If there’s one thing that can wreak havoc on your muscle gain plans (without the fat of course), insulin spikes are it.
Insulin is a key hormone in the body that is involved with regulating your blood sugar levels and is on a mission to constantly keep it within a certain range.
While insulin release can be a very good thing immediately after a workout when you’re looking to build muscle and promote a fast recovery, during the rest of the day this can be a recipe for fat gain.
Let’s take a closer look at what insulin spikes are and how you can get control over them.
What Is An Insulin Spike
The very first thing that you need to understand is what an insulin spike is. An insulin spike is essentially when you flood your body with simple sugars and the resulting effect is very high blood glucose levels.
As insulin’s main job, as we just mentioned is to control blood glucose levels, it comes rushing into the blood from the pancreas and is going to start shuttling this excess glucose out of the blood and into the tissues.
The fate of the glucose is going to depend on what’s going on at the time. If you’ve just finished a hard workout and your muscle cells are drained of their stored energy, insulin is going to take the glucose and move it right into the muscle cells.
If you’ve done nothing in the last few hours however except sit at your desk at work or lay on the couch watching late night TV, that glucose is moving right into your body fat stores.
What Causes An Insulin Spike
So what causes an insulin spike to occur? The primary reason why you’re going to get an insulin spike is when you put foods into your body that break down into sugar quickly. When you eat foods that don’t break down rapidly into sugar, there may still be some insulin release, however it will be much more moderate and controlled.
The body isn’t sensing that dramatic blood sugar high and the need to control it immediately. As such, normal insulin release pursues.
Various Foods And Their Impact On Insulin
So in order to best control your insulin spikes, it’s important to realize the influence that various foods have on it.
Simple carbohydrates as well as any foods rich in sugar such as white bread, candy, or snack foods will instantly break down in the body and turn to glucose. As you can imagine, this does not mean good things as far as avoiding an insulin spike goes. Post-workout this is good as you want that insulin spike for recovery, but at any other time, this needs to be avoided.
Wholesome carbohydrates such as oats, brown rice, quinoa, and vegetables will have a much lower impact on insulin since they break down very slowly, releasing glucose into the blood stream over time. Thus, you will still see some insulin come into the body but it will be in much lower concentration levels than if you were eating simple carbs.
Proteins such as chicken, fish, and egg whites will also cause a slight increase in insulin levels however it is not even close to the same extent that any form of carbohydrate will.
Finally fats such as nuts, seeds, and avocados, have no impact on insulin release in the body so these are the best nutrient for keeping blood sugar levels stable.
So there you have the main things to remember about controlling your insulin spikes so that you can maintain a leaner body. If you are sure to eat the right foods at the right time of the day, this should never be an issue for you.
Whats your favourite insulin spiking drink or food for after a workout?
The simple one gatorade I never used it before but after Ben mentioned it I’ve started to use it. I also like sweet potatoes.
I like to make chocolate banana smoothies with egg white protein powder for my post workout “meal”. I also consume mostly simple carbohydrates an hour or so before I train. Consuming simple carbs before training also won’t lead to any gains in body fat as your body will use all of the freshly broken down sugar energy to fuel your muscles during your workout.
Insulin spikes are only pose a problem in terms of body fat if your muscles don’t have a need for the immediately available sugar energy.
Great post Dave!
Thanks Craig!
usually a banana or apple with a protein shake…..as i am looking to lose weight i usually don prefer sugars even after a workout …thats why i prefer the sugars from fruit itself….nd dave i hav another question….i know that the insulin spike after a workout is different from the insulin spike during the rest of the day…..but i wanted to know i they are different( i.e- why the insulin spike after workout does not cause the same effect as the rest of the day)
If not used for energy, glucose is assembled into glycogen by muscle and liver cells and stored; If you’re body is in excess, he will store it as fat…. Post workout, your glycogen levels are depleted, that’s you you need the spike then
*why they are different
I take in a casein shake with glutamine and no simple sugars. I go home eat my post meal with brown rice and I’m gaining at a good rate, seems to work for me.
Casein post workout?
That’s the worst time you could possibly have it
I second that, casein postworkout is a horrible idea. Your body needs rapid absorbing protein to not only aid in the recovery process, but to feed your muscles as well. Casein is best used at night before bed.
If you’re worried about insulin spikes, just add cinnamon to your meal/protein shake. It will slow down the insulin response greatly.
Cinnamon is a powerful spice, good tip Darin!
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the great info, a small Q’s, how much dextrose do u need post workout for a good insuline spike? And is it a good thing to spike ur insuline pre and during workout too?
Thanks buddy – You’re the best!
George.
I’m gonna go ahead and answer this one. I hope you don’t mind Dave
In your post workout shake, the amount of dextrose can range from 2-3 times the amount of protein.
This depends on your current training level, the intensity of your workout, training methodology etc||
It doesn’t make sense to add dextrose in your post workout shake if you are a beginner and train at low intensity. Even the type of training matters. For example, one would not want to add dextrose after a cardio workout because cardio does not deplete muscle glycogen unless its done in high intensity (like HIIT) or for durations (like marathons)
Spiking insulin before and during the workout is counterproductive.
Pre-workout:
Insulin spike caused by fast absorbed carbohydrates cannot give sustained energy release.
Instead, there is an instant rush of energy which is rapidly used up and cannot last the entire duration of a workout
The sudden increase in blood glucose during insulin spikes drives the blood glucose into fat storage rather than muscle glycogen which is where we want it to be in order to use it during the workout.
During-workout:
Insulin spikes cause by ingestion of fast digesting carbohydrates is absolutely undesirable during a workout. This is for the following reasons:
a) Slows down water absorption: Concentrated glucose solutions drastically slow down fluid absorption as the body has to forcefully pump the concentrated fluid into blood, Poor water absorption leads to guaranteed reduction in performance as proper hydration levels are crucial during training
b) Stresses the digestive system: Pumping concentrated glucose solution into blood demands increased working of the digestive system along with greater blood supply.During exercise, there is decreased working of the digestive system and therefore reduced blood flow. Blood is channelized into working muscles instead. For this same reason, one should NEVER consume solid foods (like bananas) during workouts.
c) Insulin crashes: Insulin spikes are often followed by insulin crashes which leave the person sluggish.
I hope this answers your query completely
Cheers
Thank you this is great info – I will only spike my insulin post intense workout then
You are utmost welcome George
Hi george, Suneet gave you an awesome answer. Thanks Suneet
Chicken fajitas from the university’s cafe…usually after a back or a leg workout…
Post-workout chocolate shake when i finish my workout.
post workout. whey isolate with an equal amount of dextrose. 2-2 scoops
50/50 is my ration too!
*ratio
Chocolate milk
2 scoops whey & 3 scoops Waxy Maize. Works out to 50g protein 90g carbs
I will usually just have a normal healthy meal after workout. Skinless chicky breast, slice o’ rye bread and some mixed veg. None of which will quickly recharge the muscles with an insulin spike
I’m trying to lose some weight at the mo’, so I try to avoid insulin spikes for the most part.
Does an insulin spike not hinder the afterburn effect after a cardio/weight training session? Opinions on this anyone?
Raisins or white patatoes are my favorite, and they are usually without artificial ingredients.
Dave, I know this is a fairly old post but thanks for an inciteful read. I been trying to correlate Bodybuilding with Type 2 diabetes and not Type 1. Both being completely different in methods on producing insulin. Myself being Type 2 and taking pills, I always feel like I am missing something or scared to take too many carbs in but suffer from hypoglycemia. My Doctor told me that I should take in more carbs if I wanted to bodybuild and he gave me a very suprising number. But you probably don’t have much info on that hard to find info about Bodybuilding from Type 2 diabetics and not Type 1. Anyways thanks for the read and it will surely help me in some way on making a healthier diet =). Lift hard my friend.