I'm not one to recommend protein chocolate milkshakes, or any other artificial supplements/meals, although I did experiment once with adding protein powder to my Isotonic drink mix, to help reduce muscle damage of long runs. (Idea came from reading Noakes "The Lore of Running"). Can't say it worked, or didn't, but didn't hurt.I thought one point of timing your meals post-workout was to optimize fat burning (make you lean). Something about carbs turning to fat if taken at the wrong time, as well as using fat and protein to fuel and rebuild the damaged muscles. (Something I remember from Matt Fitzgerald's "Racing Weight" - the first reference in your linked article).So if "recovery/injury prevention/..." is pure unproven BS, any chance that optimal carb/fat/protein can be achieved with timing your meals?I rationalized it with what happens during the Tour de France - if these guys don't replenish lost carbs/calories soon enough, there is no hope to compete the next day.
AndyC wrote:
I think this is a better article than the three you reference, with the same conclusion:
http://evidencemag.com/recovery-window/However since I have started drinking whey protein shakes after my hard training runs I have noticed my recovery times have improved dramatically.
I suppose this shows that whey protein has a great placebo effect :)