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26th October 2016
03:11pm BST

It basically looked at how to restore your reserves of carbohydrate (glycogen) after they had been depleted by an intense bike ride - and they found no difference in consuming the same amount of carb heavy McDonald's or carb-heavy sports supplements.
Why? 'Macronutrients are macronutrients' the study's author Brent Ruby PhD told Men's Health. 'The same results would be likely if you provided food items from Whole Foods or any farmer's market'.
Your body doesn't know the difference between 70g of carbs from a burger or 70g of carbs from a recovery drink.
And so it showed in the research - the calorie total was similar around 1,300 with power bars and sports drinks vs a menu of hashbrowns, orange juice, coke, fries and a hamburger - with no difference in recovery and subsequent performance.
So what's the best stuff to order McDonald's after a workout for recovery?
Milkshake - Milk is a good source of protein and carbohydrate and many bodybuilders use it as cheap and effective alternative to protein shakes. A large chocolate milkshake from McDonald's contains 850 calories - with 20g of protein and 141g of carbs.
Big Mac - If you want protein and carbs quick, then the Big Mac could be a good bet if you want a mucky cheat. With 490 calories - including 28g of protein, 41g of carbs and 24g of fat - you won't regret it. Ask for no sauce or cheese to cut down on fat which slows down digestion. A quarter pounder has two more grams of protein.
Coke - What's the quickest way to get carbs into your body without mainlining sugar into a vein? Fizzy drinks. While we'd not normally recommend swigging down pop, if you've earned it after cycling 100 miles or doing a triathlon, knock yourself out. A large Coke at McDonald's. 300 calories with 81g of pure carbs will do the trick.
French Fries - They're never going to compete with the likes of sweet potato or quinoa in terms of healthy, low GI, satiating carbohydrates. But if you need some carbs quick and dirty, then large fries at Maccies has 510 calories and 67g of carbs.
If you're not a big McDonald's guy, then do as American guy did - eat a Chipotle every day until you get abs.Explore more on these topics: