Should You Really Be Doing THIS More Often Than Arsenal Bottle a Title Challenge?
“I need to get in shape…Which protein shake should I buy?”
Me: strawberry, chocolate or vanilla….
Choosing “the type” is really that simple and won’t have much impact on your fat loss!
BUT the supplement industry has us chugging down protein shakes and sports drinks more often than Arsenal bottle a title challenge…(I hope I don’t eat them words…)
All to get better performance?
So we can lose more fat?
Fill out our T shirts with muscle?
Get better sleep?
Improved recovery?
Well, this might be the case…
Now, I wasn’t actually shocked by the results of this study…rather that the study was done in the first place…
The results have ruffled the feathers of the nutrition “gurus” to say the least.
It’s typical sports drink vs. fast food on recovery and exercise performance in 11 guys
Now bear in mind that if you PERFROM better in anything you do exercise wise…you’ll burn more calories.
So there was a fast food group VS a group taking sports supplements that both did a 90 minute endurance-based workout before eating.
The fast food group were then given cakes, orange juice and a hashbrown (I’m pretty sure I see the cyclists on this diet outside the coffee shops on a Sunday morning in Marlborough) whereas the sports supplement group were given a Gatorade and some organic peanut butter.
2 hrs later, the fast food group were given a hamburger, coke and fries. The sports supplement group were given energy bars and protein bars.
The CALORIES in both groups were EQUAL.
A week later, the guys came back to the lab and switched over to the opposite diet.
There was no difference in time trial times after eating fast food compared to sports supplements. Glycogen (carbohydrate stores) RECOVERY WAS NOT different.
Glycogen is essentially your muscles stored fuel. Your body taps into this when you exercise.
There was also no difference in insulin levels, blood glucose or cholesterol.
Does this mean we should eat a load of junk food?
Of course not.
Meals containing wholefoods like potatoes, rice, meats, wraps, sandwiches veg, fruit are generally what I recommend whether it’s around exercise or not….Not sports supplements or fast food for that matter.
But what this does tell us is that
Sports supplements aren’t “magic”…but can be convenient!!!
“Fast food” isn’t necessarily “evil” IF calories are equal…and can also be useful for our mind…helping us stick to our overall nutrition strategy whilst enjoying our food!
It comes back down to BALANCE. MODERATION. And living.
You can be the guy that performs does a structured training programme a few times per week, enjoys the odd curry and a beer AND get’s the “you must have a fast metabolism!” from friends and family…
IF... you control for overall intake – as is explained in the Lean for Life Starter Kit…
Speak soon
Matt