Late Classes and Eating.

[Kaygee]

Hi,
There are many, many nights where I find myself leaving work and going directly to class because of the schedule. Some nights, I am not home until 9:15, 9:45pm. Usually, on these evenings, I grab a meal replacement bar like a collosal bar or something, before I go to class and eat it in the car or something. The problem is, when I get home, I am frikkin starving! But I know if I eat anything, it defeats the purpose of even working out because all of the calories will just sit in my belly and turn to fat as I sleep. I gain fat pretty easily.

My friend gave me some sort of "protein powder" called Dynatize 100. He said that I can take this after my workouts, no matter what time it is, with milk or water (milk tastes better but has more calories) and it will not add fat to me as it will rebuild the muscles that I have used during my classes.

Can anyone touch on this that has knowledge of such things? If I have to continue to come home hungry after class, then so be it, but I tried one of these protein shakes for the first time yesterday with water and they weren't half bad, but I don't want to be packing on the calories after working as hardcore as I do at my fitness, Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ classes.

Thank you for reading!

 

[Zero]

Hi,
There are many, many nights where I find myself leaving work and going directly to class because of the schedule. Some nights, I am not home until 9:15, 9:45pm. Usually, on these evenings, I grab a meal replacement bar like a collosal bar or something, before I go to class and eat it in the car or something. The problem is, when I get home, I am frikkin starving! But I know if I eat anything, it defeats the purpose of even working out because all of the calories will just sit in my belly and turn to fat as I sleep. I gain fat pretty easily.

My friend gave me some sort of "protein powder" called Dynatize 100. He said that I can take this after my workouts, no matter what time it is, with milk or water (milk tastes better but has more calories) and it will not add fat to me as it will rebuild the muscles that I have used during my classes.

Can anyone touch on this that has knowledge of such things? If I have to continue to come home hungry after class, then so be it, but I tried one of these protein shakes for the first time yesterday with water and they weren't half bad, but I don't want to be packing on the calories after working as hardcore as I do at my fitness, Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ classes.

Thank you for reading!

Hey, I have done martial arts and weight lifting for many years side by side and a lot of my gym work has been to assist with my fighting. While there are many reasons for doing MAs, if you want as a by-product to gain/maintain a lean physique, then you are right that it would be self-defeating to get home round 10pm and eat a "regular" meal. If you want to actually consume something as a "meal" then something such as tuna (which is an absolute winner) on its own should be fine (but then chowing down on just tuna late at night ain't everyone's bag and unless you brush your teeth well, won't lend you any favours in the bedroom department). The protein shake is a good route (some serious bodybuilders set their alarm for 3am (!) to wake up, take a protein shake and then hit the sack again to keep a close to constant catabolic state.

I would not necessarily rate Dymatize as the best of shakes (although "Dymatize ISO 100" is v. high protein and 0 carbs so they say) but whatever you are using be sure to check the details and ensure you are using a very high protein concentration shake with little or no carbs if you are taking it at that time of night (otherwise, as you say, when you sleep it will hit your gut). Many powders are a 50/50 blend. When I am serious I use a shake which is at least 92% or more protein and 1.5% or less carbs. They cost more but that is life. Don't mix it with milk if you are serious about being lean. You pay shedloads of cash for these whey isolate protein shakes as they have gone through the effort of filtering the whey protein from the milk - so don't just go and mix this back in with milk!! : ) (Unless of course you find it hard to put on weight, the opposite of what you say).

There are also shakes with casein derived protein, these are a slower digestable and release form of protein, but I don't think this is the route for you. You want a quick dump of protein and muscle recovery after your workout and that fills you up until you nod off - so go for just a whey isolate powder mixed with water.

Essentially, your mate has given you the right stuff so keep with it or find an alternative with similar attributes.

Going straight from work to training is an absolute bummer when it comes to not being able to get a meal in and something I am also faced with at times (sometimes I will have a decent meal while at work so it is digested in time but I have the flexibility to do that as am not customer facing); try scoffing down a banana with your protein bar and hopefully that helps - to be honest, most protein bars are far inferior to shakes and are filled with sh1te in addition to the protein. You are better doing a protein shake at work so it has gone down by the time you are at the club. All you need is an old, decent sized jar (and lid!) and keep this at work to use as your shaker.

Peace out and good luck with the training!

 

[rlobrecht]

I often will eat a double serving of Cheerios after class. Low-fat or skim milk (protein), and some whole grain carbs. That's usually enough to tame the tummy straight through to breakfast.

