No Longer Just a Joke
Do 100 pushups and then drink these 5 bottles
Back when we were all in senior year basketball class, the VGI gang used to joke about downing some hearty whole milk after several hours of intense ballin'. After all, what quenches your thirst like chugging creamy dairy at Oakenshield's?
Well, lately I've actually been trying out milk after my daily exercise routine. While I'm not hardcore enough to go for whole milk, I down a cup of 2% right after I'm done with my weightlifting. In some ways, it's pretty terrible; the milk doesn't feel at all refreshing like water or Gatorade might. I wouldn't say I love the feeling of milk sticking to my throat after a hard workout. On the other hand, some studies have shown that milk is a fantastic after-workout beverage (taste and texture aside). I've read that chocolate milk is supposed to be even better (and probably thicker...).
Upon the study's conclusion, researchers found that the milk drinking group had lost nearly twice as much fat - two pounds - while the carbohydrate beverage group lost one pound of fat. Those drinking soy lost no fat. At the same time, the gain in muscle was much greater among the milk drinkers than either the soy or carbohydrate beverage study participants.
"The loss of fat mass, while expected, was much larger than we thought it would be," says Phillips, associate professor of kinesiology at McMaster. "I think the practical implications of these results are obvious: if you want to gain muscle and lose fat as a result of working out, drink milk."
I've found that I only have one glass of milk a day, so I time the cup of milk for when it will do the most good. I've read theories that the protein and carbohydrate content in the milk is useful in repairing muscles, if taken less than 30 minutes after an intense workout. I hope these theories are true.
Related posts:
July 2nd, 2009 - 19:46
Crap, I’m lactose intolerant so I only drink soy milk.
July 3rd, 2009 - 01:31
I love dairy products, so that sucks (although I like soy milk)! Looking at info online, it looks like “90 to 100 percent of Asian Americans are lactose intolerant.” Wow! I’ve known some lactose intolerant people who take lactase pills too.
I mean, how could you live in a world where you can’t drink milk after a hard workout?!
July 14th, 2009 - 00:19
WTH? Does that mean I’m very likely to be lactose intolerant!? I never knew!! Though eating too much dairy does make me kinda sick. But I thought that happened to everyone in large doses.
July 3rd, 2009 - 09:18
Interesting post — I’ve heard quite a lot of people say that they’ve lost weight / gained muscle by drinking milk after a workout.
Some folks also recommend adding whey protein powder or Carnation Instant Breakfast to milk for better results, but I’ve found that this can cause some indigestion T_T
July 4th, 2009 - 00:46
When I was a kid, I used to throw up if I drank milk after doing physical exercise (roller skating/intense hula-hooping…) I’m not lactose intolerant but yea, puked all over my Nintendo 64 controller… cause you know, you gotta play video games after a workout. =3
I think my body just wasn’t used to milk when I was a wee-lad. I really regret not drinking enough milk back then cause I still look like a kid
and then people freak out when they hear my voice. Guess I’ll add some of dat chocolate rain in my milk after I workout! *ba dum psh*
July 15th, 2009 - 15:38
Pass me that Lon Lon Milk!