#8 - Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat — The Art of Nutrient Timing

Hi again! Let’s get started.

First off, what is nutrient timing?
It’s the practice of eating specific foods — carbs, fats, protein — at specific times of day (waking, training, sleeping) to maximise performance, recovery, and growth.

Each macronutrient affects the body differently depending on when and how it’s consumed. So instead of guessing, we apply intention to every meal.

If you’ve been following Holy Bulk, you already know:

• ❌ Avoid the Metabolic Swamp

• ✅ Eat every 2–3 hours

• ✅ Practice nutrient segregation (carb-fat separation)

But the next logical question is:
What should we eat (from our food list here) — and when?

⚠️ First, a Reminder...

If your foundations aren’t solid, this won’t move the needle much.
Make sure your sleep, steps, training, and macro intake are locked in. Go back to earlier issues if needed.

📅 Build Around Your Daily Rhythm

Before you can optimize nutrient timing, you need consistency:

• A fixed waking time

• A consistent training window

• A non-negotiable sleep schedule

Let’s break it down.

🌅 Waking

I always wake around sunrise, between 6:00 and 7:30 AM, depending on the season.

Why sunrise?
This aligns with your natural circadian cortisol peak, which occurs around 6–8 AM. That’s when cortisol should rise — it supports:

• 🔋 Dopamine

• 🔥 Thyroid output

• 💪 Testosterone

Eating early also gets your digestion moving, sets your circadian clock, and gives you more time to fit in your total calories.

What to eat upon waking:

• 🍊 Pulp-free orange juice – fast liver fuel, glucose for thyroid

• 🧂 Sea salt – replenishes overnight sodium losses

• 💪 Collagen – supports gut lining and connective tissue

• 🥤 Whey isolate (optional) – for an early MPS trigger

Avoid:
❌ Fasting
❌ Black coffee on an empty stomach
❌ High-fat or high-fiber meals

🏋️‍♂️ Training

You've probably heard that “breakfast is the most important meal.”
Not for us. For hardgainers, peri-workout nutrition is king.

Why?

• Training raises cortisol

• Recovery requires reversing catabolism

• You need to refill glycogen + stimulate muscle protein synthesis (MPS)

🧠 Based on Dr. Jack Kruse’s work and chronobiology research, the optimal training window is 1–5 PM. This aligns with:

• Peak protein synthesis potential

• Sustained cortisol to fuel effort

• Enough time post-training to get meals in

⏱️ Pre-Workout (30–60 min before)

Consume:

• ✅ Sugar – liver and muscle fuel

• ✅ Salt – electrolyte support

• ✅ Protein – MPS primer

• ⚡ Optional: caffeine for performance

💡 Good choices:

• Skim milk + honey

• White rice + egg whites

• Whey + OJ

Avoid training fasted.

💦 Intra-Workout (if training > 40 minutes)

Purpose:

• Manage cortisol

• Maintain liver glycogen

• Avoid gut load

What to drink:

• 🍊 Pulp-free orange juice

• 🧂 Sea salt

• 💦 Water

Sip every 10–15 minutes or between sets.

🍽️ Post-Workout (within 30–45 min)

This is your window of opportunity.

Our goals:

• ✅ Refill glycogen

• ✅ Trigger MPS

• ✅ Shut down catabolism

What to eat:

• Carbs + protein + salt

• No fats — they slow digestion and blunt the insulin response

My go-to is a supplement post-workout shake (which I’ll reveal next issue).

🌙 Sleep

Be in bed by 10 PM. Period.

This allows:

• 💥 Growth hormone release

• 🧠 Testosterone production

• 🔁 Deep, restorative sleep

To support this, we want to keep dinner low-carb, high-protein, and moderate fat. It is important to avoid blue light and artificial stimulation at night as well. The goal is to keep insulin low to favour growth hormone at night (blue light spikes cortisol, which in turn raises insulin).

Ideal dinner foods:

• Lean grass-fed beef

• Pastured eggs

• White button mushrooms

🥕 Bonus: Between Meals

A raw carrot salad (S/O Dr. Ray Peat) is truly helpful.

• Raw carrot fiber binds toxins, endotoxins, and excess estrogen in the gut.

• Coconut oil supports antimicrobial terrain and fat-soluble vitamin absorption.

• Apple cider vinegar helps regulate gut pH and digestion.

• Salt supports adrenal and electrolyte balance.This improves digestion and hormonal balance — key for appetite, energy, and lean gains.

Here is a quick recipe:

🥕 Ray Peat’s Carrot Salad

🧾 Ingredients (1 serving):

• 1 medium raw organic carrot (peeled, washed, shredded lengthwise)

• 1 tsp coconut oil (melted)

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• A pinch of sea salt

🧑‍🍳 Instructions:

1. Shred the raw carrot lengthwise using a julienne peeler or box grater.

2. In a small bowl, combine carrot, melted coconut oil, vinegar, and salt.

3. Mix thoroughly until carrot is evenly coated.

4. Eat on an empty stomach or between meals for best results.

✅ Key Takeaways

You now have a full picture of:

• How much to eat

• What to eat

• When to eat it

As you adjust macros, just scale quantities — the principles stay the same.

Nutrient timing checklist:
✅ Eat carbs early to lower cortisol and support digestion
✅ Keep fats away from carbs (segregate!)
✅ Focus your carbs and protein around training
✅ Keep carbs low at night to maximise growth hormone
✅ Add salt liberally throughout the day
✅ Train 1–5 PM if possible

🧪 What’s Next?

Next week, we hit the tip of the pyramid:
Supplements.
Which ones, when to take them, and why they actually matter.

Can you guess what’s on the list?

Until then — train hard, eat smarter, and recover fully.

— Sainté