Fitness Question: Protein shakes after or before workout or both when trying to burn fat and get lean?

[DAWeinG]

I take my protein shakes after my workout but I was wondering if it is also good to take it before a workout. I am under the impression that I will be burning the calories from the protein shake rather than fat calories during a workout. I do my workouts right after I wake up and before I eat anything and I'm trying to burn fat and get lean.

Edit: Nevermind... Found my answer here. 🙂


"Before a workout?
Depending on your goals?
Weight loss - best to work out on a empty stomach to increase the fat burning effect.
Muscle Building - my best results come from eating a high protein meal, a shake, about an hour before my workout.
Post workout...
No matter what your goals are, eating a high protein shake or meal within a half hour after your workout will double the effectiveness of your workout. Remember not to work out for more than 60 minutes at a time. Also, by including a separate Glutamine and Aminogen
supplement will increase the uptake to protein into your muscle for maximum growth."

 

[daveymark]

Take the shake after you workout, but wait an hour or so before you do

 

[DAWeinG]

Originally posted by: daveymark
Take the shake after you workout, but wait an hour or so before you do

I'm confused, I've read that you should eat something within 30 minutes of your workout to ensure that your metabolism is more active through the rest of the day?

 

[Riprorin]

I drink a protein shake first thing in the morning when I get up and just before bed at night.

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: DAWeinG
I take my protein shakes after my workout but I was wondering if it is also good to take it before a workout. I am under the impression that I will be burning the calories from the protein shake rather than fat calories during a workout. I do my workouts right after I wake up and before I eat anything and I'm trying to burn fat and get lean.

Assuming that your workouts do not last for 10 hours at a time. Physiologically, I can not see where it matters when you consume protein. First your muscles use its glycogen stores and then switches to fat metabolism. It would take time for protein to be broken down, transferred from the gut into the blood stream, and then metabolized.

It may matter if you do not like to excercise with something in your stomach.

 

[GermyBoy]

Originally posted by: DAWeinG

Originally posted by: daveymark Take the shake after you workout, but wait an hour or so before you do

I'm confused, I've read that you should eat something within 30 minutes of your workout to ensure that your metabolism is more active through the rest of the day?

That's a good question.

 

[daveymark]

oh

 

[Siddhartha]

Originally posted by: DAWeinG
I take my protein shakes after my workout but I was wondering if it is also good to take it before a workout. I am under the impression that I will be burning the calories from the protein shake rather than fat calories during a workout. I do my workouts right after I wake up and before I eat anything and I'm trying to burn fat and get lean.

Edit: Nevermind... Found my answer here. 🙂


"Before a workout?
Depending on your goals?
Weight loss - best to work out on a empty stomach to increase the fat burning effect.
Muscle Building - my best results come from eating a high protein meal, a shake, about an hour before my workout.
Post workout...
No matter what your goals are, eating a high protein shake or meal within a half hour after your workout will double the effectiveness of your workout. Remember not to work out for more than 60 minutes at a time. Also, by including a separate Glutamine and Aminogen
supplement will increase the uptake to protein into your muscle for maximum growth."

Is this based on research or anecdotal evidence?

 

[Whisper]

I've heard a few people mention that it's best to eat withing 15-30 minutes after working out (i.e. that's the "critical period"). Not sure, but I've noticed that since eating somewhat soon after working out as opposed to waiting two hours first, I've gained some good weight.

 

[Howard]

If you eat before you work out, I've heard blood gets diverted to digest the food. Not sure if it's true or not.

 

[cchen]

Unless you eat a ton of meat a day, you probably don't intake enough protein. I've found that protein shake in the morning, one after working out, and then one before bed has worked well for me.

 

[Amused]

I've had great results building a lot of lean muscle mass by having a shake an hour or 2 before working out when I wake up, 20 minutes after working out and one before bed.

I also eat 5-6 times a day with a higher protein to carbs ratio towards the evening. A couple of those meals are high whey protein/low carb meal bars.

Mind you, I do 40 minutes of vigorous cardio 4 days a week to keep the fat from creeping back on.