76. Nutrient Timing: When and What Should I Be Eating to Maximize Results?

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Welcome to the Mind and My Wellness Podcast. Your podcast for all things macros, movement, mindset and everything in between. I'm your host, Dani Merenberg, an ex yo yo dieting cardio junkie turned sustainable nutrition coach and who's helped over 1000 women feel confident in their skin by learning how to eat for their goals without sacrificing a life well lived. I created the Mind in my Wellness Podcast to give you simple, effective and manageable tips you can take away from each episode and implement in your daily life to look and feel like the best version of you. Each week my guests and I teach you the secrets to mastering your health and owning your power. Nutrition, mindset, movement and women's health are all topics you'll find here. Think of our time together as your productive little health break from the day. So grab your headphones, fill up your water and let's dive into today's episode. Welcome back to the Mind and Mind Wellness Podcast.

This is Dani, your host and today is a follow up episode from last week's episode where we're diving into two very common topics and highly requested topics that I get. Last week we discussed time restricted feeding, AKA fasting and this week we are discussing nutrient timing. So I highly recommend going back to last week's episode and giving that a listen if you are ever interested or have ever been interested in or are currently fasting to really understand if it's the right approach for you. And then today we're going to be talking about nutrient timing, which essentially is how you're spreading out your calories and macros in particular throughout the day to maximize your results. This again is a question I get so often inside my programs in my DMs because of course we want to make sure that we are doing everything we can to see the most amount of benefit with the foods that we're eating. Now. What I'll say is, do not get too hung up on nutrient timing. If you're somebody who is kind of just starting out and you're like, I, I might be a little overwhelmed by nutrient timing. Don't worry about nutrient timing. Focus first on just getting in the right nutrients for you. Those macronutrients are going to be the most important. If you don't get nutrient timing right, that's okay at the end of the day. This is just for those who really want to dive in even deeper and apply some of it to their day to day lifestyle. Amazing. This episode is gonna be for you. But don't get too hung up or too obsessive over nutrient timing because truly at the end of it's about building up and using the knowledge that you have in ways that feel good and sustainable for you. So if this is not sustainable for you, it's not gonna be helpful for you. Take what you can and leave whatever is not working. So nutrient timing, again, we're gonna be focusing this episode around how to time your meals to maximize things like energy recovery, muscle growth and even sleep quality. So I'm really going to be focusing on two main categories as it pertains to nutrient timing. And these two categories are categories I get asked most often about how do I time my nutrients around my workouts and sleep. So I'm gonna be breaking down the best times to eat protein, carbs and fats based on the current scientific research for those two categories. So again, nutrient timing, it essentially just refers to the strategic scheduling of macronutrient intake. So you have your proteins, your carbohydrates and your fats throughout the day to really optimize that performance, recovery and overall health. And nutrient timing is important because it impacts muscle protein synthesis, which we discussed in last week's episode, as well as glycogen replenishment, energy levels and hormone regulation. It also helps with making sure that you are feeling, you know, full and satiated throughout the day when which plays into those energy levels as well as hormone regulations with blood sugar. So let's first focus on protein. I think this is everyone's biggest question is around protein and protein timing and when it comes to exercise, studies suggest that consuming protein within one to Two hours post workout will maximize your muscle protein synthesis for recovery and muscle repair. So this is going to help with that muscle development. Now I've gotten questions about, you know, you'll see things that say you have to eat protein within 30 minutes of a workout. Most studies suggest that it's actually a larger window than just right, right after that workout. You can eat protein up to two hours after that workout and still be able to maximize that muscle protein synthesis to help with that muscle repair, recovery and growth. Now, around sleep, this is really interesting because if you are unaware there are different types of protein, there is a type of protein called casein, casein protein. You can buy casein protein powders, there's one on Amazon and I would get that when I was still eating casein before I realized that it was causing me to break out because I have very sensitive skin. But consuming a casein protein around bedtime before you go to bed has actually been shown in studies to enhance overnight muscle recovery. So having some sort of casein protein before bed, maybe like 20 grams of casein protein, that would be a good target, can help to support that muscle repair and prevent muscle breakdown overnight. So an example of a casein protein, like I said, you can buy casein protein powders and make a little protein shake, but cottage cheese is another example of a casein type protein. Now, carbohydrates, when we're focusing carbohydrates