02-26-2012, 09:49 PM
Move Over, Breakfast
The real most important meal is...
by Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
Whenever I give a sports-nutrition seminar, I give the audience a pop quiz. I ask how many believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Typically, the vast majority of the audience members put up their hands. I remind them that research proves that skipping breakfast impairs fasting lipids and postprandial insulin sensitivityâand that could lead to weight gain.
Thereâs clear evidence that eating breakfast is associated with a healthier body-weight. Even so, the audience is dead wrong. The most important meal of the day isnât breakfast. Itâs what you take in during the nutrient timing window: the preworkout, workout and/or postworkout period. Although we know breakfast is important for regulating bodyweight and contributing to overall health, thereâs no evidence that it has any impact on the adaptive response to exercise.
On the other hand, robust evidence shows that eating the proper nutrientsâi.e., combinations of amino acids from protein and carbsâmay indeed lead to larger muscle fibers, less bodyfat, better recovery and better performance.
Eating corn flakes in the morning ainât gonna do that! The caveat: This discussion applies only to those who exercise. If youâre a sedentary slob, it doesnât matter because you donât have a nutrient-timing window. If youâre reading this, however, thereâs a pretty good chance youâre a serious bodybuilder or fitness maniac.
In one study, young men were randomly assigned to protein, placebo or control groups. Muscle cross sections and muscle forces were analyzed before and after 21 weeks, with one group doing heavy resistance training. The subjects got proteinâ15 grams of whey both before and after exerciseâor a placebo. The protein group increased muscle size more than the other groups.
The study confirms earlier work that compared the effect of resistance training combined with timed intake of the same number of calories of protein and carbohydrate supplementation on muscle fiber hypertrophy and mechanical muscle performance.
Supplementation was administered before and immediately after each training bout and in the morning on nontraining days. After 14 weeks of resistance training, the protein group showed 18 percent and 26 percent increases in the size of their slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers, respectively. They also improved their performance, while the carb group did not.
Does that mean you donât need carbohydrate to get muscle hypertrophy?
Yes, it does, but think of it this way: If your goal is to gain the most bodyweight possibleâboth lean body mass and fat massâa combination of carbs and amino acids, meaning protein, is perfect. If youâre willing to sacrifice some gains in lean mass so that you donât gain any fat, however, go for the protein and/or aminos by themselves. Either way you have to time the nutrients for maximal growth. And donât skip breakfast.
The real most important meal is...
by Jose Antonio, Ph.D.
Whenever I give a sports-nutrition seminar, I give the audience a pop quiz. I ask how many believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Typically, the vast majority of the audience members put up their hands. I remind them that research proves that skipping breakfast impairs fasting lipids and postprandial insulin sensitivityâand that could lead to weight gain.
Thereâs clear evidence that eating breakfast is associated with a healthier body-weight. Even so, the audience is dead wrong. The most important meal of the day isnât breakfast. Itâs what you take in during the nutrient timing window: the preworkout, workout and/or postworkout period. Although we know breakfast is important for regulating bodyweight and contributing to overall health, thereâs no evidence that it has any impact on the adaptive response to exercise.
On the other hand, robust evidence shows that eating the proper nutrientsâi.e., combinations of amino acids from protein and carbsâmay indeed lead to larger muscle fibers, less bodyfat, better recovery and better performance.
Eating corn flakes in the morning ainât gonna do that! The caveat: This discussion applies only to those who exercise. If youâre a sedentary slob, it doesnât matter because you donât have a nutrient-timing window. If youâre reading this, however, thereâs a pretty good chance youâre a serious bodybuilder or fitness maniac.
In one study, young men were randomly assigned to protein, placebo or control groups. Muscle cross sections and muscle forces were analyzed before and after 21 weeks, with one group doing heavy resistance training. The subjects got proteinâ15 grams of whey both before and after exerciseâor a placebo. The protein group increased muscle size more than the other groups.
The study confirms earlier work that compared the effect of resistance training combined with timed intake of the same number of calories of protein and carbohydrate supplementation on muscle fiber hypertrophy and mechanical muscle performance.
Supplementation was administered before and immediately after each training bout and in the morning on nontraining days. After 14 weeks of resistance training, the protein group showed 18 percent and 26 percent increases in the size of their slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers, respectively. They also improved their performance, while the carb group did not.
Does that mean you donât need carbohydrate to get muscle hypertrophy?
Yes, it does, but think of it this way: If your goal is to gain the most bodyweight possibleâboth lean body mass and fat massâa combination of carbs and amino acids, meaning protein, is perfect. If youâre willing to sacrifice some gains in lean mass so that you donât gain any fat, however, go for the protein and/or aminos by themselves. Either way you have to time the nutrients for maximal growth. And donât skip breakfast.
What a RUSHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!