PaleRider

Hello all. This is my first post.

I'm 6'1" and weigh 212lbs and would like to get down to a lean 190lbs. I've been working out on and off for over 20 years but I haven't been 190 since college and would like to get back down to that weight, which is comfortable for me. Anyway, I just started working out moderately hard and also seriously curbing my daily caloric intake. I do moderate weights (70-80% of my ability) and either run/walk anywhere from 1.5 - 3.5 miles or ride a bike around 10 miles. My main concern is that I usually don't work out until later in the evening. Dinner serves as my pre-workout meal. I usually work out about an hour after dinner. I mainly want to know if taking a post-workout protein shake will defeat my goals in trying to lose weight, especially if this shake will be taken anywhere from 8-11pm. What I plan on taking is just a half serving of Muscle Milk powder mixed with water, which is only around 150 calories and about 6 grams of fat. The last thing I want to do is consume
300+ calories and then go to bed. Maybe as my metabolism increases I can get away with it but that won't be for a little while. I can tell you that between the amount of restricted calories I've been taking in during the day and the amount of calories I've been burning during workouts, there is likely a deficit of calories. Sorry for rambling on here - I just want to know if I'm doing myself a disservice in terms of hindering the building of lean muscle mass if I don't have post-workout protein for my muscles. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

lucifuge

It sounds like you need to figure out your diet a bit more.
Read some of the stickies, then try to figure out you're caloric maintenace level, then figure out your deficit.
However, if you want lean muscle, you need protein.
Use the post work out shake.

Destiny dressed you this morning my friend, and now Fear is trying to pull off your pants. If you give up, if you give in, you're gonna end up naked with Fear just standing there laughing at your dangling unmentionables!

-The Tick

Hoglander

I'm no expert but I do know this site has a Nutritionist. His name is Chris.

Mista

Have a meal after you workout. Make sure it fits in your allowed intake for the day. Relax.

PaleRider

Thanks for the advice. I figured that the need for protein to build/maintain lean muscle outweighs the relatively small caloric intake at the end of the day. I weighed in at 209 this morning. Dieting/eating healthy often sucks but the payoff is well worth it and very motivating to keep it going.

thewicked

yeah if you just take your protien wiht water or a little milk you'll be more than fine even on a strict diet... think a scoop of protien has what.. 110 or so cals in it? NITREAN that I take has 1gm of fat, 2gm of carbs, and 24 grams of quality protien..most other protien supplements are close to it.. there shouldn't be any problem wiht it what so ever in ANY diet plan. Without the protien, you'll eat yourself alive if you continue to work out hard in the gym.

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VanessaNicole

You need both some protein and some carbohydrates after your workout no matter what your goals are.

The more
The marble wastes,
The more the statue grows.

Michelangelo

Built

Budget in some food for post workout. Personally I don't like protein shakes when I'm cutting - I'd rather chew what little food I get to consume, but something as simple as a chicken breast and a small sweet potato will do the trick.

That being said, and I know this goes against the grain, but having been an overweight woman with insulin resistance when I started this journey, I can tell you from experience that until I was fairly lean - and strong enough to train with sufficient intensity - from a comfort perspective, postworkout carbs messed me up pretty badly. For anyone who is ready to come back with "but the anabolic response blah blah blah…" yes, I know. I tried it, and it felt like ass. I mod a board full of women with various degrees of insulin resistance and we've mostly all experienced this same phenomenon as we've leaned out. Thing is, if you eat properly before you train, you'll have that available pool of amino acids and sufficient insulin already available for the postworkout window. Because of this, I still pay far more attention to my preworkout nutrition than to post.

Postworkout I make sure I eat solid protein, don't get me wrong, I don't starve. But for anyone with carbohydrate tolerance problems (read: fatties trying to lose weight the right way, by creating a modest deficit and lifting weights) - start with modest, solid PREworkout carbs in the form of a mixed meal about an hour or so before you train. As you get stronger, ease into the lowfat postworkout "protein with carbs" meal as well. But never neglect your preworkout nutrition.

My .02

BulkMeUp

I'm trying to get a better understanding of your suggestion. So pwo you have a solid meal? no pwo shake since you had a good pre-wo meal? is that right?

I have oats+protein powder+ peanut butter + banana ~1hr pre-wo, sip a dex+protein as peri-wo, skim milk powder+protein powder as pwo and then a full meal when i get home ~ 45mins after my wo. I do this whether bulking or cutting by adjusting the cals. From what you are suggesting i could be overdoing it or am i missing something?

PaleRider

Thanks again to everyone who weighed in. Built, I saw your blog and pics - very hard to believe you were once overweight. Awesome job.

Built

Are you uncomfortable? Any trouble with hunger or weight gain? If not, then enjoy your genetics - you are doing everything to optimize your gains.

Thank you! I surely do wish I knew then what I know now. Hopefully some of what I post up will help others narrow the scope of their own searches.