Nutrient Timing

There can be a lot of controversy over ‘nutrition posts’ because with so many different variables in our lifestyles, goals and how our bodies metabolise foods; one approach that works for one person isn’t necessarily right for another.

I wouldn’t want to say this is wrong or right for you. That would be way to much of a misleading statement and as we know everything in terms of nutrition is individualised, so its important to find what works best for us in terms of a balance between health and convenience to fit our lifestyles.

What I would say is that there has been many positive studies to suggest starting your day based on predominately protein and fat based sources helps increase insulin sensitivity and stabilise blood glucose levels which can improve/balance energy and satiate hunger.

Easily digestible carbohydrates can then be utilised effectively post training as a way to spike insulin levels and refuel glycogen stores within the muscles to promote recovery.

If your goal is fat loss, calorie consumption is always going to be the determining factor to your progress and the above foods (avocado, cashews, eggs etc. aren’t necessarily calorie sparing due to the higher fat content; so should be consumed in adherence to your daily calorie goals.

What I wanted to introduce to you is the idea of nutrient timing, and structuring meals around your training. This way you're working with your bodies energy demands so that you’re utilizing the foods you’re consuming more effectively as a form of fuel to recover and train, thus giving you control to make informed decisions when certain foods may be the better choice over others at certain times of the day.

If I wanted to focus on becoming leaner personally ‘one method’ that I would take (of course in adherence to a calorie deficit), would be to decrease the quantity of carbohydrate consumption until post training on training days, and also to taper carbohydrates on recovery days (basing meals around more protein and fat food sources). This method is called carb cycling and is a way in which to effectively fuel your body with carbohydrates at times when it's going to be most effective at utilizing them.

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