At Team Transform we have a large focus around resistance training as a key component for results, regardless of it being weight loss, muscle gain, tone or general fitness goals. I think often is the case where people might find themselves training really hard, but not seeing the results they desire, and majority of the time it’s because people aren’t putting the same effort in with their nutrition as they do with training. In my last post I talked about Protein and why need it, but I left out an important reason so I could focus on it more in this post, and that is avoiding a catabolic state.

žA catabolic state is a condition that is mainly caused by excessive training coupled with a lack of adequate nutrition, especially protein. It results in numerous undesirable side effects in the body, such as extreme fatigue, joint and muscle pain, and sleeplessness. If you are finding yourself extremely sore after every workout, even after adequate stretching, it might be worth looking at your protein intake, especially before and after training.

žMany people think that their few hours of working out have helped them build muscles, but in actuality, their lost energy is compensated by cortisol. Cortisol is a catabolic hormone which is secreted by the adrenal glands to make up for the loss of muscle tissue after intense workouts. Protein and Carbohydrate intake play a significant role in building muscle. Intense training requires a lot of proteins and carbohydrates. This is because a lot of muscle tissues are lost during a strenuous workout. To prevent ending up in a catabolic state, you need to ensure that the protein and energy needs of the body are met before and after you exercise.

žMuscles do not grow when you are working out. They grow only when the body is given the opportunity to rest and recuperate. Therefore, excessive working out and lack of a proper diet will make your training futile. žIntake of carbohydrates and proteins about one or two hours before and after a workout will work wonders for your body, and keep you from feeling lethargic.

So if you are trying to lose weight, training multiple times a week, or even more than once a day, and aren’t eating because you think it’s helping you lose weight, you should probably rethink your strategy. We want to build and maintain muscle while decreasing our body fat, so while losing kilo’s on the scales might be important to you, you won’t achieve that “toned” look without building muscle first, and nutrition is key to that. If you see people having protein shakes immediately after a gym workout, this is the reason. So if you don’t like shakes, make sure you are getting your protein requirements in some other way, and ensure it’s as close to finishing your workout as possible.