Nutrient Timing and Macronutrients

Nutrient timing is important when attempting to build muscle (or when you’re an active person in general). Different types of macronutrients serve differing purposes, so the point of nutrient timing is to provide your body with the tools it needs to support certain activities when it will need them most.

As a general rule, our diets should be split in a 40/40/20% ratio. This means that 40% of our food should be protein, 40% should be carbs, and 20% should be healthy fats.

  1. Carbs: Carbs are absolutely vital when attempting to build muscle because they fuel your workouts so you will get the most out of them! They also assist in protein synthesis which is necessary for muscle growth.

There are three primary forms of carbs: Fibrous, simple and complex. Fibrous carbs consist of primarily vegetables and fruits and you can literally eat as many of these as you’d like at whatever time of day (although sweeter fruits should be avoided right before going to sleep in most cases because they will keep you awake). Fibrous carbs provide both fiber (which is essential for keeping our systems clean) and tons of vital nutrients. Complex carbs consist primarily of whole grains and sweet potatoes. Complex carbs are what you should be striving to get most of your carbohydrate count from because they digest more slowly and will therefore provide a sustained source of energy (great for fueling workouts!). Simple carbohydrates consist of foods such as pastas, flours, most breads, white potatoes, sugars, etc. These are great if you need a fast source of energy (like if you’re planning on doing a HIIT class) and vital immediately after a workout to replenish glycogen stores. I have also heard that they are alright to have for breakfast, but I tend to avoid eating them at this time unless I know I’ll need fast energy. The reasoning why timing your intake of simple carbs is more important than timing your intake of protein or complex carbs is because if they are not used quickly by our bodies, they tend to get stored as fat.

Below I have provided a list of some of the best carb sources for each category.

  • Examples of fibrous carbs: Lettuce, spinach, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, tomatoes, onions, apples, berries, etc. Basically fruits and veggies!
  • Examples of complex carbs: Oats, oat bran, whole wheat, Ezekiel bread (sprouted grain bread- if you want toast this is definitely your best option health wise), sweet potatoes and brown rice. You could probably even include certain beans in this category.
  • Examples of simple carbs: white pastas, any altered grain product, breads and white potatoes. Really sweet fruits like bananas and grapes should also be included in this category because they break down so quickly. Obviously things like cake, cookies, etc. could also be included in this category but it is best to save these for treat days.

Proteins: Protein is absolutely vital, vital, vital when attempting to build muscle! This is because proteins are what is used to build new cells in the body- including muscle fibers. You should aim to get between 1-1.2 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. There are a lot of good protein sources out there; the only thing to bear in mind is that some are “complete” proteins (meaning that they have all components needed to help build muscle- aka, all of your amino acids), and some are “incomplete” proteins (meaning that they have to be paired with another food in order to become complete). There are also two types of dairy proteins: Whey and casein. These are both super popular in the supplement industry and serve different purposes.

Good sources of complete proteins: Chicken breast, most fish (tilapia, tuna, haddock, whiting and even salmon), lean beef cuts, eggs and egg whites, game meats, turkey breasts and dairy products such as cottage cheese, unsweetened nonfat greek yogurt and milk. There are also good vegetarian sources of complete proteins such as quinoa and soy products.

It is good to try to stick with complete protein sources when possible, but certain protein sources can also be combined to create complete proteins. This includes foods such as legumes with grains (such as beans and rice) and seeds with legumes.

Now for a very important portion of protein intake- Whey versus casein!

Whey protein is absorbed very quickly into the body, so it has become renowned in the supplement industry. Whey protein powder is great to have post workout because it will go immediately towards rebuilding the muscle that you just broke down while training. If you do not want to purchase whey protein powder, nonfat milk, yogurt and ricotta cheese are pretty good food sources of this vital nutrient.

Casein protein is an extremely slow digesting protein so it is AWESOME during periods of fasting for preserving lean muscle tissue. If you will be going a long time without eating (such as during a job or when you go to sleep), you should try to consume casein protein because it will prevent the breakdown of the muscle that you work so hard to build. You can purchase casein protein powder, which in my opinion is a great option, and you can also eat foods such as cottage cheese (or milk), or most meats which naturally contain casein.

Fats: Fats should make up around 20% of your diet. Fats will actually help to build muscle and prevent inflammation associated with training. A certain amount of “Healthy” fats will actually help to prevent fat storage as well. It is good to include some fats at every main meal, as they will slow the digestion of food and consequently prevent muscle breakdown. Definitely include a source of fat in your post workout meal (not shake or smoothie, though, because you want the protein in here to be digested as quickly as possible), and if you have a bedtime snack such as cottage cheese (because it will slow digestion even more and consequently prevent muscle breakdown).

Good sources of “healthy” fats: Seeds (chia and flax are a great option), Most nuts, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, fish oil, the fats found in salmon and egg yolks and avocadoes.

Supplements:

There are certain training supplements that I would definitely recommend. The one that I would most highly recommend if you are interested in supplementing is a good whey protein powder (I really like Gold Standards 100% Whey and Dymatize Iso-100 Whey).

Casein protein powder is also really handy if you don’t like cottage cheese. (Gold standard’s 100% Casein is awesome)

Fish oil supplements and a good multivitamin are also great for preventing inflammation and ensuring that your body is receiving all of its necessary nutrients (you want to keep yourself in tip-top shape for training!).

Preworkouts are great for providing an energy boost before training, but remember that they are typically very high in caffeine. You can also purchase other supplements like BCAA’s, but these are only truly necessary when you are trying to cut body fat for a show or cannot eat for very long periods of time. (I personally prefer Pump Igniter, but many people use C4 and love it)

Creatine is another popular supplement, and it definitely does assist in strength gains, but many women choose not to use it because it tends to cause water retention (which can make you look fuller).

Training versus non-training days

You should eat slightly different on training versus non-training days. On training days it is necessary to have more carbs because your body requires the energy. Because of this, you should try to eat more complex carb sources (especially before and after your workout), and have a simple carb source immediately after training.

On non-training days, however, the additional carbs are not necessary so you are able to cut them out a bit if you would like (especially if you will be sitting most of the day). The post-workout simple carb source is also obviously not necessary.

Sample Day of Eating

Although I definitely vary my food up, there are certain foods that I eat a lot of and do so pretty consistently. Below is a sample of my daily diet:

  • Breakfast: 6 egg white omelet with veggies and a slice of Ezekiel toast. I like to top this with salsa and mustard, but obviously you can do to it whatever you’d like.  I also like having greek yogurt with berries, nuts and oat bran or oat meal.
  • Lunch: Tuna salad (I usually have an entire can or even 1.5 cans) on a salad with veggies and either Ezekiel toast or brown nice. You could also make this with chicken, turkey, etc.
  • Preworkout smoothie: A bit of whey protein, casein protein, 1/3 a banana, berries, almond milk, my preworkout, unsweetened cocoa and kale.
  • During workout: I typically eat a quest bar because my workouts last such a long time! If you’re training for 1.5 hours or left, an intra-workout snack is unnecessary unless you get really hungry.
  • Post workout smoothie: 2 scoops whey protein, sometimes a little greek yogurt, unsweetened cocoa, BCAA’s, berries, 1/3 a banana and almond milk.
  • Dinner: Chicken breast with salad or boiled broccoli and a sweet potato with cinnamon.
  • Dessert: Casein protein powder mixed with cottage cheese, raspberries and nuts.