Is a PWO Meal Necessary? (Carbs)

[rushasaurus]

I train pretty late (between 10:30pm and 12:30am) and have been on ~1000 calorie deficit daily for months now, dropping 42lb in about 4.5 months. Thanks to gear, and keeping protein 1-1.5g/lb daily I have been able to maintain most of my strength and appear bigger through lowered body fat. My breakfast consists of 4 egg whites, oats and flax oatmeal with 3oz. 1% milk, and 8oz. of raw juice comprised of kale, spinach, lemon, ginger, apples, grapefruit, beets...

I love to have my oatmeal in the morning and seems to give me the proper energy levels I need to go through the day. But in order to fit my macros, I would drink a protein shake post workout with just water and 2 scoops of protein (1 whey, 1 casein). Sometimes I would add in 1/2 cup greek yogurt with 1/2tbsp strawberry jam on the side when it was okay calorie-wise. I felt pretty good with this, but believe that from everything I've learned over the years, a PWO meal is crucial, REGARDLESS of the time. So lately I have moved my oatmeal and juice to night time + my protein shake and I have been feeling very full at night. Almost too full. I am not waking up hungry like I used to and I am having more food cravings mid-day.

My question is.. do you adjust to this and am I doing the proper action by creating a bigger PWO meal? Or does it not really matter whether I get much sugar PWO or not, as long as I get my protein? The gear can take care of the rest potentially...

Thanks.

 

[Havasu]

I agree that post workout nutrition should be done no matter what time of the day it is. You just worked out, so the time of day does not matter. I would stay with faster absorbing carbs though then oatmeal. You could look into Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin if you want something quick and easy. It's a little pricey though. Otherwise you could use things like a bagel and a ripe banana, potato bread with natural concord jelly (Removes the high fructose corn syrup), I know some people that like using chocolate milk. Anything that will get an insulin spike. Just keep the fat away from the post workout meal.

 

[densone]

it is very necessary in recovery..
Training hard does something really cool. It sends carrier proteins called Glut-4 to the muscle cell surface, and allows it to let glucose into your muscle cells. This also happens when insulin is raised when glucose is in your blood from carbs. Insulin actually attaches to insulin receptors on the cell surface, and this triggers those glut-4 carrier proteins to unlock the cell door.

Just by training hard we can also get Glut-4 translocation to happen (without insulin), thus allowing cells to open up and let in glucose and other nutrients. You have to train hard and volumous to make this happen FYI. Not running a mile This is called non insulin mediated glut-4 translocation. So there is still tremendous opportunity here to drive nutrients into muscle cells.
Start eating anywhere between 45 to 60 minutes after training. Remember you had alot of good nutrition DURING training, so you don't rush.
Eat a balanced whole food meal such as steak and rice.

 

[rushasaurus]

Alright guys, appreciate the feedback. I will keep the oatmeal in the morning and do 8oz of my raw juice at night with my protein shake, along with a possible greek yogurt+jam. I do not eat rice, since I am staying low carb and I generally stick with sweet potato, oatmeal, and veggies.

What kind of PWO nutrition is appropriate for post cardio? Sometimes I do my cardio with my weights, but periodically I go twice a day and get my cardio in earlier in the day.

 

[LeanBane]

PWO nutrition is most important when there hasn't been adequate pre-workout nutrition. If you take in a solid amount of carbs and protein pre-workout then you can get away with little to no carbs post workout. In the grand spectrum of things, nutrient timing is important, but for fat loss and muscle gain it comes down to total energy expenditure.