Immediately after training, is it better to eat just carbs or carbs +protein (powder)

shiphen

Member
Hi

Immediately after training, is it better to eat just carbs... or carbs +protein (powder)?

The guy in the local shop that sell (just) protein & carb powders, tells me that immediately after training it is better to eat just carbs. (i.e. eat 2 scoops of Max Carbs from Trec Nutrition + 400ml of water) and only eat protein after 30 minutes. He claims that this minimises muscle soreness and maximises growth.
Buts is he correct?

He also says that you shouldnt eat protein powders at the same time as normal food. True?

John
 
No, that guy is wrong. First, protein powders are food, so taking them along with normal foods isn't going to matter. Food and protein powders are going to mix together in your gut anyway. Also, his theory about post-workout nutrition isn't based on anything except his desire to sell you some expensive supplement.
 
Totentanz - thanks, although you havent answered my main question, which is: is it best to JUST eat carbs immediately after training? Or is it best to include protein as well?

Btw, I think the guy's rationale regarding mixing protein poweder with food was that the protein powders are "pre-digested" (into amino acids?) and that they do not require digestion, and that if you mix them with food the guts might think that they have done enough digesting (due to the high concentration of amino acids) and get lazy and thus get into the habit of not bothering to secrete digestive enzymes properly.
 
That's not really how the digestive system works. Anyhow, protein powders aren't predigested as it is, so he's wrong about that too.

If you had a choice between carbs only or protein only, protein only would be a better choice for post-workout since protein synthesis is going up. But adding in carbs is okay. Only carbs would be pretty much dumb as heck unless you've had some protein preworkout. Either way, you should definitely be getting post-workout.

Man, I wonder if these guys just make this crap up in order to sell their supplements or if someone actually tells them this is how the body works. It's like saying if you don't get cuts and bleed now and then your body gets lazy and stops making blood.
 
Interesting. Btw, is it possible to buy protein powders that ARE predigested? i.e. in raw amino acid form?

Either way is there much difference between different makes of whey powder?
There seems to be some implication that whey is better than casein - but is this true?

All in all, what is the best (i.e. most easily digestible) make of protein powder?

(Sorry for the lots of questions !)
 
Sorry for the late response. You can buy amino acids but I'll warn you, they taste horrible and are very difficult to tolerate. So if I were you, I would just stick to protein powders.

Whey vs Casein... one isn't really better than the other. The main thing is that whey is digested a lot quicker whereas casein takes longer to digest and so, in theory, releases a steadier stream of protein into your body. In practice, it doesn't make a lot of difference and the price difference between them makes whey a better overall option unless money is no object to you since casein costs a lot more than whey.

How easily you digest proteins is mainly going to depend on you. I take massive amount of whey and don't have many problems aside from occasional gas pressure.
 
Interesting about whey vs casein...

What I am left wondering is (other than cream) what other milk fractions are there?
I mean why doesnt everyone just eat milk powder ? (which I am guessing would be much cheaper than all these special powders !)

For me personally I seem to tolerate even whey with slight difficulty - I suspect I may be lactose intolerant - and I have have been experimenting with eating a couple of lactase pills at the same time as whey powder. It does seem to help at least a bit, however it is hard to tell for sure, partly because it seems to take about 4 hours for any problems to appear, and even then I am not sure if it is a placebo effect...!
 
Interesting about whey vs casein...

What I am left wondering is (other than cream) what other milk fractions are there?
I mean why doesnt everyone just eat milk powder ? (which I am guessing would be much cheaper than all these special powders !)

For me personally I seem to tolerate even whey with slight difficulty - I suspect I may be lactose intolerant - and I have have been experimenting with eating a couple of lactase pills at the same time as whey powder. It does seem to help at least a bit, however it is hard to tell for sure, partly because it seems to take about 4 hours for any problems to appear, and even then I am not sure if it is a placebo effect...!

Try Optimum Nutrition 100% Whey Gold Standard. It has lactase in it. I am lactose intolerant and can't even drink 8 oz. of skim milk without getting all bloated and gassy. I can drink two scoops of this stuff with no lactose problems at all.

http://www.optimumnutrition.com/products/100-whey-gold-standard-p-201.html

And if you want to slow digestion of the whey protein down you can just add a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil to your shake.
 
I know this is old but I am sure other people are looking at this wondering....The best way to take protein/carbs is......Pre workout take Protein/carbs.....The protein should be something like Hydrolyzed or isolate...Hydrolyzed whey will be the best IMO, it is the richest form of protein and absorbs quickly...For carbs you should take dextrose powder...The carbs are for energy during your workout..During your workout your muscles will break down...If you go without carbs preworkout, your body will pull energy from the protein you are taking in.....Dextrose is natural corn sugar and a great source of carbs......The same with post workout, take the same thing, dextrose/hydrolyzed whey or isolate....You should take about .8g carbs per kg of your body weight and .4g protein per kg of your body weight......It is also completely ok to sip on a carb/protein mix during workout to keep energy.....After your post workout drink you will enter a recovery phase of training....This is the time when its best to drink a protein blend with many different proteins, hence why its a protein blend.....I hope this helps everyone....Also if your are not sure how to convert lbs to kgs its lbs / 2.2 so say 155lbs / 2.2 = 70.45kg
 
That sounds like the same speech the guy at GNC tried to give me when I made the mistake of peeking in when I was at the mall a couple weeks ago.
 
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