You work hard, you sweat, you push yourself harder each time you exercise. You do what you think you need to do while you exercise to get leaner, stronger, healthier and generally more fit. Yet, most people don’t realize that the benefits of a great workout come in the hours and days following the exercise session. A training session is a stimulus to make your body change, but for that to happen, you must provide the right kind of nutrition before and after your workout, in addition to a good diet the rest of the day.

Most of the advice people receive about pre and post-workout nutrition comes from research on athletes. For athletes performing several hours of training each day, recovery becomes critically important. They also tend to burn significantly more calories than the average person who exercises for an hour three to six times per week. The appropriate pre and post-workout nutrition approach for an average person is dramatically different than the ideal approach for an athlete. Because this series of articles is targeted at the average person looking to optimize their ability to shed fat and body weight, we’ll look at pre and post-workout nutrition from that point of view in this article.

As you may recall from the first article in this series, we reviewed how your body uses its main fuel sources – carbohydrates and fat – and how you can measure how efficient your body is at burning fat over carbohydrate. In the second article, we looked at how the meals you choose to eat each day play an important role in which fuel your body burns; carbohydrate or fat. When people eat excessive amounts of carbohydrate, their body becomes more of a sugar-burner, which makes it difficult to shed extra body fat. Those two articles are an important foundation because the perfect pre and post-workout nutrition approach doesn’t provide much benefit if the rest of an individual’s nutrition plan is not appropriate.

Origins of Pre and Post-Workout Nutrition

Much of the advice about pre-workout and post-workout nutrition comes from sports-performance nutrition. Originally, carbohydrates were found to be an important part of optimizing endurance performance, especially in athletes who spent hours each day exercising. Over the past twenty years, pre and post-workout nutrition became a more common component of strength and bodybuilding nutrition programs as well. In 2004, Dr. John Ivy and Dr. Robert Portman published a book called Nutrient Timing which became an often-used template for optimizing nutrient intake for athletes.

The nutrient timing recommendations for athletes became more mainstream recommendations, even though there was little evidence of their value for the general population. People were told to load up on high-carb foods before their 45 minute cardio session and have another high-carb, moderate protein meal immediately after. As we’ll see, these recommendations may offset the benefits individuals may have gained from their exercise sessions.

Fat-Burning Effects of Exercise

Exercise has been shown to dramatically increase fat utilization during a workout, as well as for up to 36 hours after a training session, provided the right approach to nutrition is taken.  Think of that! If you follow the right approach to nutrition, your body can be burning extra fat for a day and a half after exercising! Different types of exercise sessions affect fat metabolism in different ways, which we’ll look at in an upcoming article. The main point here is an exercise session has a dramatic effect on metabolism and fat utilization. If your post workout approach and general diet are appropriate, those effects can be long-lasting.

Pre-Workout Nutrition and Fat Loss

If you remember from the previous article, carbohydrate intake leads to an increase in insulin production. Increased levels of insulin decrease the ability to burn fat. Studies in both athletes and non-athletes show that a pre-workout meal has the ability to significantly alter the body’s ability to burn fat.

For those who have a primary goal of body fat reduction, exercising in the morning in a fasted state has been shown to result in the greatest amount of fat utilization.  Glucose levels are usually the lowest in the morning, which means insulin levels are low, so fat utilization is higher. For those who exercise first-thing in the morning, waiting to eat until after exercise can be a great way to stimulate an increase in fat burning. Again, this is for those looking to shed body fat. Doing a high-intensity strength training or Boot Camp style workout without eating first could result in a big drop in performance. That isn’t what we’re talking about here, though.

