Weight-Loss Protein and muscles...

[BiancaV88]

So I recently had a discussion with a coworker that told me I should have a protein shake because I am doing strength training. I do cardio and strengh. cardio 5x a week and strength 3x. I just want to know if I should do that or would it make me bulky? And is it something I have to do right after I do weights? or just getting enough through the day?

thanks!

 

[Jynus]

after any workout you should have carbs and protein. 2 times as many carbs as protein ideally. A shake doesn't make you bulky. Protein supplements are the same thing as chicken. It's just protein, nothing magical about it. If you don't want to drink protein/dextrose/maltodextrin suppliments, then after any workout just eat chicken and rice/pasta. same thing.

important take away from this is after any workout, you need to eat carbs and protein asap.

 

[biggestloser105]

Why do you need carbs after a workout?

 

[Toddless]

Why do you need carbs after a workout?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's to replenish the glycogen lost during the workout. Think of your muscles as having windows that open to let the sugars out when you workout. The windows stay open for 30-60 mins after you workout, and any carbs that you eat during that time can quickly refill your stores.

As for Bianca, why are women always so worried about being bulky? Have you ever seen a bulky woman? I've seen thin women, and fat women, and huge, overweight women, and toned women, but bulky? Only in magazines (and they're on 'roids).

 

[biggestloser105]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's to replenish the glycogen lost during the workout. Think of your muscles as having windows that open to let the sugars out when you workout. The windows stay open for 30-60 mins after you workout, and any carbs that you eat during that time can quickly refill your stores.

As for Bianca, why are women always so worried about being bulky? Have you ever seen a bulky woman? I've seen thin women, and fat women, and huge, overweight women, and toned women, but bulky? Only in magazines (and they're on 'roids).

Why is it important to replace glycogen?

 

[BiancaV88]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's to replenish the glycogen lost during the workout. Think of your muscles as having windows that open to let the sugars out when you workout. The windows stay open for 30-60 mins after you workout, and any carbs that you eat during that time can quickly refill your stores.

As for Bianca, why are women always so worried about being bulky? Have you ever seen a bulky woman? I've seen thin women, and fat women, and huge, overweight women, and toned women, but bulky? Only in magazines (and they're on 'roids).

Well, years ago I had a friend get me on herbalife and I had these protein shakes that were meal replacements. it was for weightloss...but I gained 20 pounds. not sure if it were fat or muscle so thats why im hesitant on what my coworker told me... =/

 

[summer123]

Well, years ago I had a friend get me on herbalife and I had these protein shakes that were meal replacements. it was for weightloss...but I gained 20 pounds. not sure if it were fat or muscle so thats why im hesitant on what my coworker told me... =/

As far as any post gym snack goes, if your trying to lose weight you still nedd to watch the calories. If you consume too many calories no matter what they are (carbs, protein, fat, whatever) you will gain weight.

So by all means, take a drink, just make sure you account for it calorie wise.

And as far as I know, its important to replenish glycogen as it prevents your body from slowing down. If your trying to lose weight, be wary not to overeat, having glycogen is important as it helps your body to function properly. Its been said (on here and elsewhere) that if you don't have enough glycogen your body starts to eat its own muscle as well as its own fat. You need to lose weight by having your body do this but only to a certain extent. If the glycogen is too low alot you can fall into starvation mode and starts to get rid of the one thing it sees as wasteful: muscle.
Being that to have muscle takes a lot more calories to look after then body fat. If its concerned there is a famine its going to favor using calories from muscle rather then from fat Its all stuff I have read and understood, its not so easy to explain as its not something I question as it just makes sense so if you do have questions I'd advise speaking to a specialist or researching for more, it made sense to me anyway. advice.

However 'starvation mode' is one of those contraversial things which some agree with and some don't. Guess its up to you to decide what you go with.

So my advice would be to watch the calories, eat wisely but try not to allow yourself to become starving, replenish some glycogen (theres no reason to overeat, just keep within a sensible calorie deficiency) and also some protein as protein is required to rebuild the muscle you may have torn down during exercise. The body does not store protein so its important to keep it updated especially after intensive exercise when its been under more stress then normal.

 

[biggestloser105]

Well, years ago I had a friend get me on herbalife and I had these protein shakes that were meal replacements. it was for weightloss...but I gained 20 pounds. not sure if it were fat or muscle so thats why im hesitant on what my coworker told me... =/

20 pounds of muscle is so difficult to gain, especially for a woman. Men really, really struggle with it despite having it easier because of of higher testosterone.

