# Eating before working out and back to back cardio and lifting



## Jeeper (Jun 9, 2004)

I go to the gym in the mornings every day before work so that I miss trafic.  I have been doing a CKD(actually Lyle's UD 2.0) for a while with decent results but am curious about eating before cardio or lifting and doing cardio and lifting back to back.  I usually lift on Mon/Tues in the mornings after doing cardio and then just cardio Wed and Thurs.  Then I follow the rest of his schedule for lifting Thusday night and saturday  I usually dont eat ever before I lift or do cardio in the mornings.  Thursday night and saturday I do about 15g protein and 30 carbs before but never in the mornings. Is this wise?


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## Jodi (Jun 9, 2004)

You should always do your lifting before cardio and always eat before lifting.  Never lift on an empty stomach.


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## Jeeper (Jun 10, 2004)

I guess my question is more about why on a ketogenic diet?  I mean normally you dont want to deplete the glycogen levels before lifting but that is the point of a ketogenic diet.  Wouldnt not eating before lifting also help increase this effect or does it start to burn muscle also.  The two days of lifting that I am really talking about are high rep(15-25) at say 50% Max anyway.  I am just really trying to deplete my muscles of glycogen.


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## redspy (Jun 10, 2004)

If you severely restrict carbs (< 20grams) within 2-3 days your muscles will be depleted of glycogen and your body will shift into ketosis and will fuel itself by burning ketones.  I tried a similar diet last year and felt very lethargic and my strength declined about 10-15%.  My muscles also looked much flatter.  If you follow this kind of diet you must ingest a lot of protein to ensure you're not burning muscle.

 With regards to doing cardio and lifting in the same session you are likely to increase cortisol levels which can also have a catabolic affect on your body.  The other point to consider is that with increasing volume you will decrease the intensity of your sessions, particularly if your body is deprived of glycogen.


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## CowPimp (Jun 10, 2004)

Just do your cardio after you lift.  Then you will be burning calories while your muscles are depleted of their glycogen stores, effectively increasing your chances of burning fat.


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## Jeeper (Jun 10, 2004)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Just do your cardio after you lift. Then you will be burning calories while your muscles are depleted of their glycogen stores, effectively increasing your chances of burning fat.


I will change to this.  What should I eat before I lift.  Straight protein..or add fat too.  I dont want to much carbs since the diet is CKD basically.


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## CowPimp (Jun 10, 2004)

Jeeper said:
			
		

> I will change to this. What should I eat before I lift. Straight protein..or add fat too. I dont want to much carbs since the diet is CKD basically.


Definitely get some fat in there.  As well, if you're not going to be eating carbs, then you should try taking branch chain amino acids.  I have heard that these will help greatly in retaining your lean body mass.


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## ismeefoo (Jun 10, 2004)

Hey Pimp, should an ideal pre-workout meal be just protein or should there be some carbs in there too? I am on a pretty tight schedule and don't have time to cook in the a.m. before I go to the gym. Crazy, my boss always wants me to be on time or something.


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## CowPimp (Jun 10, 2004)

ismeefoo said:
			
		

> Hey Pimp, should an ideal pre-workout meal be just protein or should there be some carbs in there too? I am on a pretty tight schedule and don't have time to cook in the a.m. before I go to the gym. Crazy, my boss always wants me to be on time or something.


I try to get a little of everything in my pre-workout meal.  Your body is in need of all the resources you can possibly give it when you are about to burn a high number of calories and deplete your muscle's glycogen stores.

For my post workout meal, I try to stick to whey protein and carbs because fat will slow down absorption of those nutrients.  About 30-60 minutes later I have another meal with a little bit of everything.

I think all this low-carb nonsense being publicized has gone to people's heads.  You need carbs, period.  If you go low carbs, then you are depriving your body of it's most essential energy source.  Just don't overdo your carbs, and make your primary sources of carbs slow burning.  You will lose fat on a low carb diet, but I wouldn't call it healthy.


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## ismeefoo (Jun 10, 2004)

Thanks Pimp.


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## Vieope (Jun 10, 2004)

_Don´t forget some EFA too. _


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