Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat – Fast Your Way to a Sculpted BodyEat Stop Eat is a dieting eBook created by nutritionist Brad Pilon that advocates that the secret to weight loss is actually bouts of eating then fasting. Designed for men and women Brad teac…

Quick question because I just finished a workout:

What if your ingesting a protein shake with straight water (0 carbs)? Does the waiting still apply? I consider the insulin spike to be influenced directly by the sugars and carbs, not really by the protein.

Dave

I agree with your points but think that there are supplements that can benefit you post-workout without blunting the GH response, etc. Studies show you don't necessarily need complete proteins and carbs post-workout to see benefits. Simply drinking a mixture of essential amino acids in the right amounts can do the trick.

If I remember correctly, the subjects in one study drinking EAA gained muscle even if they weren't lifting weights.

However I posted this comment because there is an elephant in the room and I feel obligated to point out a couple of things. Chris from fitnessfail.com is the elephant. I must begin by saying that Chris has a valid argument and appears to be a very smart guy. I am just hoping that people take these scientific studies in the right context. By consuming simple carbs ”sugars” with protein after workouts you will optimize protein absorption and replenish glycogen faster as Chris has stated. I just wonder why we think we need to optimize protein absorption and replenish glycogen as soon as possible. The truth is that in less we are planning to work out our chest four times a week we probably do not need to worry about protein timing and/or protein absorption. We also do not need to immediately restore glycogen in our muscles unless we are going to the gym more than once a day. I recommend using vegetables and fruits to gradually restore glycogen not simple carbs. There are a lot of studies that suggest we are ready to work out any major muscle group after 48 hours of rest, and many of these studies do not use subjects who were given abnormal levels of protein or carbohydrates. Most weight lifters have a workout routine that allows adequate rest and they also have diets with adequate amounts of protein and carbohydrates. It is important that we do not entice people, who ultimately want to be thin, to take up bad habits like using sugar as a performance booster.
No person should go out of their way to increase insulin to high levels. Sugar should not be a tool in your muscle building arsenal. The supplement industry is also promoting these high sugar supplements as having advanced absorption capabilities. Perhaps I am missing something and these supplements do create superior muscle gains. If this is the case I warn people that for every month they spend using these sugary supplements they will have to spend another month chasing calorie deficits. The irony is that these same hard gainers will have to have many months of calorie deficits (that is if leanness is also a goal) to offset these sugary months, and these low calorie months will not provide optimal nutrition for either maximum strength increases or mass gains. Furthermore some muscle will be lost when dieting.
{NEW SUBJECT} Many of us forget that some people may need to increase size before they reach the maintenance stage where definition becomes the focus. To these people I would recommend keeping insulin levels low by eating high protein meals with a low glycemic load. Glycogen is important for muscle endurance, but a reasonable amount of vegetables and fruits the day before a work out should provide a gradual healthy build up of enough glycogen to sustain an hour workout. People looking for mass will also need to get a calorie surplus. These two factors will send your body the right signals. The calorie surplus will tell your body to grow and the low glycemic foods will keep the “store fat” signals to a minimum. Monitoring your body fat percentage with a body fat scale is also useful to help you determine whether or not your calorie surplus is too large.

There are a lot of approaches to reach the same goal. This method that I'm talking about here will allow you to reach your fat loss goal much quicker than if you drank a shake right after. Both will work…but I just want to save you a lot of time and money.

Kash,

Hard work is key. Pushing the pain barrier during interval work is what makes it extremely effective. Diet needs to be on-point as well.

JohnnyG,

Thanks buddy!

Matt,

Good approach as well.

Rusty

I personally prefer to use a branched chain amino acid supplement immediately post workout when looking to keep fat loss at a maximum – and leave the carbs for a meal to be had within the hour – and never from a simple carb source.