“There’s a lot of coaches out there who will tell you nutrient timing doesn’t matter, it’s just the overall calorie, macro and fibre intake you need to worry about.
I’m saying BULLs*** to that!!
There’s a LOT of things to cover in relation to correct nutrient timing and why it can have an impact upon the body. I’m telling you now it is in your interest to understand nutrient timing, as well as overall diet composition.
I’ll keep this as direct as I can.
1 – Blood Sugar Management
Every meal will have a unique “glycemic load” which basically explains how it will effect the blood sugar levels within your body. How aggressively they go up, how aggressively they go down and ultimately how your hormones behave. This will effect things like energy levels in the very short term, medium term and long term.
To optimise energy, body composition changes and performance it is in your interests to manage your blood sugar levels properly. This will have a direct impact upon your insulin levels, which can be very beneficial done properly.
To do this I often like to do the following (every one IS an individual though!) –
. Eat every 2-3 hours to avoid any aggressive drops in blood sugar levels – Imagine consuming 300g of carbs in a day, 50g in 6 meals or 150g in 2 meals. Do you think both examples will cause your body to respond differently? YES they will, of course. It isn’t just about numbers!!
. Consume a broad range of cruciferous vegetables to ensure there’s fibre present to help manage spikes in your blood sugar levels
. Consume some essential fatty acids in most (not all) meals to help manage aggressive spikes in blood sugar levels
Ultimately this will make achieving your goals EASIER.
Yes there are times when potentially, deliberately allowing your insulin levels to go higher than normal with a properly timed meal is beneficial. This can relate to cortisol management, forcing nutrients to the muscle cell quicker and recovery. Things I’ll cover in more detail at a later date.
2 – Digestion
If you take something like white fish and compare it to rump steak, look at the texture and consistency of both foods. Obviously, there will be a difference at the rate of digestion between both foods and that’s without taking in to account the other foods you are consuming them with. These are all factors you need to consider.
Timing your nutrients is key, but also picking the right nutrients sources is also essential. If you imagine rump steak is a slower digesting protein source, you wouldn’t want that 60 minutes prior to training legs. However, white fish will digest very easily and would therefore be a more suitable pre workout protein source.
This is a VERY important point.
3 – Anabolism
We know that consuming a leucine rich protein meal every 2-4 hours helps maintain peak “muscle protein synthesis” (MPS) levels. Usually the meal needs to have 3-4g of leucine. This is another reason why I’m very keen on timing your nutrients for the day, every 2-3 hours to maximise anabolism. This will tick the box and ensure you are doing everything to promote recovery and growth.
From this small article you can see that nutrient timing can play a BIG part on your journey. The numbers are just ONE important factor, but do not think they are everything. I’m telling you now this s*** matters.”
