Avoiding food after workout to burn more fat/Shaping

Hi,

My girlfriend is going to a programm called Shaping. They told her:

1. Don't eat for 3 hours after workout.

2. Not eating after workout will cause fat loss in the areas of fat located near the muscles worked on.

Q: 1. Does any of this hold water? 2. Any info about this Shaping programm from St. Petersburg, Russia?

Number 2 is complete bull, from my understanding. There is NO such thing as spot burning, and not eating after doesn't change that. If I were your girlfriend, I'd ask for my money back.

I am not sure for general workouts, but for running, I am SURE you are suppose to eat at least about1 hours after the work out. Why? Because food with carbohydrates replenishes the glycogen stored in the muscles fastest right after a work out, so you get your energy back quicker. Eating things with protein will help your muscle from being hurt. Long exercises burns muscle and fat, so to keep your muscle you SHOULD eat things with protein afterward. Scientifically, you know really how much calories you eat is how many calories you eat. when you eat them should not make a too big of a difference let me link you with some website: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-242-301--12904-0,00.h tml

actually...it's the opposite...eat WITHIN 1 hour after a workout...that's when your body is like a sponge taking and using all the nutrients it can...during this 1 hour....it's best to take your creatine or protein or whatever other supplements you are taking. 

The eating after working out thing is not a cut and dry yes or no.

Some recent research suggests that it may only be beneficial to those that are trying to maintain their weight and are 'athletes'

http://www.healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=6204 71

Of course, it all depends on what your goals are for working out.

As for the spot reducing... that's bad advice.

For athletes eating after a workout is very important but for dieters not so much.  I would argue, without any scientific basis, that not eating after workout is better for weight loss but at the end of the day it comes down to total calories eaten and not when you eat them.

But as for burning fat near the muscles worked goes, that's total BS.

Obviously everyone who has replied has been in agreement that the whole concept of spot burning is a load of bull. But I'm surprised to see people on calorie count still posting things that could in any way be construed as saying you shouldn't eat after a workout. 

There are two proven reasons why consuming some form of protein within 15 minutes of a workout is ESSENTIAL to both losing weight and either building or maintaining muscle. First, this allows the muscles to begin to heal much faster than they would on their own by supplying them with the basic building block of their composition, amino acids. Secondly, and somewhat as a result of the first part, as consuming protein after a workout helps your muscles recover faster, this shortens the period of time you must wait for your body to feel good enough to exercise again.

While I don't think anyone will disagree with the sentiment that more exercise= more calories burnt, I know someone is going to say "but I don't want to build a bunch of muscles"! It almost feels silly writing this considering the extent to which it has already been discussed on these forums but: your girlfriend does not have to worry about building unwanted muscle unless she starts to live in the gym and workout 3 times a day. Her body is just not made for supporting large amounts of muscle.

In short, YES she should eat something (protein based) after going to the gym, NO she won't burn more fat in specific areas by not eating, and lastly, why in the world would you ever begin a diet plan from Russia???

Hope this helps convince her

Eric

no amethystgirl you have that wrong, number 2 is not bull... its cocken-bull! 

but i truly wish there were some way (besides surgery or such) to spot reduce, believe me, i really wish!

Original Post by octo-luv:

no amethystgirl you have that wrong, number 2 is not bull... its cocken-bull! 

but i truly wish there were some way (besides surgery or such) to spot reduce, believe me, i really wish!

 Correction noted.

Well, the post-workout window is more like a barn door in that you've got elevated protein synthesis for ~24-48 hours following repeated bouts of exercise so it's not like you need to start chugging protein shake the moment the bar hits the floor. After you hit the shower is soon enough :-P

 (While the protein resynthesis is elevated for a long time and +/-10 minutes won't make much of a difference, your body won't make up for the work it didn't do while you weren't feeding it the necessary raw materials either. So all you're accomplishing by delaying is reducing how much your body will adapt to the exercise you just did.)

 Unless you're doing two-a-days or you're going to be working out again within 24 hours you don't need to pay special attention to glycogen restoration either - and for dieting there's no special advantage to playing around with not doing pre/post-workout nutrition, your body tends to adjust the fuel mix it uses over time to converge on the same preferred PFC percentages when considered over a 24-hour period. 

 That said, those nutritional strategies sound like somethign someone made up on the spot so they could charge a premium for some kind of "diet secret", there's no basis in physiology for any of it.

It's this simple for me...If I'm hungry I'll eat. :D

;)

Haha, I actual do exactly what Melkor was saying is unnecessary and have my protein shake within 2 minutes of my last rep. I know full well that this is not any better than say, waiting 10/15 minutes, but it's definitely a mental thing for me at this point.

This feels odd to say but I believe Melkor and I actually agree on this one!

Shaping isn't a diet plan (to ncxcrnnr). It's a training program. Designed in Russia - it's true, and it was extremely popular in the mid 90s (in Russia). They also give some eating recommendations. When i did it in the late 90s (and lost 18lbs), they recommended to eat fruit and veggies in 1-1,5 hours after the workout and a usual meal in 3 hours. Frankly speaking, I didn't follow them  because felt starving after each workout. I personnally think Shaping is a good way to vary your workouts. It doesn't do wonders, it's just a training programme - not worse, not better than others. It's calories intake and the level of activity that matter for achieveing any fitness goal.

Sorry for clumsy English (From Russia with love ).

The people that benefit the most when you drink a protein shake within 10 -20 minute of finishing your workout are the people that make and sell protein shakes.  For the rest of us, as long as we get enough protein in out diet it doesn't really matter when we eat it.

Wow, now I have heard pretty much everything. Spot reducing in general is BS. The best that can be accomplished is to tone up the muscles, so it doesn't look as flubby, or when bf% drops low enough muscles show through easier.

UD