Thread: pre and post cardio nutrition

Originally Posted by MWpro

After a hard HIIT cardio workout, should I be eating anything or should I just wait until my next meal?

A really hard HIIT session should be thought of in the same light as a weights session. You are using glycogen as your main fuel source and you are stressing your body to the extent that a PWO shake would be required. I would no do a full PWO shake, but something that is about half orthree-quarters your normal shake would be good. Either that or follow it with a good solid meal (both carbs and protein).

Normal cardio sessions I usually say that a solid meal is sufficient.

There is no benefit in waiting to eat (even if there are some who believe that they will 'burn fat' if they do not eat afterwards).

Also, is it a good idea to have a piece of fruit or something for energy right before a cardio workout? Or should I not eat anything at all?

IMHO you should eat before any workout regardless of if it is cardio or weights and regardless of if you are cutting or bulking.

It is your overall calorie count and the quality of those foods (when combined with a correct weights and cardio program) which will get you results. Not eating before your workouts so you 'burn fats' (or other voodoo workout myths) do nothing.

Why would you not fuel your workouts correctly? This is the last place you want to remove calories - as you will be decreasing the efficiency ande intensity of your workouts which, at the end of the day, will decrease your overall calorie expenditure and decrease your rate of fat loss.

Before your workouts you should try to get a good combination of carbs and protein. If you eat 1 hr beforehand hen some oats and egg whites would be a good example of a meal. Anything longer than about 1.5 hrs and you might want to add some fats to that as well (to help slow digestion so you get the fuel at the time of your workout). Anything less than 45 mins and a liquid meal would be more effective (so a shake with whey and some carbs).

At least eat some protein (such as some egg-whites or a scoop of whey).

The only exception to this would be very low intensity cardio (such as walking the dog in the park ). For that, if you don't think it is neccessary then you don't need to worry about eating before hand.


Ad for if fruit is ok... Well, this is where debate often happens.

This is for two reasons -
1. Many will suggest this is not the best fuel to have before a workout. They feel a starchy carb is better. I am in partial agreement. I think that a starchy carb IS needed - but I think that you can have both fruit and starchy carbs. This is actually a pretty good mix - especially if you are doing longer cardio sessions and the fruit will help to keep your blood sugar stabilised for the duration of your session.

2. Because you are cutting and many people do not like it when cutting. This is because it is a 'sugar carb' and because it contains a few grams of fructose. However, I am a person who likes fruit and I am in favour of it (It offers you many nutritional and health benefits such as vitamins, minerals, fibre, phytochemicals, water, glucose, starch and fructose - which can actually be BENEFICIAL to thebody, especially when in calorie deficiency).

So, I say, if you are just trying to loose some fat then fruit is fine to include in your diet. If you are in the final few weeks of preparing for a competition then you might want to think about replacing it with a starchy carb like oats.

It also depends on what fruit it is. Many are ok with berries, apples or grapefruit when cutting.


So - I would suggest that you certianly want to add some protein to the fruit and you might also want to add a little starchy carbs as well (oats etc).

Do not eat before cardio if your main goal is to lose weight. Studies show that your body will burn the food rather than fat. Also dont eat 1 hour after you are done with cardio, as studies show that your metabolism remains greatly elevated for one hour following intense aerobics.

If its performance your after than its a diffferent story.

Originally Posted by njc

Do not eat before cardio if your main goal is to lose weight. Studies show that your body will burn the food rather than fat. Also dont eat 1 hour after you are done with cardio, as studies show that your metabolism remains greatly elevated for one hour following intense aerobics.

If its performance your after than its a diffferent story.

Bull.

Show me these studies that say 'don't eat before and after your cardio and your results will be superior to if you eat'.

And I want peer-reviewed, validated, reproducable, independent, non-biased scientific journal articles with dates, edition number and page references.

And I want at least 2.

One for the 'don't eat before' and one for the 'don't eat after'.

Originally Posted by njc

Do not eat before cardio if your main goal is to lose weight. Studies show that your body will burn the food rather than fat. Also dont eat 1 hour after you are done with cardio, as studies show that your metabolism remains greatly elevated for one hour following intense aerobics.

If its performance your after than its a diffferent story.

i followed what i thought was the "golden rule" & didn't eat before cardio.

after doing this regularly for a month (i believe in sticking to something new for at least 3 weeks before making a decision) i lost weight but also looked small & soft........hmmmm, not really the look i was after.

i started using a whey & egg white shake pre & post cardio & that's when i started seeing more positive results.
weight loss wasn't so dramatic as the FAT loss though but i looked (and felt) much better.

I guess the next suggestion from njc is to go running in the morning without eating...

lol.

Great post Emma; thanks for all the great information.