So this week, Ill be pairing higher carb days with my workout days (Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays). Remember, high intensity exercise uses up your bodys carb stores so you need to replenish these stores so 1) you can continue to crush intense, muscle building workouts throughout the week and 2) to help muscles grow and repair. A nice mix of protein and carbs will do the trick. Notice in stark contrast to my low carb meals, this meal is MUCH lower in fat. Thats for 2 reasons. 1) Pairing high glycemic carbs with a high fat meal can be detrimental to blood/heart health and 2) fat can slow the absorption rate of other nutrients and in this case, I want my muscles to get a fast and quick shot of protein and carbs for the reasons mentioned above. Youll notice I specially chose high glycemic carbs like white rice, sugary yogurt, and sweet pineapple. While many health advocates promote low glycemic carbs, the post-workout window (yes even at night) is a great time for junkier, high glycemic carbs. Why? Well high glycemic carbs give you a big release of insulin. Insulin attaches to specific receptors on muscle cells. When this happens, it allows for glucose (the sugar from the carbs) and amino acids (the building clocks of protein) to enter muscle cells. As alluded to above, insulin is also important for aiding muscle protein synthesis and decreasing muscle protein breakdown - leaving you with a recipe for more muscle. Now, some of strict paleo/primal counter parts may take exception to sugary/processed stuff like Chobani yogurt but it is being used for a very targeted purpose. The average person who is not carrying the same level of muscle mass not engaging in the high-volume, heavy weight training that I am should not be trying to eat the same foods. They would do better sticking to a more protein and fat based dinner with less carbs. And yes, I am eating this right before bed. Eating at night/eating carbs at night making you fat is a complete myth. In fact, trying to eat healthy carbs like brown rice or wheat bread before bed can be counter productive to your bodybuilding efforts. Why are junky carbs better than healthy carbs before bed? Because your body releases growth hormone during sleep but only when insulin levels have returned to baseline. Junkier carbs give you a faster insulin spike and a faster drop to baseline whereas healthy carbs keep your insulin elevated for hours, causing you to miss on this important growth hormone release. Lots of information, I know, but you asked for it :)
Posted on: Tue, 03 Jun 2014 02:17:53 +0000
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