Post Workout/Meal Replacement Supplements

The key to postexercise recovery is half protein synthesis and half protein degradation prevention combined with carb intake. Insulin prevents the protein breakdown, and after exercising, your body will produce more insulin with a combination of carbs and protein. So if you want to build the most muscle with the least amount of muscle breakdown, you need that carb/protein combination as soon as possible after your exercise. Any of the meals that I will lay out for you later should serve you well after a workout, just make sure you eat it as soon as possible following your workout. Go straight to the dining room from the workout room!!!!! Lost time is lost muscle.

Be hungry, but dont train hungry, because you won't get as good of a workout if you are revenously hungry or so stuffed that you are sluggish. A very good rule of thumb is to exercise 1 hour after a snack or 2 hours after a meal. If you like to exercise in the morning, I recommend that you have a snack as soon as you get up and follow that an hour later with a good workout then immediately have your full meal-breakfast. If you are one of those who desire to workout before lunch, then have your mid-morning snack about an hour before going to workout, followed by lunch. If you decide to workout in the afternoon, ensure that you have had your mid-afternoon snack an hour before your workout.

Knowing how important it is to get your carbs and protein immediately following your workout, it sometimes may be easier to grab a protein shake that also has plenty of carbs. Meal replacement supplements require another level of commitment, along with regular workouts and sticking with a healthy diet. Not to mention, getting your protein and carbs after a workout in liquid form gets the nutrients to your muscles faster. They aren't bad at all, but they aren't the best thing for you either, they are simply more convenient, which is why it is recommended that you limit them to one per day. Even with the one per day limit, you have to acount for the extra calories that are included in the meal replacements when calculating your daily diet.

For instance, if you have a post-workout shake that has 40g of protein (160 calories) and 80g of carbs (320 calories), you have added 480 calories. On a 2000 calorie diet, the shake has consumed almost 25% of your daily total, without giving you the fat. This means you have to either add fat to the shake or make up for it in another meal. Again, meal replacement supplements are convenient and can give you the carb/protein combo, but you have to be aware of the caloric and fat content.