For those who are not early-risers, or just don’t have time in the morning to exercise, it’s likely you’ll be eating meals prior to exercise, so your pre-workout food choices are important to ensure you’re able to burn as much fat as possible during your training session. The recommendations for pre-exercise meals are much like they were for the diet in general. For fat loss, studies show fewer carbohydrates consumed results in greater fat burning.  One of the myths about exercise is a high-carb snack will provide energy during a training session, but in reality, the carbohydrates are really only beneficial for athletes training for over sixty minutes. Also, if a runner is carrying an extra 20 pounds of body fat, it would be more worthwhile to sacrifice a bit of performance and drop the body fat levels as opposed to overusing carbohydrates to get through a training session.
For those doing extended training sessions where carbohydrate intake may be important, low-glycemic carbohydrates (whole, unprocessed carb) allow the body to burn more fat than high-glycemic carbohydrates (breads, cereals, juice, gels,etc.)  Again, if the goal is really about fat-loss, these food probably aren’t necessary.

Good pre-workout options will vary based on individuals’ taste preferences, digestion and time available prior to a workout. Snack foods could include nuts and seeds, whey protein, a couple of hard-boiled eggs or some jerky.

Post-Workout Nutrition

If you’ve done everything right with your nutrition through your training session, you’ve set yourself up with an increased metabolic rate and an increased fat utilization. What you do after your exercise session can help the fat-burning continue, or stop it in its tracks.
Fat utilization is increased when glucose (blood-sugar levels) are decreased. The post-workout effects on metabolism may also result from increased gloconeogenesis (refilling glycogen levels), increased protein synthesis and/or hormonal changes.  By providing your body what it needs to begin the recovery process, without raising blood-sugar levels excessively, you may be able to prolong the fat-burning effects of your exercise session.

To reiterate the significance of your post-exercise meal choice, a study published in Nutrition & Metabolism compared the results of an intense exercise session followed by a mixed meal (50 g carbs, 7 g fat, 20 g protein) with a calorie-free placebo. They compared both groups with a non-exercising group who also ate the mixed meal. The group who ate the calorie-free placebo continued to burn an elevated amount of fat long after the exercise bout. However, the group who exercised and had the mixed meal after exercise had the same rates of fat utilization as those who did no exercise! Basically, the carbohydrates in the post-workout meal shut down the fat-burning benefit of the training session.  This begs the question, then, “What is an ideal post-workout meal?”

During a training session, you have put stress on your body and it does require some nutrients to begin the recovery process. Protein is a key nutrient necessary to help muscle tissue repair itself. If additional calories are needed, some healthy fat could be added as well, such as coconut milk, nut butter or flax. A protein shake can be ideal because it is absorbed faster than a whole-food meal. Whey protein is an ideal protein powder, and whey isolate is low enough in lactose that many who have lactose intolerance can still use it without digestive distress. Rice protein and yellow pea protein reasonable vegetarian protein sources. Beyond shakes, a nutrient-dense, lower-carb option can simply be a salad with protein on it.

After an intense workout, a shake might be better, but following a cardio workout, a salad can work well. Remember, the goal is to keep your body burning fat, so if you have a salad, skip the bread and croutons. If you’re going to have a meal replacement shake, look for one that has more protein than it has carbohydrates. Otherwise, have a shake with whey protein and some berries. Though it’s a good idea to limit carbohydrates for fat-loss benefits after exercise, they do not need to be eliminated. Fibrous vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds and even high-quality protein shakes will have some carbohydrates, but that’s nothing to be concerned with.

One final caution on your post-workout meal. Some people work up quite an appetite during their exercise session. As much as you may feel you’ve “earned” something, if the goal is weight loss, you have to maintain some control over what you’re eating. I’ve met many people over the years who were consistent with their workouts and thought they were doing everything right with their nutrition, but couldn’t figure out why the scale wasn’t changing. For many of them, the protein shake with extra fruit, sandwich and bag of baked chips more than offset any benefits they would have gotten from their exercise session.

Summary

As you may have realized, there isn’t a big secret to what you should eat prior to and following an exercise program. The only thing out of the ordinary from the rest of the meals during the day is the fact that protein shakes are a convenient, efficient and effective way to take in the nutrients you need prior to and following exercise without adding additional carbohydrates or calories.
From a nutrition standpoint, the foods you eat are a huge part of how you can enhance your body’s ability to burn fat. In the next fat-burning article, we’ll look at which nutritional supplements can further enhance fat-burning and weight loss. However, if you’re not doing what you should with the foods you eat, there’s little effect dietary supplements will be able to have.

