Thank you for checking out The Community Conversation, brought to you by Prototype Training Systems, home of CrossFit Prototype! This episode of The Community Conversation is a NUTRITION EDITION! Typically, The Community Conversation highlights a different member of the Prototype Community each week and allows them to tell their story, share their life experience, and communicate their perspective on all things fitness. For this episode, we have two of our Prototype Nutrition Coaches dropping some Nutrition knowledge bombs!
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For this nutrition edition of the Community Conversation, Prototype Nutrition Coach Jon Collette and Prototype Nutrition’s Registered Dietitian, Sam Hally will be discussing if you should eat the same on your rest and workout days. If you’re looking to learn more about nutrition for yourself or pick up some tips, you will want to check this out!
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Jon 0:03
Welcome to the community conversation seminar back discussing nutrition with you guys to help. I’ll give you guys some practical strategies that you can apply to your day to day. So what we want to talk about today is a common question we get often is, should your nutrition change? Depending on whether you’re working out? Or if you’re resting? And I think that’s more of, should your food choices change? Should your caloric intake change? Should you do anything different between your workout days and your rest is? So talk about a little bit? So, Sam, start off with asking you the question of, you know, what do you do on days that you workout that you don’t do on days that you don’t work out.
Sam 0:58
So I think if someone’s working out, or maybe I’ll just talk about, like, if I were to work out, because, you know, here’s a hypothetical. Um, but if I’m working out, I’m probably gonna have like a separate pre workout snack that’s like, not necessarily included on a normal day that I’m not working out. And also potentially a post workouts now. And that’s just something small to like, make sure I have enough energy to carry me through the workout. And then something again, small to make sure that I’m not like passed out on the floor, since the workouts done, like a bit of carbs, a bit of protein, maybe a little bit of fat, depending on what else I have going on in the day, definitely quite a bit more water just because I’m sweating more. But when you look at like, the day as a whole, not that much changes, like breakfast would be the same lunch would be the same dinner would be the same. It’s just like the like, two hour window of my day surrounding the workout that like I personally would change, I would probably recommend other people to change as well. And what does that kind of look like for you, John?
Jon 2:00
So it depends on what time workout, if I’m working out at 5am, then you know, what I eat might be a little bit different than if I’m working out at, you know, 10 o’clock or noon, just I get also like what I would have afterwards if I had a meal coming up afterwards, I wouldn’t need to put in like a snack before that because I’d had the meal so I wouldn’t not too much my change there. But if I have like a longer gap before my workout, then it’s probably going to be a little bit of a bigger meal than if I only had like, no, if we’re working out at five in the morning, some people don’t like to have like a ton of food. So they something like small maybe it’s just like half a banana or something like little and then they have like a meal like they’re like their full breakfast afterwards. For me, I would say I’m probably a little different than how most people would do it just because my opportunity to eat if I am Morgana 5am is going to I’m not going to eat again and for like until like almost like 11am So I’m gonna I almost wake up a little bit earlier than I would want to wake up just to be able to eat some food so I normally do like a little bit like cereal in the morning and then after my workout depending on I might do like an hour hour and a half later I might do like like a shake or protein bar or something something like that. Just make sure I get get some energy back but I’m always like the hydration is like one of the most important things for me is like making sure that I drink water before and after work and then depending on how soon after or before I could kind of dictate like what I’m going to have.
Sam 3:44
Yeah, now let me ask you a question. Are you drinking water while you’re working out?
Jon 3:50
Uh, maybe during like my strength not during my conditioning piece is I usually just want to like do the best I can if I was doing something like I don’t know like a I was doing like a really really long workout maybe like Murph like then maybe I would go ahead and I might like take a sip of water but uh I try to minimize like getting out of the kind of that that rhythm and when I’m when I’m working out if I’m doing a good 10 minute AMRAP no
Sam 4:21
but like that happens I
Jon 4:23
was doing like back squats or something like that and like during my rest period and pilight Take a sip of water because the intensity is lower at that point. So you have like that rest like or if we had like a workout there was like some interval work was like a minute on minute off like I might go ahead and have a little bit of water there just my throat doesn’t get dry. But kind of depends on the work guys. Usually not
Sam 4:49
everyone should know that you don’t need to stop and take a sip of water in the middle of them that you can get adequate hydration. Before Now After I promise you you will not die if you Don’t take a sip of water in the middle of a 10 minute AMRAP
Jon 5:03
Yeah, it mean if you’re playing on like soccer or something like that where like, you know, you’re, you know, doing like 30 minutes straight like running, then when you get off the field, you’re probably gonna drink a little bit. But yeah, usually, you know, unless you’re like doing a marathon run, like, that’s the only time when you would probably go ahead and take like a, like a glucose tablet, or game.
