Waiting to Eat Post-Workout

[Donica]

I don't believe I've ever started a thread in the Nutrition section before, but there's a first time for everything:

I just wanted to share what I've been doing with my diet and the timing of my post-workout meals lately. I'm a CFT and have been doing a lot of recreational reading on nutrition lately for the sports athlete; actually I'm studying to earn nutrition credentials in the not-too-distant future, as well.

One of the concepts I've come across would seem to go contrary to the popular mantra of "eat immediately after your workout". One or two sources have recommended waiting an hour or more post-workout to consume your meal, so as not to interfere with the natural release of GH in the body. To compensate for the calories that you would naturally need (that would be replaced if eating just after a workout) your pre-workout meal is much larger and a bit earlier than if you chose to eat just after your workout.

I have been trying this for a few weeks now. Actually, I do not think that waiting 45 minutes to an hour to eat after working out has harmed my potential muscular gains significantly; I'm actually weighing in heavier--which is great news for me!--with my bf% about the same. (For any of you interested in stats, I stopped playing around with those shown on my avatar a while ago.) Just so you know, I am bulking, and am eating everything in sight like I always have, but now I'm just waiting about an hour to eat after my workouts: instead of downing a protein shake and whatnot after my workout, I go shower and change and then take the time to prepare FOOD and eat A LOT OF IT. So I thought I'd share my experience and see what everyone else has to say, good or bad, about this concept. (But if it's "bad", please keep it respectful even if you disagree with what I'm doing. Thanks!)