Post-workout nutrition has been an extremely well researched topic in the fitness industry. The studies have shown that ingesting simple carbohydrates with whey protein (in the form of a shake) assist in muscle building, recovery and in body transformation in general.
In fact, these studies have been so convincing that you'll be hard pressed to find a fitness expert who doesn't vehemently advocate that all trainees drink this type of post-workout shake immediately after every workout. Let's step away from the trend for a second and investigate whether or not this is the best protocol for everyone to follow.
I agree that post workout nutrition is very important for the purposes mentioned above. If your goal is primarily muscle building or weight gain, these shakes are a great way to easily consume an abundant amount of calories at a time when your body is least likely to store those calories as body fat.
Following a tough workout, your muscles energy stores will be depleted. Depleted muscles are hungry for replenishment and therefore soak up the majority of calories ingested at this time. This makes less calories available to be directed towards body fat stores.
But we want to burn body fat at the fastest rate possible! Will drinking a sugar laden shake enhance our fat loss efforts? Of course not. To the contrary, I have found that these shakes could be detrimental to your fat burning efforts.
After reading through all of the research, I've learned that these studies were not performed on subjects whose goals were fat loss specifically. So I experimented with these shakes on myself and my clients. The rate of fat loss slowed across the board. These are real world results and unlike some lab study, these findings are accurate. So to burn fat at the fastest rate possible, you must lose those high sugar post-workout shakes!
I'm sure you're saying, "Alright, but what should my post-workout meal consist of?" The answer to this question is much less complicated than the supplement companies want you to believe. All you need to do is eat a solid meal! This meal can be structured exactly like any of your daily meals. I do believe however, that this meal should be eaten within one hour after your workout.
Without fail, you will lose body fat faster with natural, solid food. So if burning body fat rapidly is your goal, forget about using post-workout shakes. Eat a great meal and say goodbye to your body fat
