I work out late at night just before bed time, I have a post work out shake consisting of carbs and protein, but should I also have a meal aswell?
Also I’ve read that Natural peanut butter is a good source of protein can anyone reccomend any brands I can buy in the uk, as I can’t find any in Sainsburys or Tesco’s, as they all sell their own brands and they do not state that the peanut butter is natural???
It’d be ideal if you would work out earlier in the day or in the morning. Then you could quaff your post-workout shake, and have a good protein+fat meal just before bedtime without fear of mixing fat+carbs.
I’ve been reading up lately on Protien myself. It sounds like the best thing you can do (Protien wise) is take a high quality WHEY with very little carbs and little to no lactose. This is considered high “bioavailability”, meaning that it digests almost fully with little to no waste. Being that whey comes from milk, milk too would be a good natural source if it didn’t have all the fat, lactose and calories per gram of protien that straight whey doesn’t. Otherwise, I’ve read that before sleeping your last meal should consist of slower digesting-high bioavailability protiens such as well prepared chicken breast (I use a George Forman Grill to get as much fat out as possible) or maybe even egg whites. The theory behind this is that unless you want to wake up every 2.5-3 hrs to take a whey drink, the protien from the whole food source will release slower and over a longer period of time, thus allowing your body to have a more consistant supply of protien through out the night. Otherwise you wake up on empty and as most people would/should/might agree, we’re looking to keep things level/stable so that’s why we eat 5-7 times a day or every 2-3 hrs as oppossed to only three squares a day. Again, this is the type of stuff that I’ve read and others might/will disagree with so take it for what it’s worth.
“Go Heavy or Go Home”
You should try to get a meal in before you hit the pillow…1-1.5 hrs after your shake should work fine. Natural PB is a decent source of fat…the protein in it is mostly negligible. I wouldn’t bust your ass to find some either, as olive oil, flax oil, raw nuts, and fish oils are much more important as fat sources. Natural PB is damn tasty though…
Why do you need a brand name? Simply turn the container around and check under ingredients. Does it list peanuts as the only ingredient ( with maybe some olive oil), or does it list high fructose syrup, molasses, hydrogenated vegetable oils as ingredients as well? read sily! Sheesh!
1) Immediatelly after a workout u NEED simple, high glycemic carbs and a good ammount of protein. Ur body is in a catabolic condition which will lead to loss of muscle mass in the long run if protein and amino acids don't enter ur blood stream quickly. simple sugars like dextrose and maltodextrin will cause a good insulin pike which will carry ur protein to the muscles much faster, bringing musce catabolism to a halt and providing them with the building blocs for recovery/growth. As such u should ALWAYS have simple carbs IMMEDIATELY after ur workout. I'd stick with 40-50 grams of WHEY protein (isolate if possible) and a least 30 grams of dextrose/maltodextrin.
2) Peanut butter has a content of about 7 grams of protein per serving ( 2 tbsp), and 15 grams of fat. As such, it's better as an energy source, especially if ur trying to gain lean mass, but not such a good source if ur interested exclusively in protein content ( lead the labels silly). DONT take peanut butter with ur post-workout shake. I see people ignoring this evryday at the gym, simply because they don't know or they don't care. What's the big deal? Fats slow down the diggestion process which translate to a prolonged period of catabolism after ur workout while ur body waits for the protein to enter the bloodstream. So DONT TAKE FAT WITH UR POST-WORKOUT SHAKE! Simply take it anywhere else during the day.
3) Unless ur goal is to bulk up, I would not recomend u eat a meal right after ur shake. Think about it. u just gave ur body all the protein it can handle with some good carbs. If u flood it with yet more protein, not to mention complex carbs and fats which will slow the diggestion process, ur body is going to get rid of some of that extra protein because it cant absorb it. If u MUST have a meal after ur post workout shake, do it no less than 2 hours later, with NO carbs, and add some flax or fish oil to slow the diggestion process during the night, which will ensure a more steady and prolonged protein absorption (i.e. slower diggestion). Anyhow good luck. As for peanut butter, use it BEFORE ur workout.
Thanks for the replies guys but my problem is that I’m not allowed meat in the house due to religious reasons, so I can’t eat chicken breasts or egg whites, if Peanut bettuer isn’t a good idea, what would you suggest, )no meat, fish or eggs by the way), any ideas for a post workout meal?