help please: diet and pre/post workout shakes confusion

[musclegirl18]

Okay, so the other day a sports nutritionist modified my diet (see below) to help me achieve my goal: lose some bf while still maintaining my lean muscle.

Below were his suggestions:

am: cardio (4-5 times a week) : 30-1hr
pm: weights (4-5 times a week)...(note: the guys that I will be weight training with have a three day split - weight training 6 times a week)

Cardio: am
20mins-1 hour before:

1 scoop hydroflow XP3 + 1 tsp L-Glutamine + 250 ml water
10ml thermogenic fuel + 200ml water (2 days 'on', 1 day 'off' cycle)
1 Acetyl - L - Carnitine tablet (2 days 'on', 1 day 'off' cycle)

(note, for the past couple of days, Ive been waking up 30 mins earlier and having the pre wo shake, then after 30mins, before I leave for the gym, I have the 'fuel' and tablet.)

Weights: pre and post wo shake:
(20mins - 1 hr before, and ASAP after)

1 scoop hydroflow + 1 tsp L-Glutamine + 1 tblp glucose + 250ml water

meal 1:
1/2 C oats
1 scoop (28gm) hydroflow XP3

meal 2:
1 scoop XP3
1 banana OR 1 apple

meal 3:
100gm tuna in sw
1/2C brown rice
SALAD (about 2 cups)

meal 4:
1/2 C low fat cottage cheese OR 1/2C low fat yoghurt (eg Jalna)
with either:
-25gm almonds/pepitas/sunflower seeds
-1 tblsp LSA
-1 tblsp Udo's oil

meal 5:
100g chicken breast, grilled
2.5C fibrous veggies (occasionaly sweet potatoe)
1/2C white rice (ONLY if train weights pm)

supplememnts:
CLA 6 tablets a day (2 with breakfast/lunch/dinner)

here are my questions:

1) I would appreciate some feedback on the diet
2) if i train cardio and weights together, should I be adding glucose to the pre work out shake? bc at the moment, I am training cardio/weights am, and I havent been adding the glucose to the pre wo shake.
3) if i train cardio in am, and weights in pm...that would be 3 scoops of XP3 for the pre cardio and pre/post weights...is that too much??
...is the pre wo protein shake before cardio needed, could i just have the thermo feul and L-carn tablet?
4) if I do cardio after breaky, should I still have the 'pre cardio' shake?
5) just say I train weights at 4pm, could meal 4 be my pre wo meal (ie., do I still need the pre wo shake?)
6) just say I train weights at 7pm, would i have meal 5 as the pre wo meal (to replace the shake), nd finish off with the post wo shake, or would I have the pre wo shake, train, post wo shake, then meal 5??
...I will most probably be training weights @ either 4 or 7pm, and am confused as to whether the pre wo shakes are needed!

I hope this makes sense, I would really appreciate any feedback :-)
thanks

[musclegirl18]

does anyone have any suggestions??....emmy-lou??

[sherdi]

Hello!

I can give a few suggestions. With regards to your workout routine. I think 6 days per week for weight training is a little too much. I would do 5 days max. However, I am sure other people might say otherwise, but you should really just monitor it because that with your cardio could = overtraining and exhaustion.

With regards to you meals:

1 scoop hydroflow XP3 + 1 tsp L-Glutamine + 250 ml water
10ml thermogenic fuel + 200ml water (2 days 'on', 1 day 'off' cycle)
1 Acetyl - L - Carnitine tablet (2 days 'on', 1 day 'off' cycle)

I am not familiar with the whey..Does it have any carbs in it because this meal needs to have carbs for your energy. Remember you have been asleep for a long time and your glycogen levels need refilling. I would suggest having some oats & fruit added to that or some skim milk & fruit. At the very least, eat 1 whole banana with this meal. I cannot comment on the fat burners or other suppliments as I don't use them.