around exercise, this is important because carbohydrates are our body's energy source. And when we're looking at exercise, we want to consume fast digesting carbohydrates before a workout to enhance glycogen stores and provide energy. And intense exercise isn't just high impact, it's not just like running sprints. Intense exercise is also strength training. Because you are lifting heavy weights, you're exerting yourself in other ways. So intense exercise is really more than just I think a lot of people think it's like high impact sprints, biking, things like that. No. Intense exercise is also going to be your strength training. So finding a fast digesting carbohydrate pre workout can really help with that. Provided energy for the workout, to push harder in your workouts as well as one to two hours after your workout, making sure that you are getting a complex carbohydrate to help replace your body, replenish the glycogen stores, especially if you're doing a high intensity or endurance based workout. Now what is the difference here? So a fast digesting carbohydrate could look something like fruit or rice cakes. These are going to be your more simple carbohydrates and then your complex carbohydrates. We're gonna get those in the same type of timing fashion as the protein post workout. So within one to two hours post workout, aiming to eat anywhere from 40 to a hundred grams of carbohydrates, depending on where your goals are set. With more of a complex carbohydrate. So a slow digesting carbohydrate. Now, when it comes to sleep, eating carbohydrates in the evening can actually increase serotonin production, which helps to regulate sleep quality. And a small amount of complex carbohydrates, sweet potato or oatmeal with dinner, it can improve relaxation and support deeper sleep. But I like to caveat this because on the flip, it actually might not work for some people. So again, I will always say this, but health and wellness, it is bio individual. What works for one person is not necessarily going to work for another person. So if you're listening to something and they're providing these blanket statements of you should be doing this before bed, you should be doing this. And that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work for everyone. So what I mean by this is that yes, eating a small serving of complex carbohydrates before bed can help to increase serotonin production, which can help with sleep quality. However, on the flip, eating carbs too late in the day for some can also cause sleep disturbances because of the digestive process. So there's really no right or wrong here. It's really individualized. And so if you notice that eating too close to bedtime causes you to have disrupted sleep, you're waking up or it's really hard to get to sleep, then try to not eat close to that bedtime. But if on the flip, you have no problem with eating later, you don't see it disrupt your sleep, then you can include a small serving of those complex carbohydrates to see if it helps to support deeper sleep for you. So again, take what works for you, leave what doesn't. Now, when it comes to fat, studies show that consuming fats pre and post workout can actually slow down digestion, which may impair performance and recovery because fats are slower to digest and they don't provide that immediate source of energy for those more higher intensity workouts. So instead you want to again pair your carbohydrates because those are going to be those immediate sources of energy around your workouts. And then pair your fats kind of outside those workout windows. So avoiding higher fat content pre and post workout, focusing more on carbs and protein during those windows is going to be most effective. Now during the day, healthy fats play a very crucial role in women's hormonal health. Fats are essential for the production of estrogen and progesterone and they help regulate overall hormonal balance. And I've talked about this at length in other episodes. But consuming fats throughout the day is very, very important for these processes. So making sure to include healthy fats in your breakfast, your lunch, your dinner, and if you do have a workout around those, you can kind of just tailor your fat content accordingly. So for example, if you work out in the morning, you could have a pre workout snack of like a turkey jerky. I don't know if that's gross in the morning. That's the first thing that came to mind. But for me, I'll do like a rice cake, maybe a little bit of PB fit or powdered peanut butter. Mix that with water. So put that on top. That's gonna be lower in fat, higher in protein. Powdered peanut butter will. So I'll do that on a rice cake. You're gonna have your simple carbohydrate, your fast acting carbohydrate with some protein there and limited fat. Then after your workout, if you have a breakfast, I would still incorporate some fats there, but maybe it's not the same amount of F you'd have say at lunch where you've had four hours since your workout. When you're eating lunch, let's say. So you're still incorporating fats, but maybe it's a smaller amount of fats in that breakfast. And then you're really focusing on a lot of protein, complex carbohydrates, and then lunch, dinner, snacks after that, you're incorporating a decent amount of fat there to help with hormonal regulation, all of that. So those are just some examples. But I also like to say pair fats with fiber. Fiber things like vegetables and whole grains. Those are the more whole food fibers sources that you're going to find. Some fruits as well. This can help to slow digestion and stabilize blood sugar and provide that sustained energy throughout the day. I hope you're loving today's episode.

