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When you are looking for the best times to eat for muscle growth, you will find that you have a wide range of recommendations and opinions. This is because each person’s body is unique and responds in different ways to the same foods. However, most experts do agree on the fact that certain times of the day are most important in terms of muscle building.
If that is your focus then, by all means, eat whatever you like but remember that muscle growth requires the ingestion of an elevated calorie intake and an elevated protein intake. You need both of these in excess. In reality, what you’re really looking for is the best times to eat for muscle growth, are the times when you are feeding your body with the correct amount of calories, the right amounts of carbohydrates, the right amounts of fats, and of course the correct amounts of protein. Don’t ever go hungry, or cut back on your carbs and fats, give your body what it needs to build your muscles. It is the only true way to accomplish maximum growth in your training sessions.
Many august that the best times to eat for muscle growth are actually in the late afternoon after you’ve completed your workout. Your body has been fasting all night long and now it’s time to get some food in your system. Of course, you should still make sure that it’s still early morning before you go to bed. The reason behind this is because during the day your body is expending all of its energy and basically at this point your body is very tired and needs a nap.
Eating a Meal Before a Workout
Eating a meal before a workout is a good idea. It helps jump-start your metabolism and supplies the fuel you need to exercise and build muscle. It’s also good for your diet because it reduces the number of calories you consume at pre-workout meals. Eating a meal before a workout also provides you with time to properly digest and absorb the nutrients from the food. 1
When it comes to foods you should be eating before a workout, the first category contains foods that are high in calories. You want to get the most energy out of each calorie you ingest, so eat before a workout filled with foods high in calories like nuts, eggs, or even avocados. Foods high in fats, like oils, may also be included in this category, but be sure to limit fats from meats (game meat especially) and nuts. Eating fats gives you the energy you need, but not the harmful fats found in lots of different foods, such as those found in chips and other snacks. Lean proteins provide your body with all of the essential amino acids and carbohydrates it needs to repair muscle tissue after each workout, so remember to have some on hand before your workouts.
The Benefits of Eating Before a Workout
Pre-workout nutrition is an important aspect of every fitness routine. Eating the proper foods before you exercise can really help to fuel your exercises, speed up your progress and get you closer to your fitness and health goals. The perfect foods will most likely be different for everyone, however, there are some foods that you can probably include in your pre-workout diet.
For starters, foods containing complex carbohydrates are usually best as they tend to have less effect on your blood sugar levels and make muscle building easier. Eating more complex carbs also helps to boost your energy level throughout your workout, which will make you more productive and result in higher gains during your workouts.
- Protein – One of the most important benefits of a pre-workout meal is that it should be high in protein. This is necessary to give your muscles the fuel they need in order to gain from your workout2. Three macronutrients you should look for in a protein supplement include whey, casein, and egg protein. Most protein supplements also offer other beneficial nutrients including carbs and fats. The perfect food to consume before a workout is something that contains large amounts of protein and carbohydrates.3
- Carbohydrates – Another benefit of eating before a workout is to replenish the glycogen levels within your muscles. If you have enough carbohydrates to replenish your body’s glycogen supplies within an hour or so of exercising, you will prevent the replenishment of glycogen within your muscles that would normally take hours. The reason your muscles’ glycogen levels are replenished is because they are broken down to form glucose. You can eat a wide range of complex carbohydrates or you can get away with a couple of simple starches like potatoes. Either way, make sure you consume complex carbohydrates and stay away from simple carbohydrates.4
Eating a Meal Post Workout
Eating a well-balanced meal after a workout is extremely important if you want to maintain muscle mass and maximize your metabolic efficiency while burning fat. If you are a serious bodybuilder or simply an everyday person who works out, eating a proper meal every two or three hours after your workouts is highly advised. Even if you have the most disciplined eating plan, there will be times when you overeat and your efforts are wasted. A post-workout meal is definitely something you need to get right. It’s not just your meal; it’s also the amount of food you eat and what type of food you choose.
With that said, most nutrition experts recommend a post-workout meal consisting of carbohydrates (mainly carbs), a healthy protein snack like low-fat plain yogurt, and an assortment of veggies, including broccoli and cauliflower. Protein is absolutely critical after working out. Without enough protein, your muscle mass is gone before you even leave the gym. You are what you eat most especially with your post-workout meal. However, if you’ve read up on post-workout foods or planned for carb-to-protein ratios, it still is a whole different conversation.
Carbohydrates and proteins provide fuel and replenish the nutrients that were used in your workout.[5] You can satisfy your needs of carbohydrates and protein by having a post-workout meal consisting of those foods as well as other delicious snacks. 6 Just remember to replenish what you used because no matter how much you workout, you will not make a positive change in your overall fitness level if you don’t give your body a chance to recover!
