What you eat after your workout is, in my mind, the second most important meal of the day after breakfast. However, this meal is far less complicated than breakfast is.
I’ve experimented with every post workout nutrition recommendation around. My verdict?
Just something with protein after a workout is fine. Carbs are absolutely unnecessary.
My absolute best results came when I drank two glasses of raw milk after my workouts. (Like I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I only drink raw milk — if raw isn’t available, I leave the milk out of my diet.) Although raw milk has carbs in it, it is almost all lactose which is digested by the bacteria and enzymes present in the raw state.
I don’t always have raw milk, though. If I have BCAAs, I just take in about 15 or 20 grams of them post work out and then have a whole meal 40 minutes to an hour later. If I don’t have BCAAs, I just eat three or four whole eggs (usually raw, in a shake with half a cup of water and a quarter or half scoop of protein powder for taste), still followed by a whole meal 40 minutes to an hour later. The main idea is to get about 20 to 25 grams of protein immediately post-workout — this is all it takes to help your body optimally recover. I feel best when my immediate post-workout nutrition is relatively light as well, but the meal 40 minutes to an hour later is huge. I would rank the big meal after the post-workout meal as nearly almost as important.
My results eating carbs post-workout vs. not eating carbs shows absolutely no difference. This is also the experience of many other lifters I’ve met, talked to, or read online. Try it out yourself — you’ll get the exact same results leaving carbs out of your post workout shake.
3 responses so far ↓
1 BigNat // Jul 2, 2009 at 4:50 am
Hi
you would not believe this I just bought raw milk today for the 1st time.
Just over the last hr have been thinking about introducing it as my AD PWO as i normally have O3 raw eggs + P. I was going to ask you then you posted this wow what a coincidence!!!
Just finished my 1st glass and it is delish I have never been able to drink milk for the taste and it does not agree with me but raw is the fine.
Here in Australia it is illegal but I just found a product called Cleopatra’s “Bath Milk” and I can get it near my home so im stoked as i know how good this stuff is for us.
What are the nutritional details of this?
Would 1 cup e/day be ok on the AD as i usually have CC + P before bed so Im am thinking 250ml PWO & 250ml before bed + P with mainly greens + P during the day think that’s 12g CHO from raw milk?
Thanks!
2 Clay // Jul 25, 2009 at 8:29 pm
I personally only drink raw milk during breakfast and/or right after my workouts. I only drink it at these times to avoid unnecessary fat gain from the insulin boost it gives.
The nutritional details of any raw milk (whole) is the same as the nutritional details of whole milk you find in the grocery store.
A cup a day is just fine. I drink two to three cups a day when I use it as my post-workout nutrition.
3 Gavin // Jan 27, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Clay,
New to this blog, looks like a few interesting articles though – nice one!
Unfortunately raw milk is also illegal here in Scotland so I won’t be able to try your recommendation.
I find Reflex Whey powder is best for my post-workout recovery – two scoops with water down the gullet immediately after my workout.
My reason for commenting is in response to you eating raw eggs post-workout.
The bioavailability of raw eggs is only around 50% whereas cooked eggs are 90+%.
[As Im sure you know] this means you’ll get more out of your eggs if you cook them before consumption. I’d recommend soft-boiled so you can benefit from the vitamins in the yolk too.
Looking forward to reading more posts
Leave a Comment