Starchy Carbs: Why Only PWO?

In the Precision Nutrition system, among Berardi’s 10 Habits he lays out, one is “Do not eat starchy carbs except for a few hours after your workout. Otherwise stick to fruits and vegetables for your carb sources.”

He doesn’t go on to explain why this is other than that “our body seems to process starchy carbs better after working out.” He also doesn’t explain exactly how long we should be eating starchy carbs. What is “a few” hours? Two? Three? Six?

The whole system is pretty clear except for this part, I felt. And since nearly half of the recipes from Gourmet Nutrition are “post workout”, it makes a big difference in when I am going to plan to workout.

So does anyone know if there’s been some research on these matters, and what the timing should be?

He also explains that based upon your body type some people can handle starchy carbs better than others.
It’s just a baseline way to eat and then make adjustments as you need.

I love PN, but personally as I’m bulking I include starchy carbs with every meal, otherwise it would be tougher to get all the calories I need.

When I start to cut I’ll follow the principles and see how far they take me,then adjust from there.

Of course. Still, he doesn’t provide much in terms of evidence about the starchy carbs, nor does he elaborate on how many hours afterward you can eat starchy carbs.

Just seems vague to me and a bit confusing.

You’re right, he’s vague on the duration PWO.

I initially took it as just the meal immediately PWO, but further reading seemed to suggest the next few meals.

I have my clients eat Starchy PWO only (at first) and they see very good results.

I would use that as the baseline and adjust from there.

But, Like said if you’re bulking I think you can get away with more starchy carbs anyways.

[quote]Fiction wrote:
Of course. Still, he doesn’t provide much in terms of evidence about the starchy carbs, nor does he elaborate on how many hours afterward you can eat starchy carbs.

Just seems vague to me and a bit confusing.[/quote]

Evidence?

The fact is the “best” way to eat is far from written in stone. Just by reading the posts on this forum you can see there are wide variations in how individuals handle certain marconutrients.

As a result, it comes down to experimenting on oneself to get an idea of what works best for you.

No one is going to hand you a template of exactly how to eat for optimal long-term results.

There are plenty of authors who recommend eating unprocessed starches with every meal. Scott Abel and Tom Venuto are fine examples. It really depends on ones tolerance to carbohydrates.

It’s just that some people really can’t stop eating starch when they start. This leads to an insulin roller coaster diet all day-- complete with hunger pangs, energy crashes and constant eating. When was the last time that bag of cheetos was actually satiating to an obese guy?

You should also note in PN Berardi says PWO starchy carbs only if “fat loss” is your goal. If you are looking to gain, don’t worry about it.

As far as the duration, I remember him stating that your insulin sensitivity is hightened up to 6 hours afterwards. However, I remember CW suggesting 2 hours afterwards.

My suggestion…have a carb cutoff unless you’re really having difficulty gaining.

He says on the message boards somewhere that the meals in the next 6 hours are the best to include starchy carbs.

and you don’t actually need carbs…

some folks shouldn’t be going over 50gs of carbs a day and then the majority of those carbs should be PWO

EDIT:
my post was more directed to folks who are cutting or seeking to lose fat.

Carbs aren’t the devil

[quote]Fiction wrote:
In the Precision Nutrition system, among Berardi’s 10 Habits he lays out, one is “Do not eat starchy carbs except for a few hours after your workout. Otherwise stick to fruits and vegetables for your carb sources.”

He doesn’t go on to explain why this is other than that “our body seems to process starchy carbs better after working out.” He also doesn’t explain exactly how long we should be eating starchy carbs. What is “a few” hours? Two? Three? Six?

The whole system is pretty clear except for this part, I felt. And since nearly half of the recipes from Gourmet Nutrition are “post workout”, it makes a big difference in when I am going to plan to workout.

So does anyone know if there’s been some research on these matters, and what the timing should be?[/quote]

Do you drink a peri/post workout shake?

If you do; then I’d give about 30min or so for it to fully digest before you have your PWO shake.

You don’t have to be exact (sure it would be nice) with your PWO timing.

Personally, I can tell when it’s been too long after my workout b/c I get super hungry and sorta dizzy. Luckily all my food are prepared ahead of time and all I have to do is snag it from the fridge. So plan ahead and don’t sweat the details. Eat.

[quote]dreads989 wrote:
He says on the message boards somewhere that the meals in the next 6 hours are the best to include starchy carbs. [/quote]

Okay–6 hours it is.

But I’m still not clear on the rationale for this. Is it just the fact that starchy carbs typically have a higher GI rating than fruits and vegetables and contain less anti-oxidants and other micronutrients?

too many people are consuming way more carbs than they deserve for their overall activity level in the day, even if they spend an hour of that in intense training