Sam 5:28
Yeah, so hydration before hydration after and then like meal changes a little bit, depending on whether or not you’re working out.
Jon 5:36
Yeah, it’s not too much like changing anything, except when I eat is probably what I would say, like on a workout day is when I actually my meals that might get shifted around. But usually, like, what I’m having is gonna be pretty much the same. It’s just like, you don’t want to eat too much before you work out. Because it’s like can upset your stomach. And after you work out, like sometimes we just don’t have the appetite. So you just might like, shift some things around a little bit. For what you have, but um, what would you recommend, like, for nutrients? Like, you know, macro wise, like, what, what do you typically recommend? Like, um, let’s just start with like before workout? Probably say like some carbs, right?
Sam 6:21
Yeah, definitely my like, first statement, always tennis is whatever you can tolerate. Because some people like really can’t tolerate food beforehand. Like some people like to drink a glass of milk, when they go run seven miles, some people will have to have two crackers. It’s like totally what you can tolerate. But if we’re talking about optimizing nutrition, like pre workout, carbs is the way to go. Carbs are literally meant to give our body quick energy. And we’re talking like simple carbs, like you’re probably not eating, like some broccoli. Like right before you go workout. Like you literally want sugar. That’s why people drink like energy drinks or like have goos during marathon, because like right before the workout, like your body needs carbs to be easily digested something that the body doesn’t take a ton of time to break down. Like simple carbs, like parsley and go to his pretzels or crackers. Just because like that’s personally what I can tolerate. And I know it gives me energy right off the bat. I know people who swear by gummy bears right before they go play whatever sports game they want to play. But it’s really just dependent on what the person has long as you’re getting some quickly digestible cards into your system to give you energy to carry you through the workout. Your recommendations, similar, John?
Jon 7:36
Yeah. So you’re saying that if someone has a hard time with like food doesn’t sit well, when they exercise, you’re saying like simple carbs, like stuff that’s like, going to be like, provide you with more like sugar, but not going to be super harsh on digestion. So like juice or Gatorade or something like that is what you’re saying?
Sam 8:01
Yeah, totally. And this is like, within like, the hour window right? Before you workout. Anything more than that, like, you’re probably just having your normal meal, whether it’s like breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or like your normal snack. But it’s really like in that like key 35 to 45 minute window that we like want to have something like small and full of energy. Right?
Jon 8:22
Um, okay, so now after, like a workout would be kind of your recommendation.
Sam 8:29
So pretty similar, like we’re looking at that same window like 30 to 45 minutes or so like within that hour, I’m, the best thing you can do is get a combination of protein and carbs. And like there’s some, I guess the jury’s still out on what the exact ratio of carbs to protein should be. And it’s pretty dependent on like the, the physical activity that’s being done, but anywhere between a one to two carb to protein ratio, and a one to four carbs protein ratio, which like if you have no idea what that means, that means like a degree yogurt with some fruit, or like, like a cheese stick and some crackers, basically, like get some kind of protein in you. And make sure you also have carbs with it. So if you’re someone who wants a protein shake, like maybe blend that up in a blender, like your protein powder with like a little bit of yogurt and a banana. So that you’re not just getting straight protein proteins great. But also to recover you need a little bit of carbs in the in the meal or snack or whatever it is that you eat right after.
Jon 9:28
Right? Can you do you mind like elaborating a little bit on that just so people that are listening like like what like when you say protein when you say carbs, like what’s the purpose that’s that it’s actually serving before or after? Like you’re working out.
