OS Nutrition and evening feelings

Paul Scholz

Question for you,

I read through the string about diet changes during OS. I find that I can do the workouts with only water, normally I have a cup of coffee and a fiber one bar, 30 minutes before the workout.

When the workout is really hard, I don't feel like eating right after (particularly after running). So I do fine throughout the day eat a good lunch, then sometimes have a Kashi bar mid-afternoon.

My issue is then by the time I get home from work, I am feeling really hungry and have found myself eating too much at night.

I really want to work my body comp down during the OS.

Thoughts/suggestions?

Paul

Nemo Brauch

Paul- I have the same feelings after a hard workout. I just don't really want to eat. But if I don't take in something, I'll find later in the day I'm starving and then I make bad choices. This was particularly the case for me during my first time through the OS. I figured "It's a one hour workout, surely I don't need a recovery meal for just one hour". Boy was I ever WRONG! The EN OS workouts are seriously tough stuff, and your really DO need a recovery meal or drink. It doesn't have to be anything big. A glass of chocolate milk or a yogurt smoothie will work.

rah2774

x2 on what Nemo said... everything I've read says that the first 30 to 60 min post workout are crucial to helping your body recover. So even if it's something small, go for it provided it has the proper blend of protein and carb (off the top of my head I can't tell you what that is). My almost always go to is chocolate milk and a banana... sometimes pnut butter on the banana. Now that it's super cold/windy out, I'll nuke the choco milk which is infinitely more comforting. Then, I'm usually good to go for a couple of hours when I'm actually ready and wanting to eat but I don't feel like I could eat a horse.

John Stark

What has been said.  

It also sounds like you are in a big calorie deficit when you are getting your EN game started and then are in a huge deficit after.  Even with a nice lunch, it will surely catch up to you later in the day.

If you can, maybe more calories before the workout?  Or try and balance with more grazing with healthy snacks throughout the day?

 

William Jenks

I have some of the same issues that Paul does, and I am thinking about changing my routine a bit to try to deal with this. I am thinking of it as a hedge; eat something small now as a hedge against massive hunger pangs later. Unfortunately, I tend to eat too quickly, and therefore too much, especially when hungry.

On other threads, I've been the "it doesn't matter when you eat; it's what and how much over the long run" guy. I still stand by that from the point of view of if you are able to control portions and choices. But all along, I recognize that the latter is very difficult for everyone, including myself. Leveling out the hormones and hunger goes a long way in keeping consumption reasonable.

@Becky, I think with a deeper look, you'll see this "golden window" pertains mainly to RAPID glycogen replacement, and is therefore most relevant for two-a-days. I am slightly contradicting myself here...but the point is that if you really only eat XXXX calories a day (and not XXXX + YYY because you are hungry later), then the 24 hour cycle of glycogen replacement is probably good enough for 1-2 hour exercise bouts. If you consider evolutionary pressure for this to be true of hunter-gatherers, it makes sense.

My problem is that +YYY part. :-)

delesh

I love food so I have a tendency to want to eat 24/7. I have found that getting into a routine and having lots of healthy snacks has helped me find self control. I love having my post race recovery drink for the drive into work. Then I have a nice almond butter and banana sandwich for breakfast. These things are an integral part of my training routine and I look forward to them so much. It's like the carrot in front of the horse for me during workouts. I then have some vegetables, fruits, and raw nuts around all the time to satisfy the crunchy, sweet, or fatty cravings. I have time windows for snacks and meals and sometimes its fun to see if I can skip a snack here or there and make it to the next meal time. Anyway, those are the mind games I play with myself

Paul Scholz

Thank you all for your thoughts. 

I am only beginning to fully appreciate the value of the EN haus for sounding out things.

Paul

mattsull

In general, I try to keep my tank full all the time. This is more important to me during race build. The key is eating healthy. I will do the OS workouts with just water and sometimes with sports drink if I'm going to run off the bike or if I feel the need. I always have a recovery drink immediately following every workout and a full meal shortly after that. My go-to snacks are fruit and nuts.

David R

When I workout first thing in the morning, I only drink water.  After the workout I drink a glass of chocolate milk, get ready for work then eat a regular breakfast.  There have been a few articles out that talk about eating a decent or larger breakfast helps with not getting so hungry later in the day.  I know if I eat a good size breakfast say 600 cal.  Snack on fruit and nuts between meals, I will eat a small lunch, small dinner and as long as I don't stay up too late I don't get hungry in the evening.

penlynwilson

Hi Paul: Everyone is different. You have to do what works for YOU. In order to determine that, you have to tinker. So, try a recovery drink (chocolate milk if you can do dairy) within 30 minutes of finishing and see if you notice a difference. If not, play around with the sizes and timing of your other meals. As you are finding, it can also depend on the workout. For me, swimming in the morning causes me to be ravenous all day if I don't have my recovery drink on the side of the pool to have as soon as I get out of the water.

Keep us posted on what you find!