FT Questions....

[Scott Stevenson]

Hi Doc,
I've read some of your previous writings/interviews on pre workout nutrition specifically as well as re-read FT e-book Diet portion (And an interview in '11 with John Meadows on the subject) so as it stands (please correct me if I'm wrong or if this has changed) you employ a protein fat, low carb pre meal prior to training. I have 40g carb from cream of rice 25g P from whey iso pre workout, 40g Carb HBCD Intra (Recovery factor + other ingredients), and post workout is 6oz Lean beef and 60g carb from rice; my question is: Would I be better served in your opinion to take out pre workout carbs and increase them via intra/post? (I also use GDA pre/post workout meal)

I have about 2 months left of offseason, so I'm looking to get that last push of calories before dieting down
Thanks!

TO some degree you're probably splitting hairs there, but the purpose of no carbs pre-workout is:

• Some folks feel better without carbohydrate - the are more alert before trainign
• This makes room in a given caloric allotment for more carbs intra and post-workout
• This also tends to allow for more carbs in a peri-WO nutrient timing scenario b/c your stomach will be emptier, generally.

John M. like to have a decent amount of fat in the pre-workout meal with the purpose to help meter in blood glucose.

I'd say I lean toward a simply protein only meal pre-workout (there are multiple reasons why this would not always apply), given the reasons above (as less fat means fewer kcal and the opportunity to put those in as carbohydrate).

So, I'd try that and see how you feel, how your pump is when training (which can in and of itself be motivating).

Also, I like to keep the meal post-training lower in fat, so even a lean beef would not fit that bill, but again, this is splitting hairs here in your case. When someone is putting down maximum peri-workout food amounts, the fat's effect on digestion can be noticeable, so food choices are important. It doesn't sound like you're to that point yet..

-S