Recipe: Fall Coffee Treat

by | Oct 27, 2017 | Blog

When possible, I don’t eat before my workouts. I do 95% of my workouts about 10-12 hours into an overnight fast.

The exception is when I’m really hungry. If I’m really hungry and feel that not eating will negatively impact my workout intensity, I’ll have a small snack that won’t impact my blood sugar. I don’t want my body using sugar to fuel my workouts; I want it using fat.

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If I’m super hungry, I might have a small handful of almonds or a half packet of coconut butter.

Otherwise, I eat an early dinner (I’m almost always done eating before 7pm on weekdays) and I don’t eat again until sometime between 10am & noon.

In addition to not eating before my workout, I try not to eat within 90 minutes after my workout. Said another way, I won’t eat until at least 90 minutes after my workout ends.

We’ve learned from the body building world that getting in protein and/or carbs right after a workout is super important for muscle growth & recovery. I’ll agree that it’s important for muscle growth. Kinda.

But here’s what happens when we eat right after a workout: we blunt the catabolic process of the activity. Remember, fat loss is catabolic. It represents a break down process – breaking down body fat to fuel the body.

Exercise is also catabolic. Exercise doesn’t grow muscle tissue, it stresses it. It creates micro tears. It’s catabolic.

Eating is anabolic.

When fat loss is the goal, we want that catabolic process of a workout to run it’s course completely before switching into an anabolic state (created by eating).

For that reason, I allow at least 90 minutes following a workout before I eat. That’s my general rule.

With this wonderful fall weather, I’ve been craving more warm meals & drinks than cool. As I brought home a venti Americano after my workout today, I thought I’d mix it up and make it something yummy.

A fall coffee treat – why not?

I almost always order my coffee black. Today was no exception.

But a combination of feeling too lazy to cook and wanting a treat led me to pull out my blender for a coffee inspired “lunch”.

I poured my hot Americano into my Vitamix and then added:

Oh my goodness it was delicious!

I’ll be in a hotel next weekend for ASCEND & I’m totally bringing my blender to make some of this to power me through those long days!

I got most of these ingredients through Thrive Market and if you give them a try, make sure you go through the URL thrivemarket.com/primalpotential so you save an extra 25% & get free shipping on your first order plus a free 30-day trial membership!

I thought today’s workout would be a gimme. It looked pretty easy on paper but holy smokes it caught me by surprise! My legs were exhausted & my lungs were burning in just the 2nd round!

“Saved by the Bell” 
5 Rounds:
21 Air Squats
15/10 Calorie Bike
9 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches

What a great week of workouts!

On the food front:

You guys already know what I had for brunch! I know many of you probably feel like my coffee treat isn’t much of a meal, but it’s actually a legit amount of fat. More importantly, it works for me. It probably wouldn’t have worked for a me a couple years ago, but it does now, and that’s all that matters.

I’ve worked hard over a period of years to really improve my metabolic efficiency and part of that means I’m less hungry and have longer stretches of time between my meals.

Ultimately, the only thing that matters is what works for you & makes you feel amazing. Keep in mind that as you improve the quality of fuel you give your body, change your body composition and increase your fitness, your hunger and fuel demands will also change & adjust.

For dinner I had a huge bowl of brussels sprouts with soft boiled eggs and bacon mixed in. Oh, and a little goat cheese, too!

Enjoy your weekend & have a Happy Halloween! I’m going to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I’m pretty pumped about my red wig!

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