To gain that much muscle you'd have to lift heavy weights, be very serious about weight lifting, and eat a lot.

Unless you were working out like a body builder, the weight you put on was fat.

 

[Toddless]

Why is it important to replace glycogen?

Glycogen is your body's go-to for energy. It's stored in your muscles and as it runs out, you fatigue. When you're working out everyday or even 3x a week, it's important to make sure those stores are refilled all the way so that your next workout can be a good one.

 

[Jeanette401]

So, the last time I looked into the carbs & protein after the strength training I found an article that basically said that the insulin response from the carbs inhibited muscle breakdown, while the protein promoted muscle growth.

So even if you're not concerned about the glycogen depletion, there were studies that indicated that carbs after strength training decreased the immediate (but small) muscle loss. (You may want to google the following for more info: chocolate milk post workout )

If you don't do this, it's not the end of the world because it's small and you'll build back. It's optimal though.

As far as the protein shake/powder though it really doesn't matter how you get your protein. Chicken and rice will work just as well.

Likewise, having a protein shake won't make you any bulkier than eating a chicken breast would. If you're female it's really difficult to bulk up to begin with, so I wouldn't ever stress that you're going to look like a female wrestler just from having some protein.

 

[Jynus]

^^ excellent post

 

[BiancaV88]

thanks so much for your responses guys. it really helped. I do a lot of strength training, at laest just 3 days out of the week cause I do wanna town while I lose weight. except, I do feel the muscle mass building but I only use 5 pounds of free weights. I am actually too scared to use 7 or even 10. the 5 feels very comfortable to me, actually too easy but I really want to tone up, so what should I do? should I stick with just 5 or maybe upgrade to 7? I feel it more in my arms and legs when I do squats...

 

[Jynus]

thanks so much for your responses guys. it really helped. I do a lot of strength training, at laest just 3 days out of the week cause I do wanna town while I lose weight. except, I do feel the muscle mass building but I only use 5 pounds of free weights. I am actually too scared to use 7 or even 10. the 5 feels very comfortable to me, actually too easy but I really want to tone up, so what should I do? should I stick with just 5 or maybe upgrade to 7? I feel it more in my arms and legs when I do squats...

you're not doing strength training, you're doing cardio...

toning exercise is a myth, it does not exist. Your muscles are either growing, staying the same, or shrinking. Your insertion points stay the same, so you can't reshape how a muscle looks, just how large it is. And the only way to make a muscle grow larger is to pack on the calories and lift heeeaaavvyy.

"Tone" is first and formost a byproduct of diet. The more fat you lose, the more the muscle thats underneath becomes visable, thus the more fit you look. The best way to preserve muscle mass is to lift heavy to use the higher energy systems and the muscles that they power to do work. The more you do cardio and light weights, the less these muscles are used and the more they atrophy, thus the less 'toned' you will look when you lose fat.

TLDR: Lift whatever weight is heavy enough so that you can't do a single rep past 15. Your rep range for every exercise is 5-15. And stay away from machines of any sort, including smith machine. And stay far away from isolation exercises. Bi curls, tri extensions, crunches, etc. stick to compoumd movements.

 

[BiancaV88]

so why am i told that lifting weights and doing cardio will help me lose weight? how does lifting weights do that if i am not really toning?

 

[Toddless]

so why am i told that lifting weights and doing cardio will help me lose weight? how does lifting weights do that if i am not really toning?

Touche, Jynus. But I'll answer for him, if I may. "Toning Exercises" in his definition (and most other people's) are low-weight, high-rep exercises that are thought to make the muscle look more defined. In reality, low-weight, high-rep exercises don't burn much calories and don't build muscle, so they're not very useful. What works is to burn calories, which is what any weight lifting does. The heavier you go, the more muscle you'll break down, and the more calories you'll have to burn to build it back up (what's called the Afterburn effect). That's true toning.

 

[Jeanette401]

Strength training helps to keep you from losing muscle while you lose weight. If you lose too muscle along with the fat you might be a lower weight and look flabby rather than 'toned' because there's not much muscle to reveal when the fat melts away.

I wouldn't worry about upping the weights. Rule of thumb - if you can do 12 reps at a given weight easily, increase the weight. You don't have to jump from 5 lbs to 40 overnight, just keep increasing every time you workout and it feels easy.