Sam 9:43
Alright, so okay, I’m gonna try to not spend 20 minutes talking about this. But so carbs are well everyone knows what carbohydrates are because they’re, like demonized in the media. Carbs are like your brain. rains and carb has been broken down just end up being sugars. And sugar. Glucose is the main form of energy for the body. So as long as you have glucose in your system, your body can work, then protein is broken down into amino acids. And those promote muscle synthesis. So when you work out, your body is breaking down muscle fibers. And so to repair all that we need the amino acids in our body because they’re like the building blocks of repairing the muscles. And so when we say like you need to get protein in, we mean like pretty solid source of protein, um, like I wouldn’t recommend considering. What’s a good example that we talked about, like a bagel John, that we talked about before, there’s like a pretty, you know, there’s like eight grams of protein in your bagel, that’s only true protein source, because we really want more than that, because your body’s broken down so much of the muscle. And so when we say protein, like animal proteins, the easiest way to get like strictly protein that has all of the amino acids that you need to rebuild, but like a protein powder has all the things that you need to make that happen. And then like non animal proteins, can work to like tofu. I know some people like if you’re vegan, like tofu is a good way to go. But if you’re vegetarian, like if you can get like some milk, or yogurt or eggs in the day, like that’s a good post workout, protein source. Because if you’re lacking in certain amino acids, it’s gonna be hard to repair the muscles in the way that they need to be repaired. I think that’s as simple as I can make it.
Jon 11:37
Yeah, no, yeah, isn’t dangerous, just like we just think protein good and carbs. Why? Or, like what I observed besides like, that all those foods tastes really good. But if you have like somewhat of an understanding that having rice can easily be a great fuel source for like performance, like being able to help, I mean, the carbs and the protein go hand in hand with being able to, you know, properly recover. Because your body stores carbohydrates as glycogen. So your body also uses that is when you’re performing your workout, right? So if you guys are not eating enough carbohydrates after you workout, you’re also not going to have that replenished ENERGY STAR for you to be able to perform well the next day. And he started to notice like, Okay, why do I feel like increased soreness, it’s usually like, combination, and probably not having enough protein, but probably also not having enough carbohydrates, dehydration, like you can go like laundry list, your sleep could have been awful, you could have drank, there’s a lot of different things. But you know, a lot of times like we just, we think, Okay, since I worked out, like eat very, like clean, right, like eat salads and stuff like that we miss out like on a lot of stuff, like, those starchy carbohydrates that are also super important. Um, but that brings me to the next question. Do we eat any different on our rest days? Should we?
Sam 13:07
Honestly, not really, um, like all the things we literally just talked about with, like the use of carbs and proteins, like you still need those on a regular basis, like one just a function, like your brain needs a minimum number of carbs to like function every single day. And if you don’t know, that number asked me, but I know if I say it, someone’s gonna be like, that’s all I need. And so I’m not gonna, I’m not gonna say it. But if you have further questions on that, no, I will give you the number that your body needs bare minimum for your brain to function. But if you’re not eating those on your best days, then you’re not recovering properly. And if you’re not drinking enough water on your rest days, you’re not recovering properly. It’s like, the rest days, in my opinion, should look almost identical to the workout days, with the, you know, caveat that like if you’re not as hungry, because you’re not actually having that physical exercise, and like, maybe you don’t need that pre and post workout snack. Maybe you just like, kind of tie that into one as like an afternoon snack or whatever it is that you workout, but yeah, in my opinion, same thing. rest days, workout days, weekends, we don’t like eat it the same kind of foods all the time. Because it’s not just like a don’t look at nutrition day by day, we look at it as like a whole diet approach. And if you’re drastically changing what you eat day to day, based off the events in your life, then it’s really hard to stay consistent and like reach your goals. I mean, what do you think about it, John?
