If you are looking to lose fat and get lean then nutrition should be an integral part of your plan…….hopefully you have a PLAN! If you don’t exactly have a plan and you don’t know where to start, you can start by having a good post workout supplementation. Post workout supplementation is crucial if you want to have lean, toned, and sculpted muscles. 

When you perform resistance exercise (weight training), you deplete your body of glycogen, this is what your body uses as fuel for this type of exercise.  If you do not immediately replenish your glycogen stores, you will enter into a catabolic state, which simply means you will be burning the muscle that you work so hard to get.

Your best bet is to replenish your glycogen stores immediately with a protein shake.  Liquid will be a better aid at this time than food because it is more quickly absorbed and you will be meeting the demand for re-hydration.  Make sure that the supplement contains protein, glutamine, and greens.  Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in muscle and in the bloodstream, it also aids with immune system function.  If your goal is to build and retain muscle, glutamine will be a vital part of your post-workout supplementation.  Greens will help you reduce cortisol which is elevated by putting your body in a stressed state post workout.

After intense exercise it is also important to replenish electrolytes, sodium and potassium, these minerals are heavily involved in energy production and are lost in sweat.

This would also be a great opportunity to have your fruit.  If you like fruit and you have cut down on it for fat loss purposes, post-workout is a great opportunity for you to put them back in.  While glucose is rushed back into the muscle in the post workout state, fructose (sugar in fruit), helps replenish liver glycogen stores.  When the body uses all the glycogen it needs from the food that you intake, it will call upon the liver to release glycogen for conversion into glucose in order to meet blood sugar needs.

I know this seems a lot to you, especially if you are not used to taking any supplements. I recommend getting high quality supplements.  This is one place you want to spend your bucks on.  My favorite and the best products are from Billy Beck III.  You can get them here:   Billy Beck III Supplements.

If you want a specific plan to help you lose fat and get lean, toned, and sculpted muscles, check out 30-Minute Workout Express.  If you have any further questions about a plan designed for your fitness goals, e-mail me at michelle@michellemariefit.com .