 

[Carol]

I don't think a protein shake after class is will help how you feel all that much if you've skipped dinner and starving. It will help build muscles to be sure, but I think a better solution would be to have a way of eating dinner at work and then having a small amount of protein after class to help your muscles rebuild. It doesn't have to be a protein shake -- it could be a can of tuna.

 

[K-man]

A small sensible meal after class will not make you fat. I get home from training about 9.30, eat a small meal and hit the sack. When I was working I used to get home about 9.30 six or even seven nights a week. Always had a small meal and went to bed, never had a weight problem. It might be different if you were hitting McD's on the way home.

 

[Kaygee]

A small sensible meal after class will not make you fat. I get home from training about 9.30, eat a small meal and hit the sack. When I was working I used to get home about 9.30 six or even seven nights a week. Always had a small meal and went to bed, never had a weight problem. It might be different if you were hitting McD's on the way home.

May I ask what you consider a "small sensible meal" to be please?

 

[sfs982000]

There seems to be some good information that you've been given so far but everyone has to experiment with what works best for them. I know guys that can get buy with eating a regular meal late at night and don't have weight issues. Personally if I go straight to class after work, I try to eat something light prior to going like yogurt or a piece of fruit to get me through class, then afterwards eating a small meal and just trying to limit my carbs at that late at night. Normally tuna and a protein shake I've found that seems to work best for me. Again I would suggest giving a few different options a try.

 

[ACJ]

Nutrient timing has a very small effect on the overall weight gain and body composition. Do not restrict yourself to not eating after a certain time for this reason, also, no particular need to have a recovery meal of protein/carbs, as the added bonus isn't as large as you may think.

You just have to plan your diet around the entire day, and if you're going to want to eat something after training, ensure you have it planned for in your overall day.

Work out your TDEE (use an online calculator to estimate and then use weight fluctuations to refine the number), and consume less than that to lose weight, ideally while keeping a relatively high proportion of protein.

For late night snacks that tend to curb hunger, it has been shown in most people's experience, that casein protein can be good for keeping you feeling full into the next day, letting you have a later breakfast (one strategy among many to curb energy consumed). Things such as dairy contain good amounts of casein.

 

[K-man]

May I ask what you consider a "small sensible meal" to be please?

Basically it is any meal you fancy. Sometimes it might be pasta, sometimes meat and three veg. Sometimes it might be a salad, others it might just be a plate of nibbles. It doesn't really matter what the meal consists of as long as it isn't 'super size' or full of fat.

 

[ACJ]

Why is fat so bad?

 

[MJS]

Hi,
There are many, many nights where I find myself leaving work and going directly to class because of the schedule. Some nights, I am not home until 9:15, 9:45pm. Usually, on these evenings, I grab a meal replacement bar like a collosal bar or something, before I go to class and eat it in the car or something. The problem is, when I get home, I am frikkin starving! But I know if I eat anything, it defeats the purpose of even working out because all of the calories will just sit in my belly and turn to fat as I sleep. I gain fat pretty easily.

My friend gave me some sort of "protein powder" called Dynatize 100. He said that I can take this after my workouts, no matter what time it is, with milk or water (milk tastes better but has more calories) and it will not add fat to me as it will rebuild the muscles that I have used during my classes.

Can anyone touch on this that has knowledge of such things? If I have to continue to come home hungry after class, then so be it, but I tried one of these protein shakes for the first time yesterday with water and they weren't half bad, but I don't want to be packing on the calories after working as hardcore as I do at my fitness, Muay Thai, boxing and BJJ classes.

Thank you for reading!

I'd definately eat something before class, but nothing too heavy. In other words, don't chow down on a huge bowl of pasta, 15min before you leave and go to class....unless you want your inst and class mates to look at the food you just puked up. LOL! I never eat heavy before class. I'll have a bowl of cereal, usually oatmeal, some toast or a PB&J sandwich. Gotta eat something, otherwise, with the hard workout, you may run the risk of getting sick, ie: running out of gas.

When I get home, depending on the hour, it'll depend on what I eat. Some classes go from 630-730. Others are from 730-830. If its an earlier class, I'll usually eat dinner, the later classes, I'll either eat a smaller portion of what my wife or I cooked or just have another bowl of cereal, pancakes, or something of that nature.

IMO, I don't think that eating afterwards is going to have huge negative effects, but of course, it depends on what you eat. If you have a huge burger and fries, yeah, but something healthy...no, it shouldn't have a huge impact on you.

 

[Instructor]

Also drink a few glasses of water before you eat anything. Sometimes when we are are tired and feel hungry we are actually thirsty. The water will make you feel full sooner so you don't overeat.