workout/meal 1 timing

[alrosen97]

I apologize because I know this timing topic has been brought up but I didn't see any previous messages that have the same timing issues as I'm having and wanted some input.

 

I generally get up at 5:30am and workout (cardio or cardio/strength mix) from 6-7 am.  If I am just doing strength I'll get up closer to 6am and workout from 6:30-7:00.  I have to leave my house by 8 am to get to work.  I have been eating a HB egg before working out and that's been working out great.  My question is about my post WO snack and meal 1.  I'm on Day 8 now and I've been finishing my workout around 7:00 and eating meal 1 (no post WO snack) at 7:30.  It's been 3 eggs, veggies, sweet potatoes, and an avacado.  Is the avacado and egg bad becuase it's too much fat for post WO?  Should I be eating a different sort of protein imediately after working out then eating meal 1 30 minutes later?  For the most part I have not been getting hungry between meal 1 and 2 while doing this.  My main priority wiht this program was to slay the sugar dragons (which is so much better already!) but I wouldn't mind a little weight loss as well!

 

I'm a teacher so it would be really difficult for me to get in any sort of food between 8 am and noon.  

 

Thank you for any input! 

 

 

[GoJo09]

I have a similar schedule to you (get home from gym at 6.20am, have breakfast at 7am) - I generally have some sweet potato as soon as I walk in the door, and then a normal meal with fat and protein after I've showered. I don't really work hard enough to require extra protein (IMO, anyway), but I'm always hungry when I get home, hence the sweet potato.

 

No idea if that's the "correct" answer, but it works for me .

[Tom Denham]

The purpose of a post-workout meal is to feed hungry muscles during the brief window they are especially open to eating just after a workout. Your muscles want protein, so we advise eating lean protein within 15-30 minutes of completing your workout because lean protein digests quickly whereas fatty protein or lean protein that is eaten with a fat like avocado or olives digests slower and may not make it to the muscles in time to be of maximum use. The value of eating this lean protein quickly is that your muscles recover from a hard workout quicker and you are ready to train again sooner than you otherwise would. If you eat later than the 15-30 minute period after a workout or eat a meal that includes fat, you are likely to recover from your workout slower.

 

It is fine to combine a post-workout meal and breakfast if that suits your time schedule best. There is no magic to eating two different proteins - one as part of the PWO meal and one as part of breakfast. The only critical thing is to eat lean protein quickly to maximize your recovery.

 

Eating a starchy carb like sweet potato helps you replenish your energy quickly, but is not critical to muscle recovery. Therefore, eating sweet potato is optional. If you need the energy, include carbs in your PWO meal. If you want to maximize weight loss and don't need the energy boost to manage, you can leave them out.

 

You will lose weight doing a Whole30 if you need to lose weight whether you include sweet potato in your PWO meal or not. I did. I used to eat protein and a sweet potato routinely. Later I dropped the sweet potato and kept eating a can of tuna packed in water. I found I did not need the sweet potato to maintain my activity levels.