Macronutrient Timing.

Dragan

Hey folks,

Being the Curious George that I am , I have decided I will kick of some discussions over the coming weeks and try and hopefully try and get them to run into each other over time. This will either work out well or fail spectacularly, so lets see what happens. We've all discussed the basis of a good diet, what to eat and what not to eat etc, calories in vs out and all that jazz.

As such I would like to kick things off with a thread on macronutrient timing. Do any of us time out intake around certain points of the day? If so when and why? Do we make any changes based on activity levels for that day, in either the amount of a certain macronutrient that we eat, or when we eat it? Once again if so, why? Finally, is our reasons for doing so simply anecdotal, or do we notice any benefits to this and if so, what are they?

Please feel free to discuss.

t-ha

Dragan wrote:

Hey folks,

Being the Curious George that I am , I have decided I will kick of some discussions over the coming weeks and try and hopefully try and get them to run into each other over time. This will either work out well or fail spectacularly, so lets see what happens. We've all discussed the basis of a good diet, what to eat and what not to eat etc, calories in vs out and all that jazz.

As such I would like to kick things off with a thread on macronutrient timing. Do any of us time out intake around certain points of the day? If so when and why? Do we make any changes based on activity levels for that day, in either the amount of a certain macronutrient that we eat, or when we eat it? Once again if so, why? Finally, is our reasons for doing so simply anecdotal, or do we notice any benefits to this and if so, what are they?

Please feel free to discuss.

*tumbleweed moves silently across the scene*

OK I'll bump & go first then. The answer is 'yes' I time my intake around certain times of day. My problem with the 'calorie in/calorie out' thingy is that people forget that the timing of 'calorie in' can affect 'calorie out'. Take an extreme example: I eat a bowl of porridge and go to bed. What extra calories do I burn? Almost none - I'm asleep! Maybe I'll shake my leg a little or roll over one extra time as the glucose flows around my bloodstream, but pretty much most of it will find no use and be converted to triglycerides and stored as bodyfat. So my calorie in has gone up by a bowl of porridge, while my calorie out will be roughly the same. If I had that same bowl of porridge in the morning my brain and organs would have been glad for the glucose (be alert) and I would have had more physical energy too - even sitting at a desk my general level of activity would be higher. Therefore, for the same 'calories in' I would have had a higher 'calories out' by eating the same thing earlier in the day.

With regards activity levels and macronutrient timing, in general I am less active in the evenings so I taper off my carb intake to just veggies and veggie soups. Carbohydrates, depending on their form, will be digested and enter the blood as simple sugars in anything from a couple of minutes to a couple of hours after ingesting them. Once there, they do not do endless circuits of the body waiting for you to get active. You either use 'em or lose 'em (store them as fat). I see no point in eating carbs at times where I know I won't need the energy once it becomes available.

In terms of increasing intake around gym days, I have an extra PWO shake + my workout drink (water & glucose) and tend to have bigger meals just before and for a few hours following going to the gym. If my session was any good my stomach will become a bottomless food pit anyway (I'll be starving if I don't eat alot) so that one's a bit of a no-brainer. The result of that is that my overall intake gets bigger on heavy gym days.

Any benefits? Yes, lots. The timed eating of carbs in particular helped me lose over 7st last year. This is a public forum so I am not going to post pics of myself here but if trusted members want to PM me for some that's fine.

The cycling intake around gym sessions has definitely helped me boost recovery times by increasing calorie intake without putting on too much chub.