1 scoop hydroflow + 1 tsp L-Glutamine + 1 tblp glucose + 250ml water

At least you have some carbs here although I would also suggest adding another type. Oats/fruit/skim milk are good choices here. I am not sure how much 1 tbs of glucose gives you in terms of carbs but I would say that would be not enough. If it is approx. 20grms sugar/carbs, you need to at least double that amount or add some fruit or oats to this.

meal 1:
1/2 C oats
1 scoop (28gm) hydroflow XP3

Good to see some oats here. However, you don't need to add any more protein powder to your meals because you have already had 2-3 shakes for pre/post workout. Aim for real food here. I would suggest egg whites (say 4-6) with the oats, a bit of fruit, and also a little good fat like almonds, ground flaxseeds, or walnuts.

meal 2:
1 scoop XP3
1 banana OR 1 apple

Again, drop the protein powder. Have real food here like tuna, chicken breast, egg whites, turkey, other lean meat, lf cottage cheese etc. Brown rice & sweet potato are good here. Also add a bit of good fat like olive oil or nuts here. Also you need to start adding in some veggies here.

meal 3:
100gm tuna in sw
1/2C brown rice
SALAD (about 2 cups)

This is great. Make sure you eat HEAPS of salad. It is so great for you and helps with giving you energy and helping you get to your goals. I would also add a little good fat, so add in a bit of olive oil or other okay oil to your salad with some vinegar or lemon/lime juice for dressing.

meal 4:
1/2 C low fat cottage cheese OR 1/2C low fat yoghurt (eg Jalna)
with either:
-25gm almonds/pepitas/sunflower seeds
-1 tblsp LSA
-1 tblsp Udo's oil

This is good but I would suggest that you always keep the cottage cheese since this is the protein source. Yoghurt is great but doesn't have the protein on its own. I would have both the cottage cheese and the yoghurt mixed together here. I would also suggest you have this meal as your last, so make it you 5th meal 1-2hours before bed.

meal 5:
100g chicken breast, grilled
2.5C fibrous veggies (occasionaly sweet potatoe)
1/2C white rice (ONLY if train weights pm)

Make this your 4th meal. I would ditch the white rice. It does nothing for you nutritionally. You could have some sweet potato and veggies with your chicken and a little good fat here.

As for your questions about pre/post workout shakes. Just make sure that you have eaten about 1-2hours before working out if a normal meal. If it's been longer, opt for a pre-workout shake/meal. Always have a post workout shake after weight training.

I hope my suggestions help...

[musclegirl18]

Thankyou for your feedback sherdi, very much appreciated!
Yes, I felt that he was getting me to have too many protein shakes, especially since he wants me to keep around the 1700cals per day (180gm pro/200gm carb/20-25gm fat). (p.s im around 120lbs, 160ish cm)

wake up: (20 mins before cardio)
10ml thermo fuel + 200ml water
1 acetyl-L-carnitine tablet
(have the above 2days on/1 day off)

cardio

meal 1:
1/2C oats +
1 scoop hydroflow XP3 protein powder (isolate) OR 5 eggwhites

meal 2:
1/2C low fat cottage cheese + 1 tblsp LSA + 5gm natural flavour booster

meal 3:
1/2 C brown rice + 100gm tuna in sw + SALAD
(seasoning: BRAGGS)

meal 4: (post workout, about 1hour before weights):
1 banana + 1 scoop XP3 + 1 tsp L-Glutamine+ 250ml water

post-wo shake:
1 scoop XP3 + 1tblp Glucose + 1 tsp L-Glutamine + 250ml water

meal 5: (about 1 hour after post wo shake)
100g chicken breast grilled (with BRAGGS)
2.5C fibrous veggies (including 75gm sweet potato if train weights in pm)

This gets me to around 1750 cals

Im still a bit confused about having something (i.e., protein shake + carbs) before cardio, I know this sounds stupid, but if I do, it increases the total cal's for the day too much.
on the day 'off' from the thermo fuel, should I have a piece of fruit??
and another thing, I am holding a bit of muscle, and I don't want to lose it!!
so yes, I am still a little confused about the pre/post meals, and whether my meals are okay.