Jon 14:33
Yeah, 100% Agree. Like maybe like look at like, okay, like it was have to look at like when you go to the gym is like, that’s not where you’re actually going to be building muscle. Well, a lot of times think like, okay, like, since I’m lifting these weights, I’m going to build muscle. You build muscle with properly recovering. If you don’t recover properly, you’re not going to build muscle. Right? So you can go ahead and do all the snatches, all the deadlifts all the back squats you want, but if your recovery shit, you’re not gonna allow your body to grow more muscle or be able to run, you know, a longer distance in your endurance because you’re not, you’re not giving yourself enough when you need it. So it’s also like just that, that mindset to that kind of want to get out of the like, okay, like I burned X amount of calories, so I can eat X amount of calories, like that’s just a poor like relationship with food that you have to almost earn it. And that’s kind of not really ideal. No, like, it’s almost like a skill to practice like, is better listening to your body, because on your Rusty’s like, you’re still gonna get hungry. So if you’re just like, you know, nervous about eating, because you weren’t as physically active, then, you know, you gotta, like you got to trust, like what your body’s telling you, like, if you’re hungry, eat a little bit, right? You know, the practice like that mindful eating and things along the lines of that of, you know, if you’re, if you’re craving carbohydrates is probably a good chance your body needs carbohydrates. Right, so on your rest days, you should definitely still eat and you should be thinking like, okay, like, this is going to help me recover. So next time I go to the gym, I can hit it hard. And it’s going to help with your, with your goals in the gym. So both things need to go like hand in hand, like definitely agree, there shouldn’t be too much change. And if you’re like eating, like forcing yourself to eat when you’re not hungry, then you know, you don’t need to do that either. Right? So it’s kind of goes both ways. Um, but usually, like, on your, on your rest days, like, you’re probably gonna go ahead and you’re still gonna have, you’re still gonna have an appetite and things like that. I mean, I guess we’ll get into the conversation of overnight doing as much light, there’s more opportunity to be bored, like do board meeting and stuff like that. So it’s also like practicing, like, a more intuitive, like, no actually knowing, like hunger versus just like, you know, just running to the cabinet just because you’re like, right, like, you still need to fuel yourself. So
Sam 17:10
yeah, yeah, like figuring out the difference between actual physical hunger and then like emotional hunger. Because they’re both very different things. And sometimes when we’re stuck at home, then like, the emotional hunger comes in, or just because it’s a habit. So like, figuring out when the body needs food is like, probably the best thing you can do. Maybe that should start being my one piece of advice for everyone. When I get asked that, like, start listening to your hunger cues. Yeah, it makes a big difference.
Jon 17:38
Yeah, like kind of like recognizing, like, some of the patterns happens all the time, like people have, like back to back work meetings, or whatever, and they run to the cabinet. You know, that’s may not be true hunger, that may just be like stress eating. So like, unders like better like seeing those, those patterns can also help with, like, having a better understanding of how much do how much food do I want to eat? And how much food do I need to eat? You know, depending on what the circumstances, but, um, overall, I think we agree that you need to eat on your rest days. And you don’t need to, you don’t need to eat less, for sure. On your last days, you need to you need to eat what you need.
Sam 18:23
And if anything, like I’m sure some people have experienced this, where they feel almost hungry or on their rest days, and it’s probably because like you over exercise the day before and your body’s just trying to catch up. Like we do better when we’re using the energy that we have stored in our body versus energy that we’re like, trying to catch up to get. So if you find that you’re super hungry on your rest day, you’re probably undernourished on your workout days for sure.
Jon 18:50
Yeah, the body is smart. It’s almost like it’s like a financial advisor like, Hey, dude, you need to spend some of the money that you’ve been saving like it’s going to waste like, it will tell you exactly what it needs. So gotta listen to it. I’m sure all right, Sam. Any any any closing remarks, Steve. Anything you want to add to the conversation of do you need to eat differently in your workout days and rescues?
Sam 19:20
My answer is no. Pool. That’s all I love. What do you got? John? You got a closing statement for
Jon 19:26
us? No.
Sam 19:30
Bad short sweet to the point today.
Jon 19:34
We’re gonna be we’re gonna be talking about I’m like kind of had a feel yourself for the 2424 of the kind of similar to what we talked about today, but we’re gonna be we’re gonna talk about how to like, fuel yourself and you’re doing like multiple workouts in a row. So tune in next week to the podcast and Sam is going to go live on the Friday before the 25th For for anyone that wants, like a live q&a. Sam’s going to be talking a little bit help you guys for that before the 24 hero workouts which everyone I’m sure is getting excited about. So pumped. Yeah. So guys, thanks for tuning into the conversation, the nutrition edition and we will see you next week.
Sam 20:23
Bye