In health,
Tom Nikkola

See also: Making the Body a Better Fat Burner: An Introduction

See also: Making the Body a Better Fat Burner: Meal Basics

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There wasn’t a great place to add this paragraph, but it is important to include in this article about nutrition and exercise. In the many years I worked in our fitness centers, I saw dozens of people pass out, get incredibly sick, disoriented and become pale and clammy. Once they were feeling back to normal, we often discussed what they had eaten prior to their workout. Almost every time, the response was something like a granola bar. A processed, high-carb snack can cause a fast increase in blood-sugar levels. As blood-sugar goes up, insulin goes up, which causes blood-sugar to go down. When an exercise session begins shortly after insulin levels peak, both insulin and the exercise session can drive blood-sugar levels down dramatically. Often times, the result would be a crash in blood sugar, and the feelings described above. Although everyone I saw this happen to eventually recovered and nothing serious happened, it can be a scary situation. If you are new to exercise, or feel you are deconditioned, please work with someone experienced in nutrition and its application to exercise, and take your time adapting to a higher-intensity exercise program. The Fitness Professionals are there to support you, so ask for help when you need it.

References

Kimber NE, Heigenhauser GJ, Spriet LL, Dyck DJ. Skeletal muscle fat and carbohydrate metabolism during recovery from glycogen-depleting exercise in humans. J Physiol. 2003;548:919–27
Bennard P, Doucet E. Acute effects of exercise timing and breakfast meal glycemic index on exercise-induced fat oxidation. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2006;31(5);502-511
Stevenson E, Astbury N, Simpson E, Taylor M, MacDonald I. Fat Oxidation during Exercise and Satiety during Recovery Are Increased Following a Low-Glycemic Index Breakfast in Sedentary Women. J Nutr. 2009;139(5):890-897

This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.

Imagine this. You meet someone new every minute of the day, 24 hours per day, for 196 years. That's a lot of people! In fact, it's 103 million people. And that is the number of people projected to be obese in the United States alone, in 2018, 45% of our population! A recent report by Kenneth E. Thorpe, Ph.D. outlines the troubling future we are headed towards if we don't change course in the growth of obesity. Some of the major findings from the report included some incredible points:

• Obesity is growing faster than any previous public health issue our nation has faced (that is worth reading twice). If current trends continue, 103 million American adults will be considered obese by 2018.

• The U.S. is expected to spend $344 billion on health care costs attributable to obesity in 2018 if rates continue to increase at their current levels (That is more money than the Gross National Income of all but the top 14 wealthiest nations!). Obesity-related direct expenditures are expected to account for more than 21 percent of the nation's direct health care spending in 2018.

• If obesity levels were held at their current rates, the U.S. could save an estimated $820 per adult in health care costs by 2018 - a savings of almost $200 billion dollars.

Even more startling statistics comes from the January 2010 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition:

A sampling of 324 4-year-old Chilean children showed that:

- 13% of 4 year-olds were obese

- 11% of 4 year-olds had central obesity (a larger risk factor than when body fat is stored elsewhere)

- More than 20% had lipid disorders

- 70% of the children had at least one cardiometabolic risk factor

Making a Change

The beginning of a new year marks the start of the season of new exercise programs, new diets, and new commitments. There won't likely be a change in the food options at the grocery store in the near future. People will have to shop with a stronger resolve to choose foods that promote health, reduce hunger, support blood-sugar management, and enhance energy levels. It is not easy to get started, but it's possible with the right approach. Here are a few keys to make 2010 a success:

1. Get support: Make your commitment with a friend, or get into a group program with other people facing similar challenges like eat or TEAM Weight Loss. People looking to make a lifestyle change, and are part of a social network or support community, are consistently more successful.
2. Start with a plan: At the start of the new year, many people attempt to eat less, without understanding exactly what to eat, and begin exercising more, without knowing exactly how to structure their exercise program. It is critical to get support from experts in Nutrition and Exercise. At Life Time, take advantage of a free FitPoint and Nutrition Consultation.
3. Start using Supplements: A high-quality multivitamin, omega-3 fish oil and protein powders are essential components of a solid nutrition and exercise plan.
4. Think long-term: Changing nutrition and exercise habits is not a short-term solution. The same principles that allow someone to shed the wait are the principles that allow them to keep it off, along with maintaining health status such as cardiovascular risk factors.
5. If the plan you're following isn't working, get guidance from a professional: Many people attempt the same thing they did the previous year, even though it didn't work. Every person is an individual, with a unique metabolism. If you're not seeing the changes you'd expect, talk to a Personal Trainer or Nutrition Coach for help in finding out what will work.

