When is the most important time to pig out?

[benito1283]

Hi Mark,

I was wondering if you had any information/experience regarding when the most important time is to get the huge amounts of milk and calories/good protein that our bodies need to grow. For example, If I work out Saturday morning, is the rest of that day the best time to pack in lots of food and milk? Is the next day just as important? Less important? More important? Should I still be packing it in even two days after a workout? I generally just listen to my body and eat when I'm hungry, plus a little more. I imagine that after a certain number of days, the extra calories are more likely to turn to fat than muscle, and that is what I'm looking to find out. I have gained almost 45 lbs in a year doing SS (117 to 160, 5'8") so I must be doing something right. But I'd like to minimize the amount of bodyfat I gain if possible. Thanks.

[Mark Rippetoe]

The most important time to eat is right after you train, and eating a lot falls into the "eating" category. But since you're training ~ every other day, what is this "after a certain number of days" you speak of?

[h k]

I've been wondering about this too and I've noticed I recover better if I start eating a lot after the last heavy session, be it micro or macro cycle. In a weekly time frame I do it from friday to saturday and in monthly time frame it's friday, saturday, sunday and starts tapering down towards the end of the week. This is essentially just the beginning of light days/weeks/months when supercompensation should step in and you need to fuel it.

[benito1283]

For example, if I'm training MWF, Sunday will have been two days post training. I also occasionally need to take a day off of training due to work/school schedule. I guess what you're saying is that immediately after my workout is the most important time for food/milk, and the importance gradually decreases after that? Basically what I'm wondering is whether I should be drinking a half gallon of milk and eating extra calories on Sunday if I train MWF, or will those extra calories be more likely to turn to fat than muscle, compared with lots of milk and extra calories on training day. (I should say that I'm not eating junk food, fast food, or many starchy carbs - my diet is mainly chicken, fish, cottage cheese, milk, eggs, fruit, peanut butter). Thanks.

[fluxboy]

I'd generally say whenever you are conscious. However, I am not inflexible here. I am a great fan of compressing 6 full sized meals into 3. As long as that happens within a single day, you should be good to go.

There were some cool posts on this a while back. Oh wait ... those were mine.