I was told that after working out, if I don’t eat within 45 minutes my exercise was wasted. Is this true? Sometimes I can’t get anything until one or two hours after working out. Does this mean I shouldn’t work out unless I can get something to eat?

The first hour after a workout is considered the body's "golden hour." During this time depleted glycogen stores are replaced and the enzymes that convert glucose into glycogen are in a state that sugar can be consumed and is rushed directly to the muscles. A post-workout meal or drink is also important in replacing fluids lost through sweating to rehydrate the body. This is important especially if you are training very hard daily, such as a runner preparing for a marathon, or if you are an Olympic athlete or body builder. In these cases, restoring the glycogen levels in muscles is important since they will go under heavy fire again soon.  However for the average gym rat, the glycogen will be rejuvenated within 24 hours.  If you work out regularly, you have a storage of glycogen built up.  If you didn’t, you would have a very hard time coming up with the energy for working out the next day.

No work out is ever wasted.  If you can eat within that golden hour, so much the better; it will help with recovery. However if you can’t eat for an hour or more, you still benefit from your workout. If you are really concerned about it, carry a piece of fruit with you or a hard boiled egg. I often teach a Spinning class in the morning and then have lunch with my husband.  It is typically an hour to an hour and a half before we can get to lunch. I can always stop and have a quick small snack or even bring something to snack on. Either way, I get a great benefit from the workout!