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The Basics of Nutrient Timing: How to Time Your Meals for Faster Weight Loss
My clients get fantastic results. They do. And I am very proud of it! The reason is, I do something that to my surprise most other personal trainers don’t – I am adamant about WHAT they eat and WHEN. When it comes to training whether it be cardio or strength training, nutrient timing is very important and will set you on the right track to lose weight faster.
Most of my clients find me because they want to lose weight and feel better in their skin. The reason of my high success with them is that I know EXACTLY what they are experiencing and what they want to achieve. I know perfectly well that the way you feel about yourself will reflect outward onto anything you do in life and how important it is to feel confident about your body.
So I use a little trick to get my ladies in the top shape relatively quickly. I play with their nutrient timing.
The concept of nutrient timing is old and has been used by fitness pros for decades to lose weight faster. You can call their “secret”. In reality, all it is taking in the proper nutrients at appropriate times of day to achieve the most out your workouts. Here are the 4 rules I follow with them:
4 Tips to Nutrient Timing That Would Help You Lose Weight Faster
1) Do not train on a full stomach!
This is the most important rule of nutrient timing. If you eat right before you train you may feel sick, and all that does is put extra stress on your body. If your stomach is already breaking down food, you will simply disrupt the digestion process and not get a good workout. Also, it takes about 1.5-2 hours for your body to start turning food into energy, which means that you are still working out on an empty stomach, even though you just ate. Eat about 1.5-2 hours before hitting the weights.
2) Do not train on a completely empty stomach either!
And by “training” I mean a hard weight lifting or bootcamp style workout – not cardio. You can still do fasted cardio, but you have to keep these guidelines in mind. If you have nothing to burn you will pass on your best performance during the workout and risk losing muscle as a result. Keeping muscle mass is important to keep your metabolism ticking, which helps you lose weight faster and makes you look leaner.
3) Pre Workout Meal
To get the most out of your workout, eat a meal consisting of complex carbs and protein about 1.5-2 hours before you exercise. This will give you some time to digest the food, and will give you optimal energy you need for your workout. Remember you need to push your body in order to make progress and for that you need calories!
Before your workout, stick to grains like rice and quinoa or sweet potatoes for carbs and lean meats like chicken breast and white fish. Don’t have too much – just a fist size of each nutrient. Also, stay away from fatty foods like oils, butter, fatty meat, red fish, etc – they will slow down the digestion and will make you feel sluggish during the session.
4) Post Work Out Meal
Eat some simple carbs and more protein right after your workout (30 minutes tops!). Simple carbs are easier to absorb and help replenish your depleted glycogen stores that assist with recovery. Make a smoothie with a banana and protein powder, or two plain rice cakes with 0% Greek yogurt. Again stay away from fatty foods, as you need the nutrients to start arriving fast.
Nutrient timing is a very effective tool to get you lose weight faster. It involves a little more than the 4 tips above, but these tips are fundamental and if you start following them, you will see results very quickly. If you need help with putting together an in-depth weight loss strategy, contact me for a free consultation and I will be thrilled to help you get started!
