We could take heed to this little ditty, especially when it comes to diet. But take heart, it isn’t ALL bad, and there actually IS a science to our bodies and sugar does play a role. Just not in the form of a donut hole!
After a workout your muscles are tired and depleted of their energy stores. At this stage, your body is in a catabolic or breaking down state of both muscle and fat. Your body is breaking down muscles and fat for energy, because you've used up all your energy during your workout.
We know that sugar causes fat storage fast because it is a simple carbohydrate which digests very quickly. Excess sugar in the bloodstream is unhealthy so the body immediately stores it as fat. But after a workout, this rush can be a benefit. Sugar causes increased blood sugar levels. Increasing your blood sugar levels will pump the excess sugar into your muscles, and since your muscles need all the sugar they can get, there will be no excess sugar to store as fat! It would actually be beneficial to cause an insulin spike post workout to pump your muscles full of the energy and nutrients which you've depleted during your workout.
How should this be done? Consuming a mixture of high glycemic index sugar as well as protein causes a much greater insulin spike than ingesting sugar alone. And protein is vital yo post workout too. I am not talking about a bar of chocolate. Eating a couple of bananas or adding honey to your post workout shake will do your body good.
Another time when an insulin spike is beneficial to a bodybuilder is immediately after waking up. Your body has been without food for 8 hours while you were asleep, and - unless you had a good protein filled meal before sleep - has been burning muscle. This would be a great time get an insulin spike to pump energy into your muscles and revive your system, because the body is in a similar state to the one it was in post workout. Again, ingesting lost of protein, some sugar, and some slow digesting carbohydrates would be great in the morning. Just a slight increase in insulin would be effective in the morning. This is because, although your body has bee fasting for 8 hours, it wasn't exercising or using muscle, so it needs significantly less energy.
The key to sugar is to use it at specific times in moderation. These times are post workout or in the morning.
After a workout your muscles are tired and depleted of their energy stores. At this stage, your body is in a catabolic or breaking down state of both muscle and fat. Your body is breaking down muscles and fat for energy, because you've used up all your energy during your workout.
We know that sugar causes fat storage fast because it is a simple carbohydrate which digests very quickly. Excess sugar in the bloodstream is unhealthy so the body immediately stores it as fat. But after a workout, this rush can be a benefit. Sugar causes increased blood sugar levels. Increasing your blood sugar levels will pump the excess sugar into your muscles, and since your muscles need all the sugar they can get, there will be no excess sugar to store as fat! It would actually be beneficial to cause an insulin spike post workout to pump your muscles full of the energy and nutrients which you've depleted during your workout.
How should this be done? Consuming a mixture of high glycemic index sugar as well as protein causes a much greater insulin spike than ingesting sugar alone. And protein is vital yo post workout too. I am not talking about a bar of chocolate. Eating a couple of bananas or adding honey to your post workout shake will do your body good.
Another time when an insulin spike is beneficial to a bodybuilder is immediately after waking up. Your body has been without food for 8 hours while you were asleep, and - unless you had a good protein filled meal before sleep - has been burning muscle. This would be a great time get an insulin spike to pump energy into your muscles and revive your system, because the body is in a similar state to the one it was in post workout. Again, ingesting lost of protein, some sugar, and some slow digesting carbohydrates would be great in the morning. Just a slight increase in insulin would be effective in the morning. This is because, although your body has bee fasting for 8 hours, it wasn't exercising or using muscle, so it needs significantly less energy.
The key to sugar is to use it at specific times in moderation. These times are post workout or in the morning.
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