Nutrient timingMeal timing

Nutrient timing covers the deliberate placement of meals relative to exercise: pre-workout fuelling, intra-workout carbohydrate, and the post-workout protein feeding once known as the anabolic window.

It matters much less than it was once claimed to. The narrow post-training window has not survived scrutiny — total daily protein is the dominant variable, and the elevated response to training persists for many hours. Where timing does earn its keep is carbohydrate around long or repeated endurance sessions, where glycogen availability genuinely limits performance.

In practice the honest hierarchy is: total energy first, total protein second, distribution across the day a distant third, and precise timing around a session last. It is a refinement for people who have the basics locked down, not a starting point.