[jjfigure]

When I cut, I keep the carbs low GI during the week; if you drink a fast absorbing protein post workout, you get enough of an insulin spike for protein synthesis. In other words, there's no real need to consume high GI carbs post workout for protein synthesis, unless you're bulking and need the calories. Even pre-workout, protein is the key, not carbs. The carbs you consume won't be used for ATP production (energy production) until they're in the intestines. I believe digestion takes 4-6 hours, so consuming carbs pre-workout really isn't benefiting you for that workout. They'll be there to help restore muscle glycogen later in the day, but just aren't available immediately.

By fast absorbing, I mean whey or whey isolate; you don't want to use a blended protein, and you don't want to use a casein protein because it does absorb slower than whey.