Changing the direction of health in our nation starts with one person at a time. Many studies have shown that as one person changes his or her lifestyle, it has a major impact on those around them. One person changing his or her life can have a significant impact on many more. This could be your year to be an inspiration for those around you.

In health,

Tom Nikkola

Resources:

Thorpe K. The Future Cost of Obesity: National and State Estimates of the Impact of Obesity on Direct Health Care Expenses. Emory Univeristy. November, 2009.

Corvalan C, Uauy R, Kain J, Martorell R. Obesity indicators and cardiometabolic status in 4-y-old children. J Clin Nutr. 2010;91:166-74

This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.

The recent Time Magazine article on exercise and weight loss has led to significant debate and confusion. As is often the case, many news headlines about a story like this have focused on the most controversial aspects of the story, and left out the points that can help an individual get the direction he or she needs to enhance their health and fitness. We'll take a look at some of the important points from the article, as well as some other facts to keep in mind regarding exercise and weight loss. Keep in mind that the article was really about exercise and weight loss. There are many other benefits of exercise aside from the possibility of losing weight, which were not part of the story.

Exercise, Diet, and Weight Loss

Since 1994, the National Weight Control Registryhas been tracking the results of those who have lost weight and kept it off. According to the NWCR, the average participant in the registry has lost 66 pounds and kept if off for an average of 5.5 years. How did they do it?

98% report they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight

94% increased their physical activity

Diet and exercise. At Life Time Fitness, we often talk about the Healthy Way of Life Triangle, which represents Education, Exercise and Nutrition. We know that health and fitness is achieved through attention to each corner of the triangle, not by focusing on only one corner at a time. Unfortunately, as the Time article pointed out, many people believe their workout is all they need to lose weight. In theory, if someone were to add exercise to a daily regimen, and kept everything else exactly the same (food intake, other activity), they would see the scale move. Things rarely work out that way, though. Many people feel they deserve to treat themselves for sticking with their workout program for the week, and they offset what they burned through exercise by making poor dietary choices. It could be right after a workout, or it could be during the weekend, when they say, "I was good all week with my workouts. I've earned..." It isn't that exercise is keeping someone from losing weight. It is the mentality that exercise is something that comes with a reward in diet, when in reality the reward for exercise should be the change in how someone looks and feels.

Another point to keep in mind is that a workout is a stimulus for the body to change in some way. As Naturopathic Physician and Nutrition Coach,Dr. Matt Marturano pointed out, "the point of exercise is to create changes in a person's physiology such that weight loss becomes easier and more sustainable."

Learning From the Article

What are the important key messages in the article, and what are some things to keep in mind that were not included?

