story. Plus, like it says on the main nos webste, there is the idea of the fence around the diet, and since I am just starting I think I'll keep that in mind as well, esp. for now.

thanks,
-mark

Hi Mark, Thought I'd chime in, though it seems you have made your decision..
I suggest you eat your banana for breakfast... Then you will have lots of potassium in your system and vitamin b and all that good stuff before you get yourself all tired...

Leave at least two hours between eating and exercising and drink tons of water...

How much do you lift?

Peace and Love,
Deb

Better late than never!

Regarding lifting, I don't really lift right now but do body weight exercises which are proving challenging enough. A lot of information and helpfull people over at bronzebowpublishing.com (forum and free exercise demonstrations) and some positive mentions of No-S on that forum.

Anyways, I've been spinning a couple times since the question was posted (and a vacation to maui in the interim as well which well, was a backtrack! vacations are tough....initially i planned to just have 3 "treats" but ended up falling apart the last 2-3 days....!) and basically I've just waited until dinner (which so far has been within 1-2 hours after exercise anyways) and have been FINE. I think the real issue with eating after exercise is for athletes training for competition vs. the average exerciser. There is also a good argument re: fat burning for not eating for at least 1 hour after workout (see Art De Vany Evolutionary Fitness).

so for now i'm trying to stick to strict No-S (unless I'm exercising for 90+ minutes, in that case, like a long run or bike ride, I think a snack is warranted, but hey, I don't usually workout for more than 45 minutes at a time!

-mark