Training & Nutrition - Weight loss, metabolism & exercise.

I have heard that your metabolism gets cranked up immediatly after exercising (particularily interval training;) and may last for as long as 8 hours afterwords. Does this imply that it is more benificial to exercise in the morning then at night, assuming that my metabolism will return to normal when I go to sleep? Or is that excess calorie burning due rebuilding muscle tisue?

or are none of my "facts" right?

I wonder as well. Technically shouldn't it be more like 48 hours because your body is busy repairing? As far as HR goes, mine is elevated only about 2 hours after exercise, and maybe 10-20 beats higher than normal. At least that's my unscientific observation. Could be more, could be less.

I think you may be referring to the muscle glycogen replenishing window thingamajiggie...

15 minutes after you exercise, your muscles accept glycogen replacement at a ridiculously high rate, so if you eat carbs, they get metabolized super quickly. 30 minutes after you still get a very high metabolism rate. 2 hours you have a high rate of glycogen replacement, but it's not as high as the 0-30 minute window. After 4 hours it starts tapering back to normal...

That's why it's crucial after a hard or long ride to immediately eat almost as many carbs(and protein) as you did to preload(if you did) before the ride, if you want to speed up muscle recovery. There are lots of energy recovery drinks on the market, but some people just drink an Ensure or Slimfast.

The muscle repair uses extra calories for sure, but I don't think it's what increases your metabolism to a "cranked-up" level. Although, as you add muscle mass in general, it will be burning more calories just by being there, so you will basically have a higher "metabolism" with more muscle.

Anyone want to expound on this?

So, if I want to shed some pounds should I still eat/drink for recovery purposes? Should I just have one of my meals then instead of a recovery snack/drink?

I have heard that your metabolism gets cranked up immediatly after exercising (particularily interval training;) and may last for as long as 8 hours afterwords. Does this imply that it is more benificial to exercise in the morning then at night, assuming that my metabolism will return to normal when I go to sleep? Or is that excess calorie burning due rebuilding muscle tisue?

or are none of my "facts" right?

Your metabolism will be revved up for a few hours after you ride. I don't think that the time of day will have much effect, though exercising at night may have an effect on your sleep (it doesn't for me, but it does for some people).

So, if I want to shed some pounds should I still eat/drink for recovery purposes? Should I just have one of my meals then instead of a recovery snack/drink?

No. If you skip the recovery nutrition, you tear down your muscles as part of glycogen replacement *and* you'll be more hungry, and find it hard not to eat too much.

But if you replace the carbs, you don't really have to replace the fat.

I just got back from the Tuesday night ride. I burned about 1200 calories on the ride (assuming my Polar is accurate - I think it's a bit optimistic...). On it I drank 200 calories of accelerade, and when I got back I had about 200 calories of Endurox and a whole wheat tortilla with 1/3 cup of black beans, a bit of chicken, and some salsa.

That gives me a pretty good deficit for the night, and I'm not hungry.

just to clarify, I'm no expert, I'm just regurgitation what I'm reading in my "Road Bike Training" book...

You should eat/drink for recovery purposes so that you'll be able to keep cycling with greater effort more often and sooner between rides by properly refilling your muscle cells with glycogen(which in turn will burn more calories than a poor performance/low-energy workout). With proper recovery you can more easily avoid overexertion and overtraining which will eventually catch up with you and make you miserable on the bike(I can attest, I've been through it..makes you very irritable). I think if you're just doing an easy spin for an hour and only cycling maybe once or twice a week, it's not as necessary than if you're going out daily for an hour or more.

I really hope someone that is more qualified to answer will weigh in on this...it's tough to balance weight loss with proper nutrition for rigorous exercise.

edit: great! I'd say ericqu knows a lot more about this stuff than I do :)

While there is a temporary boost to your metabolism after exercise, it is very minimal physiologically and I wouldn't worry about the extra calorie burn.

From a diet and training point of view, the others hit it right on by eating after exercise because your body is in a state to absorb the nutrients it needs during that time frame. The quicker you replace the better off you are. I personally eat a quality diet with emphasis on carbs, fair amount of protein and adequate amount of fat but not excessive (normally I strive for 20-25% fat content per day). This works well for me and provides the staying power I need to complete hard training sessions. I also try to eat every 2-4 hours with every 3 being optimal.

As far as time of day is concerned my personal perspective is whatever is going to work for you. I HAVE to work out in the morning because there are too many other things that can come up during my day. Also if I have to perform exercise tests myself, it is easier if there is a significant time lag between my workout and testing. It also depends on the type of testing I'm doing and the impact it could have on the test. You have to determine when you are most likely to be consistent in your training.