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Now when it comes to sleep, including fats in your evening meal can actually help to support hormone production and satiety overnight. So healthy fats are precursor to hormones like estrogen, like I said, and their inclusion may also stabilize those blood sugar levels to improve sleep quality overnight. Like potentially for you, a more complex carbohydrate, a small serving of that before bed. So adding a moderate portion of fats to your dinner or like a pre bed snack can be helpful when it comes to not only increasing the depth of your sleep, but helping with that hormone regulation as well. So let me give you an example of what a day could look like with these nutrient timing schedules. So let's say that you work out in the morning, you're working out at 7am, you have a little pre workout snack that's a small carbohydrate and protein snack. Maybe it's that rice cake with powdered peanut butter on top or a banana with a whey protein shake, something along those lines to get in your fast acting carbohydrate and your protein. And then after the workout you make breakfast and it's your post workout meal. Going to be balancing that meal with those complex carbohydrates. Protein, a good amount of protein and more minimal fat content, but you're still getting in that fat. Maybe that looks like one egg or two eggs and two egg whites or three egg whites. So you're getting more protein, a little bit of fat there. Maybe you have some toast and some fruit. You have some turkey bacon that's gonna be lower fat than regular bacon, but great protein. So you're looking for more of those minimal to moderate fat foods to incorporate in that post workout meal. Then midday, it's lunchtime. Maybe it's like around Noon, you have a protein, a fat and some veggies, maybe grilled chicken, avocado salad. Having that healthy fat with the avocado, maybe some olive oil with some dressing. This is a meal where you can add in a bit more fat because now we've spaced it out from your workout a bit more, making sure it's very protein forward, getting at least 30, 35 to 40 grams of protein in that meal. Again, it's gonna differ depending on your unique needs, but that is a good range for those who aren't actively tracking. If you're just like, hey, I just wanna kind of eyeball how much protein I should have, that's a great range. Then let's say you have an afternoon snack, it's 4:00pm Just kind of tying you over until dinner. Greek yogurt with some granola on top could be a great option for some carbs, protein and a little bit of fat in there and, and then dinner you're really focusing on protein, fats and carbs. Kind of well balanced there. You're having more of a complex carbohydrate at dinner like a sweet potato. For protein you could have salmon, cuz that's a great protein and fat source and some veggies with that too to help with that fiber. And then if you do want to introduce a pre bed snack or a little dessert at the end of the night, you could have some sort of like dessert with a casein, protein powder, maybe it's a protein shake or a little protein cottage cheese with your casein, some berries, things like that because of the fiber. So that's just a run through of an example day of how you can balance it out. Really what you're focusing on is you're focusing around your workout, making sure primarily those carbohydrates are going to be around your workout and then kind of spacing out those fats for optimal performance and optimal timing. Again, take what works, leave what doesn't. If you feel like you start to try to do this and it just becomes so overwhelming that you don't follow any sort of eating plan or eating pattern, it's not going to work for you. And maybe it's something that you come back to later. I know for me, when I first discovered macros, I felt so overwhelmed at first, which is why I've created so many different types of plans and programs and support for people. Because I've seen firsthand just how transformational macros can be. But it can also feel so overwhelming that I want to break that barrier for so many women to actually experience what I've experienced, not only like complete body transformation, but I have so much more balance with food, with my energy. Now I'm just going off on a tangent about macros because I love it so much. But anyway, take what you can, leave what doesn't work for you, and know that once you really solidify yourself with understanding your macros and getting used to eating more protein and things like that, maybe this is an episode that you come back to and use this to implement more strategically, but just to kind of COVID what the pros and cons of nutrient timing are. Some of the pros include improved energy during workouts, better recovery and muscle development, and enhanced sleep quality and hormone regulation. But some cons do require you to plan more and be more consistent with it. You're not going to see necessarily the same or feel the same type of results if you're not consistent with it. But again, at the end of the day, overall nutrient consumption is more important than timing. And it also may not be as significant if overall calorie and macronutrient intake is not optimized. So what I mean by that is, if you aren't actually eating the amount that you're supposed to, or eating the correct macro makeup for you, your protein, carbs and fat are off, then nutrient timing isn't gonna work for you. You might notice some changes, but if you're not eating the right amount of protein or carbohydrates or fats, you might not see the same effect as if you were, and then implementing nutrient timing on top of that. So to summarize what we chatted about today, nutrient timing can be a super beneficial tactic that you implement. But again, I only recommend implementing that once you feel really confident in your macro knowledge and your day lifestyle, that you feel like, okay, I can take these tidbits of information, this knowledge and apply that, but making sure that you aren't excluding any macronutrient throughout the day. We're really spacing out those macronutrients to best support us really around your exercise and your sleep, so that you're focused on getting the most and maximizing the most out of your exercise to help with that muscle development, to help with fat loss, which muscle development does help with fat loss, but then also around sleep, because sleep is so important for so many reasons. But as it pertains to this topic, sleep is going to really help with muscle development as well, because that's where muscle is then repaired and then built. So if we're focusing our nutrient timing around those two key areas. We're focusing on carbohydrates around our workouts. Simple fast acting carbohydrates pre workout and then those complex carbohydrates post workout. Protein kind of all around there. But breaking the idea that you have to have protein immediately after a workout, not necessarily true. It can be within one to two hours post workout and then fats making sure that you're getting your fat intake. However, if you want to really optimize making sure that your fat intake is really more heavily focused outside of those windows that you're working out. So that was a lot of information, but I hope that it was extremely helpful breaking it down at this level. And if you have any questions, always feel free to DM me on Instagram at mindedmymacros. I love talking about this, as you could probably tell because I could go on a tangent about macros forever. But anyway, again, if you didn't listen to last week's episode on fasting and time restrict feeding, definitely recommend giving that a listen. It's going to break down muscle protein synthesis a little bit more, which I discussed in this episode as well. So until next week, keep minding your wellness.

Thanks so much for tuning in to today's episode. I love hearing from you, so shoot me a DM over on Instagram at mindandmymacros to keep the combo going. If you've learned anything from this episode or any of my past episodes, I'd really love it if you took a a few seconds to leave a quick rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I love hearing what you've learned or what you've taken away from any of these episodes. It means so much to me when you do that. And if you have any friends you know that need a little help kicking some old dieting mentalities to the curb and want some simple, effective and sustainable tips to feel their best, share a link to this episode with them. Thanks so much for listening and I'll catch you next time.