The Top Benefits of Eating After a Workout
When it comes to eating after a workout, you have to make sure that you are getting the most out of this whole eating after a workout thing. You need to make sure that you are not sacrificing any of the benefits of eating after a workout for this one single meal. You should know that these benefits of eating after a workout are actually pretty big and they can actually help to shape your body into a more perfect state if you follow the meal plans that are offered after each and every workout session. The best benefit of all is that it will actually make you lose weight faster than you think possible. Here is what you can expect from these benefits of eating after a workout.7
First of all, by eating before and after each and every workout session you will be able to greatly reduce how much fat you end up packing on. This is because, during your workout time, your body was actually burning calories at a very high rate. Over time, as you continued to work out, the number of calories you burned off as fat actually increased. By eating a meal right after your workout, you will be delaying the fat-burning process that your body had going on.8 The end result of delayed fat burning will be an increase in weight. Therefore, you will be losing a lot more weight than if you had simply continued to work out and not eaten anything before you went to bed.
Another one of the great benefits of eating after a workout is that you will be able to feel great and not be hungry for a long period of time. When your body is full, you tend to feel great and this can help you to stay motivated throughout your workouts. If you are hungry all the time, then you will likely quit or at least look negatively at the things in your life that you have to work hard for and be successful at. Eating post-workout meal benefits can actually help you become a success and accomplish your goals in life.
Eating a Meal Before Bed
Eating a healthy meal before bed is usually discouraged by adherents of good night sleep hygiene. While healthy sleep does not necessarily require fasting forever, large meals may disrupt sleep patterns and cause indigestion, heartburn, or stimulate certain organs which would otherwise be inactive during the night. Nevertheless, many people still believe that the best time to eat is before bedtime. The truth is that while it’s probably not a good idea to fast or skip meals altogether, you don’t have to deprive yourself of your favorite foods. In fact, the best time to eat is actually before going to sleep!
When it comes to snacking before bed, the general rule is, don’t even try to reduce the number of calories you are eating. The fewer calories you consume, the less weight you’ll gain. Instead, focus on snacking on healthy, light snacks like fruit, a piece of cheese, or a bowl of cereal with low-fat milk. Snacks like this will help you feel full later, which helps you avoid overeating later on in the day.
A good way to start regulating your body clock is to prepare a light, nutritious dinner and then snack during the day. This allows your stomach to settle after eating a meal earlier in the day, reducing the feeling of fullness that can lead to acid reflux later in the evening. If you’re having trouble controlling your eating before bed, consider giving up snacking all together for one half to one hour each evening. Alternatively, consider adjusting your mealtime and diet in order to get more of what’s beneficial for your body into your system through the course of the evening. While it may take some practice to learn the correct timing of your food, once you know when you should stop eating you’ll be well on your way to a better night’s sleep.
Benefits of Eating Before Bed
The benefits of eating before bed can vary depending on who the person is and how serious the problem is[9]. For some people, it might not be a good idea at all because they might be very hungry or craving something not even realize they need it. On the other hand, for other people having something before bedtime can mean a much calmer and relaxed night’s sleep.[10] Regardless of why you need to make this change, it will benefit your body and mind in many ways.
One of the most obvious benefits of eating before bed is that it can curb your morning appetite. If you have issues with overeating at night or simply do not feel like eating anything before bedtime then making a quick healthy meal could be just what you need to lose weight. This might be the only thing you need to get yourself back on track and begin enjoying a healthy diet again.
The benefits of eating before bed also include the fact that it will allow you to control your calories and portion control[11]. If you do not eat a large enough amount in the morning and when you do eat it is usually smaller portions. This means you are still satisfied but are not overeating in general which is the worst thing for most people trying to lose weight and get fit. Even if you are not overweight, you can see where the biggest difference in your eating habits comes from because you will be able to control your caloric intake with a much easier process.
Image Credits
Ora Fitness & Yoga / January 11, 2018
Gym Guider / 2021
Femina.in / July 24, 2020
Million Centers / June 10, 2019
1 “Pre-Workout Nutrition: What to Eat Before a Workout – Healthline.” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-before-workout Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
2 “Protein: Why Your Body Needs It – WebMD.” https://www.webmd.com/diet/benefits-protein Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
3 “5 Key Benefits of Protein for Health and Athletic Performance.” https://iamherbalifenutrition.com/fitness/protein-benefits/ Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
4 “Carbohydrates: Uses, health benefits, nutrition, and risks.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161547 Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
5 “Carbohydrates 101: The benefits of carbohydrates | Reid Health.” https://www.reidhealth.org/blog/carbohydrates-101-the-benefits-of-carbohydrates Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
6 “What Are Carbohydrates? Benefits, Functions, Best Sources, Diets ….” 1 Mar. 2019, https://www.everydayhealth.com/carbohydrates/guide/ Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
7 “What to eat after a workout to lose weight, build muscle, and recover ….” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322692 Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
8 “Post-Workout Nutrition: What to Eat After a Workout – Healthline.” 20 Sep. 2016, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/eat-after-workout Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
9 “Should You Eat Before Bed? All the Pros and Cons – Amerisleep.” 15 Jan. 2021, https://amerisleep.com/blog/eating-before-bed/ Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
10 “Is Eating Before Bed Bad? Pros and Cons | Leesa.” https://www.leesa.com/blogs/sleep-health-and-wellness/eating-before-bed-pros-and-cons Accessed 21 Jun. 2021
11 “4 Surprising Benefits of Eating at Night | Livestrong.com.” https://www.livestrong.com/article/1005007-4-surprising-benefits-eating-night/ Accessed 21 Jun. 2021.