1. Exercise, by itself, may not create weight loss. The 400-1000 calories that are burned during a workout can easily be replaced through poor dietary choices. On the flip-side, if you chose not to exercise, you would have to eat even less to create weight loss. There are many other benefits that come from exercise, such as improved strength, bone density, range of motion, enhanced insulin sensitivity, improved ability to handle stress, and more. Just keep in mind that without paying attention to what you eat, there is an extremely low success rate in achieving weight loss goals.
2. Exercise should be done to train the cardiovascular system and muscular system, not just to burn calories. As we age, muscles fatigue more quickly, reduce their endurance capacity, and lose strength. As these changes occur, moving around becomes more of a challenge, which decreases daily caloric expenditure. If this is not met with a reduced calorie intake, weight gain can be a result. Exercise slows the loss in muscle function and cardiovascular performance. Studies show that it is much more difficult to try to regain what the body loses through age, than to slow the regression through daily exercise throughout adulthood.
3. Increasing muscle tissue increases metabolism, but not that much. In the fitness world, there is a common belief that a pound of muscle burned 30 to 50 calories per day. In fact, most studies show that a pound of muscle burns 6-10 calories per day. In addition, some people may be misled by the idea that a gain in lean body mass is the same as a gain in muscle tissue. When people begin a new training program, they often see an increase in lean body mass according to skinfold caliper tests. Skinfold calipers measure the difference between fat mass and fat-free mass, which includes water. Many people will become better at storing glycogen in their muscles as they begin exercising. Each gram of glycogen carries 3-4 grams of water with it. A four pound increase in lean body mass in the first month of a training program is likely coming from glycogen and water, which will have minimal effect on metabolism. An increase in lean body mass is not a free pass to eat more.
4. Reward yourself for achieving your goal, not for completing a workout. There is certainly a psychological benefit to being able to eat a meal you enjoy on occasion. The danger is when those "favorite foods" find their way into your diet too often. There are a couple of different ways to successfully fit those foods into your plan. If your goal is weight loss, you could celebrate with a reward meal when you achieve a certain weight. Of course, this is a one-time thing until you get to your next weight loss goal. The other way to fit in your favorite foods is to make them part of your meal plan. If you'd like to have a high-calorie meal on the weekend, you'll have to offset that by eating fewer calories from carbohydrates or fat during other parts of the week. Many people find they can handle the hunger that goes along with a lower-calorie diet if they have something to look forward to on the weekend.

5. Remember that being thin is different than being lean. All too often, people will focus on a number on a scale, rather than a target body fat percentage. When people focus too much on a low-calorie diet, and neglect the exercise part of a program, they may end up thin, but still have a higher body fat percentage. If the focus is too much on weight loss instead of body fat loss, much muscle and bone can be lost. A drastic loss in lean body mass, which can include loss of bone tissue, can lead to many additional health problems. To ensure the weight that comes off is body fat, a proper exercise program must be part of any fitness program. Most programs should include a solid resistance training program, paired up with the appropriate cardiovascular plan.

Summary

There are a couple of other points the article made worth mentioning. The article included a quote that read "60 to 90 minutes (of exercise) on most days of the week (is) a level that not only is unrealistic for those of us trying to keep or find a job but could easily produce, on the basis of Church's data, a ravenous compensatory eating." Please don't buy into the idea that there is not time for exercise. Almost everyone can find the time to fit in an hour of exercise during their daily routine. In the beginning, it may feel like a  sacrifice, but once you start looking and feeling better, you may find it to be the highlight of your day. The last part of the sentence above states that exercising will cause "ravenous compensatory eating." It is possible that exercise may increase hunger at times, but to think it will create "ravenous" hunger may be overstated, especially if an individual is consuming optimal levels of high-quality protein, essential fats, quality carbohydrates, fruits, vegetables, and appropriate nutritional supplements.

The key, as was discussed at the beginning, is that exercise and nutrition must both be part of a good fitness plan. Education, exercise and nutrition - that is and always will be the answer to a Healthy Way of Life.

In health,

Tom Nikkola

References

Wolfe, R. The underappreicated role of muscle in health and disease. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84:475-82

Kelley D, Goodpaster B, Wing R, Simoneau J. Skeletal muscle fatty acid metabolism in association with insulin resistance, obesity, and weight loss. Am J Physiol. 1999. 277:E1130-E1141

Balagopal P, Rooyackers O, Adey D, Ades P, Nair K. Effects of aging on in vivo synthesis of skeletal muscle myosin heavy-chain and sarcoplasmic protein in humans. Am J Physiol. 1997. 273:E790-E800

Biolo G, Tipton KD, Klein S, Wolfe RR. An abundant supply of amino acids enhance the metabolic effect of exercise on muscle protein. Am J Physiol Edocrinol Metab. 1997. 273:E122-E129

Cloud J. Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin. Time Magazine. August 9, 2009

This article is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations in this and other articles is at the choice and risk of the reader.