what should i eat pre-cardio to burn fat?

[sharaabi]

goal here is to loose fat.

Clean diet - check!! (lean meats, veggies, good fats) and supplements such as NO explode and whey on my 2 days i do full body workouts

now to the cardio part:

1. what should i pre cardio workout be? assuming im doing HIIT or 30mnts of stair master or jump rope.
should it be full of complex carbs and protein?
mainly protein?
how many hours prior to my cardio should i have this?
can i eat something bad (like IF I were to have a cheat meal of my week)

2. post workout? again:
should it be full of complex carbs and protein?
mainly protein?
can I splurge here a little?


thanks in advance

[87lifter]

I personally like to eat 1hr 30min b4 lifting. If i'm just doing cardio I can get away w/ 1hr but that's cutting it close for me. Some complex carbs would be good so you have energy, then simple carbs afterwards but don't go overboard!!!

Also, supplement wise, some form of BCAA's before or before/during could help you out. Either bulk (cheap but tastes like ass) or something like Xtend

[BigDutchman]

I like to go with non-acidic fruit before cardio; i.e. grapes, apples, or pears. Post-workout I have my standard protein shake of 2 scoops whey, milk, pb, ice and maybe some fruit thrown in there as well.

The whole question you've presented is a bit flawed, however. Instead of thinking of it in terms of what you should eat to burn fat, try understanding it in terms of how you can best fuel your body for intense cardio. But yeah, sounds like you are on the right track.

[justanothagirl]

why non acidic?

[|ceman]

Keep in mind everyone that insulin released after eating a meal (more insulin the more simple the sugars) will halt fat burning.

Insulin is a storage hormone, and in simple terms - turns the tide on fat burning hormones and stops energy release from fat cells.

Personally, I like fasted AM cardio or if cardio later in the day or for HIIT, a complex carb and protein meal about 1.5 to 2 hours before the cardio. After cardio, avoid simple sugars as these will trigger an insulin release and halt fat burning. Again, a complex carb and protein meal is good.

Things are a little different for pre and post workout nutrition when lifting and then doing cardio, but that's now what is up for discussion right now.

[godevs4ever]

i dont really like to eat anything before running cardio i find it sits in my stomach and it makes me not want to finish the run but that's just me. Like if I eat a meal even 30 min before i go to the gym I find it just makes me sluggish. But then again that's just me but after the gym I eat a LOT of protein and I eat a few meals and even shakes but the eating stops at 6:30pm so that I can lose these last inches of fat. I've got like 1-2 inches on the bottom two abs of my stomach and once those are gone I think my six-pack will be nicely defined.

[crazymutha]

Keep in mind everyone that insulin released after eating a meal (more insulin the more simple the sugars) will halt fat burning.

Insulin is a storage hormone, and in simple terms - turns the tide on fat burning hormones and stops energy release from fat cells.

Personally, I like fasted AM cardio or if cardio later in the day or for HIIT, a complex carb and protein meal about 1.5 to 2 hours before the cardio. After cardio, avoid simple sugars as these will trigger an insulin release and halt fat burning. Again, a complex carb and protein meal is good.

Things are a little different for pre and post workout nutrition when lifting and then doing cardio, but that's now what is up for discussion right now.

Yeah...fasted am cardio rules. Not only for fatloss, but the "high" is awesome. I have sloved some of my biggest life problems while in a fasted am cardio "trance."

Tom Venuto advocates it, if anyone cares...forget the research because it simply works.

[Wcustom]

Keep in mind everyone that insulin released after eating a meal (more insulin the more simple the sugars) will halt fat burning.

Insulin is a storage hormone, and in simple terms - turns the tide on fat burning hormones and stops energy release from fat cells.

Personally, I like fasted AM cardio or if cardio later in the day or for HIIT, a complex carb and protein meal about 1.5 to 2 hours before the cardio. After cardio, avoid simple sugars as these will trigger an insulin release and halt fat burning. Again, a complex carb and protein meal is good.

Things are a little different for pre and post workout nutrition when lifting and then doing cardio, but that's now what is up for discussion right now.

I agree with everything you said but I just want everybody to know that there are some differences if you want to lose the least muscle as you can. If you are just trying to lose fat and not worry about losing muscle, then follow what he said. But if you want to keep muscle loss to a minimum, consume simple carbs post-cardio, doing this will NOT HALT fat burning, it will only make you lose less, but saves muscle. So if you are trying to lose at a nice steady pace, and have the time to lose it while keep muscle loss to a minimum, consume simple carbs post-cardio.

