brian2440

I workout first thing in the morning around 7:30am. Im was wondering should I eat carbs before workout or just eat them for after. I eat six times a day and eat clean. I hardly ever cheat, but I can not grasp on what to eat pre w/o and post w/o. All I know to do is take whey post w/o. Need help.

Emma-Leigh

Yes - eat carbs both before and after your workout. Depending on how soon you workout after you eat you can either make this a solid meal (eg: Egg whites and oats) or a liquid meal (eg: shake with whey, banana and fat-free/sugar-free yoghurt).

You then need both carbs and proteins post-workout.

So it should go something like:
Pre-workout: Carbs + protein
Post-workout shake: Carbs + protein (whey)
Post-workout meal: Carbs + protein + fats

brian2440

I workout about 30 min after I get up. I get up eat the go to gym. So I could do this?

pre w/o 1 cup oats with scoop of whey at 7-7:30 am
post w/o two scoops whey whith half cup oats at 9:00am
Then three hours later or so chicken breast with rice.

Emma-Leigh

Hmmm... 30 minutes might be pushing it in terms of getting away with oats before your workout. I would recommend, if you want to go for oats, aim for at least 45 mins and in that case use instant oats/quick oats instead of regular whole-grain rolled oats.

I can't really comment on your quantities (as you have not given a weight or goal for yourself) but your post-workout shake looks fine (make sure this is within a few minutes of finishing). Also, consider using more carbs, especially if you are trying to add mass. You can also use something in addition to the oats (eg: a banana).

Don't wait 3 hours till your next meal either. 1 to 2 hours is far better. Rice (brown or basmati) and chicken is great. You could add some vegetables and some healthy fats (fish oil caps etc) as well.

brian2440

I need to cut really. Today I did cardio and no weights.

post w/o two scoops whey in water. 9:00am
about 30 min later I had 1 cup of oats.-9:30am
at 1:00 I will have rice and chicken.

is this ok or do I need to eat the rice and chicken at 10:30am

preworkout and postworkout meals have got me really cunfused.

Emma-Leigh

What did you eat before your cardio and what type of cardio was it?

Also, what is the rest of your diet like...?

Plus - You should never wait between 9.30am and 1pm to eat regardless of if you worked out or not - that is too long. You want to eat about every 3 hrs.

brian2440

I do cardio at home on the treadmill. I do hiit cardio. I did not eat anything before cardio.
I think my diet is fine but I will list it. Usually the same on lift days.


7:30am 1 cup oatmeal with scoop of whey
9:30am after workout two scoops whey and half cup oats
12:30pm half cup rice and chicken breast
3:30pm veggies, 1 can of tuna, and rice
7:00pm salad,almonds, and chicken breast
10:00pm 2 cups cottage cheese and 2tbsp nat pb

take fish oil caps during day. usually six.

I go to the gym right when I wake up. some people say to have a pre w/o shake then gym then carbs and post w/o shake. And I do eat every three hours religiously. I never skip a meal or not eat every three hours. The time vary. I usally eat between 9:30 and 10 then next meal is at 12:30 to 1:00. I just do not know how to eat pre and post w/o.

Emma-Leigh

If you are doing HIIT type cardio then you are better off eating prior... This type of cardio (if done correctly) is VERY energy demanding and very stressful on the body - so you are doing more harm than good if you do it on an empty stomach (all you do is increase catabolism, increase cortisol levels and have a 'not as good as it could have been' workout due to the lack of energy in your body).

I would suggest you at least have a protein shake prior with a combination of carbs + protein being more ideal.

If you are doing low intensity cardio then it is not soo much of a problem, but I still feel that you are better off eating before hand - more energy = better workout = greater calorie usage = more benefit.


You are right - your diet is pretty good. I can't comment on quantities (as I do not know your stats and if you are trying to cut/maintain/add mass) but if you are adding some of those capsules to your meals at 12.30pm and 3.30pm then it looks great.

If you are going to the gym less than about 45 mins to an hour after your first meal then you are probably better off with something that is going to digest faster than the wholegrain rolled oats for PRE workout - so something like a shake with a banana + skim milk or, if you really want, instant oats, would be ok.

If you have a little longer then something like whole-grain rolled oats + egg whites would be better.

In your post-workout shake you also want carbs + protein. The type of carb you use based on personal preference and your goals, but whey for protein is always a constant. Carbs you can use include banana, skim milk, oats... Some people use powders such as dextrose....

A lot of people also choose to have their post-workout MEAL (the one after the shake) closer than 3 hrs from their shake as it helps continue the recovery process. If you do not want to do this (or you can't for time reasons) then I suggest you increase your carbs in your post-workout shake. 0.5 cups of oats is really not very much.

brian2440

I could drink a shake w/oats in it(0.5 cups) before my workout cardio or weights then after training eat 1 cup oats and the two scoops whey and skim milk. I could keep the rest of the diet the same. I eat my last meal at 10:00pm. I go to bed around 12:30am. Question is should I drink a protein shake before bed or have low fat cottage cheese?

My stats:

height-5'9"
weight 204 down for 235.
I think I am about 15% bf.
I was cutting but I went to the foods I listed because I have not lost anything for about two weeks. By my calculations I am on the high side of cutting or the low side of maintaing. Depends on website you use to figure how many calories I need a day. All I know is this way of eating has changed my life. I cannot remember ever looking as good as I do now and I am only 26 years old.

Emma-Leigh

Sounds good.

CC + healthy fats everytime. Protein shake will spike your blood amino acids too quickly and will spike insulin as well - which means all the nutrients are gone from your blood altogether too quickly.

Great to see your results so far!! Excellent progress.

My only warning is to be careful on cutting your intake too low - the last thing you want to do is starve yourself and ruin your metabolism as this is not going to help in the long run.

Also - If your progress has stalled have you considered a 1 week 'refeed' at maintainence calories? Often after a long period of dieting your body just needs to be 're-set' before slowly dropping cals back down again.

brian2440

Thanks for the help and all the good info. I now know exacty what to eat now. Yea I started upping my cals this week. Now if I can get my legs to quit hurting after doing squats I will be good to go. LOL