my lunch is my post workout meal 90% of the time. The past few days after I've eaten lunch i feel super hungry just an hour later. After my workout I have a scoop of my whey isolate protein powder bc it's also for post workouts, but even with that I still am hungry. I drink water to see if I'm just thirsty but the hunger doesn't leave. Any suggestions?

Matt,

Sounds like your post-workout meal is not dense enough macro-wise and calorically. What are you having to eat besides the protein shake? I have a whey and egg protein shake in milk then a huge tuna filet with some brown rice and huge pile of spinach (or other green vegetable) cooked in olive oil and garlic after my workout.

John

I have been wondering if my post workout meal was too small, but since i'm trying to cut my body fat % I didn't want to eat too much. But I have 1 cup of brown rice, chicken, which isn't very much at all, a little bit of veggies. When I can I have half of an avocado. But I buy 99% of my own food (I still live with my family) and i don't make a lot of money and have other expenses to pay so my budget is tight, so i don't always have avocados. But i usually have a scoop of my whey isolate. but I just ran out yesterday and can't get any more for at least a week. But to me my meals feel big, but they aren't. (Here is my post workout meal from yesyerday)

I suppose it does kind of come down to what you can and can't afford...what is the price of chicken like in your area? How about eggs? You could throw some eggs in there for more protein and healthy fats.

1 Cup of rice is probably OK. Try and find some cheap food sources of your protein, carbs and fat to make the meal bigger.

Do you know what the macros are from this meal?? The macros, more than the size, will give you a better indication of whether it is enough or not.

Jordan

So I should be eating more? & I don't know the exact macros. I know my carbs are good bc those I can calculate easy. But I don't know how many grams of chicken there is bc I don't have a scale. I want to get one but don't have any extra spending money right now. That's the hard part

Right.

Should you be eating more? Well, that depends. Just because you are hungry doesn't necesarilly mean you need more food, especially if you are trying to lose weight and have just reduced your caloric intake. It might just be a matter of your body getting used to smaller meals as you try to drop fat.

At a rough guesstimate, I would say you have 100-150g max (uncooked) chicken there. So around 25g protein maybe.

When money is tight I guess you have to make adjustments...and as I say, you may also have to get used to not eating as much if you have gone into a caloric deficit.

Jordan

Matt,

An "average" serving is about 3 ounces which is about the size of the palm of your fist. Look at the packaging when you buy. My chicken has 4 pieces and weighs 1 Kg. 1 Kg = 2.2Lbs so each piece is a little more than 8 ounces - 1Lb = 16 ounces. 8 ounces x 7g/ounce = 56g of protein per piece.

Chicken and beef have about 7g of protein per ounce. So a 3 ounce piece has 21g of protein

Large eggs have 7g protein per egg (whole egg not whites). Smaller eggs have around 6g grams.

Fish is around 6g - 7g of protein per ounce especially for high protein fish like tuna and salmon.

John

OKay, Thank you! That helps me a lot!

Also, I want to start doing more cardio, so before my workouts I was thinking about doing 30 min or so of steady cardio, then do my wokrkout, then do my psrints and other cardio. would this make me lose fuel I should be using for weights or would this be okay? Also, should I have my pre workout after my steady cardio for ther weights?

If I wanted to just do a cardio session either early in the morning or later at night whats the best thing to eat before and after? I don't need a big meal like I do after weights, do I?

One last question, bare with me.. lol.. so after my workout I ride my bike 1.7 miles home then either eat right away or have a recovery shake or bar if I have one. Is it bad that i'm waiting til i'm home to have the recovery shake or bar?

Matt,

You need to be careful with cardio. Doing a quick 5-10 minute warm-up to increase your core temp before you lift is fine. Doing 30 minutes before you workout is not adviseable. HIIT cardio is best after your workouts. If you are cycling home, do some stretches of high effort pedaling. Pre-workouts are to be taken pre-workout.

When doing cardio fasted like early morning, it is important to consume at least 3-5 grams of BCAAs to protect your muscles as they will sacrifice themselves as fuel. As for late night cardio, it is best to do it at least 2-3 hours after your last meal and don't eat anything after you are done.

As for your post workout shake, you have roughly a 2-3 hour anabolic window after your workout to get nutrients into your body. Having the shake after you cycle home is fine unless it is taking you 4 hours to pedal home :-)

John

If I were to do cardio mid day, like on my rest day, whats the best thing to eat before and after? I wouldn't think you need a big meal after cardio?

Thank you! All that info really helps me :)

It really depends on what your goal is @MattMiller.

If you purely want to lose weight, you can probably get away with eating very little after your cardio. If you are focused on losing fat AND gaining weight though, you could probably do with a decent protein intake, with a little bit of carbs. If you simply want to get better and faster at running, I would have a good meal after you have done your cardio to fully replenish all of your energy stores.

I would eat some sort of carbs or fat before your cardio, as they're your best sources of energy. Don't load up on protein because that takes longer to digest. Give your self at least 30-60 minutes before you do your cardio as well.

Afterwards, as I say, it depends on your goals, not to mention the length of your cardio. Anything more than say 45 minutes, an entire meal wouldn't hurt. A quick 15-20 minute HIIT session...maybe a protein shake, some fruit. Then you will obviously get more macros from your meals later in the day. But it all comes down to your goals, and the intensity of your session.

Jordan

That is so helpful!! So like @jmboiardi said that if I do fasted cardio in the morning I need bcaa to prtext my muscles, if I were to do a little ab workout. Just a short 5-10 min would I also need bcaa?

Matt,

Since it is just cardio, I would keep your meal size and carb amounts the same. I personally increase carbs amounts only on work out days post workout. I keep my carbs lower on rest days.

John

A little ab workout, you can probably go without the BCAAs...but if you have them, you can take them, nothing wrong with that.