[godevs4ever]

yeah i like fasted AM cardio because it just seems like I can feel the fat being burned. fasted AM cardio works!

[jannek]

I agree with everything you said but I just want everybody to know that there are some differences if you want to lose the least muscle as you can. If you are just trying to lose fat and not worry about losing muscle, then follow what he said. But if you want to keep muscle loss to a minimum, consume simple carbs post-cardio, doing this will NOT HALT fat burning, it will only make you lose less, but saves muscle. So if you are trying to lose at a nice steady pace, and have the time to lose it while keep muscle loss to a minimum, consume simple carbs post-cardio.

um no what are u talking about??? have no carbs after u do cardio would be bad for ur muscles but having complex carbs will protect ur msucles. Having simple carbs will only slow fat burning and cause u to store more fat

[shivsean]

Things are a little different for pre and post workout nutrition when lifting and then doing cardio, but that's now what is up for discussion right now.

I lift and then do cardio like you describe.

Can you give me some details on what my nutrition intake should be if I lift for an hour and then do cardio at 140 bpm for 1/2 hour?

currently I eat a small meal at least 2 hours prior to lifting and I drink a 130 cal gatorade while lifting. I drink just water during my cardio.

[|ceman]

I lift and then do cardio like you describe.

Can you give me some details on what my nutrition intake should be if I lift for an hour and then do cardio at 140 bpm for 1/2 hour?

currently I eat a small meal at least 2 hours prior to lifting and I drink a 130 cal gatorade while lifting. I drink just water during my cardio.

If your pre workout meal has complex carbs and protein, then you shouldn't need the gatorade.

Keep in mind, that the rules change when you are trying to bulk and add muscle (without respect to fat). If your primary goal is fat loss first and muscle gain secondary, you need to do things to maximize your fat loss. You could also supplement with BCAAs immediately pre and during lifting to help keep muscle loss to a minimum.

[aiming45]

Depending on your body type you can do a couple of different things. I love it when people spout these blanket generalizations assuming it's gospel and it absolutely applies to everyone. There are of course general rules of thumb, but you've got to find what works best for you. Here's what I personally do and why;

Get up 5am, eat a small banana (to halt catobolism) and single scoop of whey protein (to feed muscles for next couple of hours to keep cardio for stealing muscle mass from me)
6am get to gym and do cardio (Sip on BCAA's in water (Xtend or CoreABC) to supply essential aminos and glutamine for recovery. No carbs no cals)
7:30am after shiznit, showering and shaving arrive at work and have normal breakfast (usually a small banana, cup of oats with splenda and cinammon, 6 egg whites (2 w/yolks) and coffee)

No need to over think it. Also, If I were you I'd up my full body workouts to three a week rather than increase cardio. Full body heavy weight circuits are much more beneficial for fat loss in my opinion than cardio in the long run. Just my two cents.

[Blackout]

Eat a normal P +C meal an hour before weight training, and 1.5 hours before a cardio session.
Wait 30 minutes after training to eat again.

[jaymed]

Personally, I like fasted AM cardio or if cardio later in the day or for HIIT, a complex carb and protein meal about 1.5 to 2 hours before the cardio. After cardio, avoid simple sugars as these will trigger an insulin release and halt fat burning. Again, a complex carb and protein meal is good.

Hey Dan, it's me again Time to have a little more post workout nutrition debate lol.

My first question is a simple one....when you do fasted AM cardio, do you stick with moderate/low intensity or are you doing HIIT?

My next question is depending on the intensity of your cardio, do you change your PWO nutrition at all??

I will answer these questions myself. If I do low intensity cardio, I'll try to have PWO nutrtion that doesn't include simple carbs. However, if I do moderate to high intensity, I will include simple carbs.

I'm not going to argue Dan's statement that insulin spike will reduce fat burning, however, I will say that I've never had a problem losing weight with the PWO nutrtion I've listed above. Also, a portion of cardio's effectiveness in relation to fat burning is the elevating of your metabolism for a period of time after it is completed and I don't think a simple carb is going to prevent that from happening.

Dan and I are both telling you what has worked for us. I know from past posts, he has tried both simple carbs PWO and not having simple carbs and he found not having them was better for HIS body. I on the other hand haven't had any fat gains from having simple sugars PWO. I guess I'd suggest trying both and see what works for you!