Post Cardio Nutrition

[Dr. E]

I completed a bulking phase about 2 weeks ago, and now I am on a cutting phase for 8 weeks (or until I get the results I am looking for).

I have been getting up at 5:30, Monday to Friday and doing between 30 - 40 minutes of cardio (depending on my patience, and always on an empty stomach).

I eat six medium size meals a day with a limited amount of carbs. In fact my main source of carbs comes from my first meal which is usually half a bowl of Soy Granola mixed with about a 1/3 cup of dry oats, and each meal after that usually contains a slice of oat bread to add taste to the chicken or ham that I am eating. I am also getting a good amount of flax seed oil, and my other fats come from cheese usually.

My biggest concern is that I am really screwing my results up from my post cardio nutrition. After I finish my cardio at the gym, I shave, shower and get changed (takes about 25 - 30 minutes or so). Then I go straight to work (I have to travel about 30 minutes on a bus to get there). After I get to work I slam a protein shake (Whey + milk) to get something into my system, and then eat the granola/oats like I talked about before.

How much, if any, of my lean muscle might be depleted by waiting so long to get food into my system, and what is the optimum post cardio nutrition (ie. a protein shake as soon as I finish . . . . )?

Thanks for any help you can offer.

 

[Rockaho]

I would say have a shake ready to slam as soon as you can. If you were 50 lbs overweight I might say different but cutting for a bodybuilder is different than dieting for someone else. About 30 gr. of whey should do it till you get to work and eat your oats.

This is what I'm trying to do. I'm anxious to see if there are different ideas on this.

 

[maxb01]

Should I have the shake as soon as I finish the cardios? What in it, just Protein? Or some carbs too? If I don't take carbs, won't the protein be converted into sugar? I'm taking Pure whey by Prolab, that has got 6g carbs per scoop.

 

[Rockaho]

For post cardio I don't think that carbs imeadiatly after workout is as important as it is for post weight training. You'll get the carbs in 30 min. with oatmeal so I don't think it would be a big concern. I may be way off on this. I am in the learning process with ya.

 

[maxb01]

Yes, but won't eating a solid food like oatmeal delay the protein absorbtion? I mean, isn'it that the reason for drinking liquid protein?

 

[dEgeNeRaTe8211]

I remember reading a post a few weeks ago. I went looking for it...but couldn't find it. But it's down there somewhere.

Anyway, it said you should eat a carb breakfast 60-90 minutes after morning cardio. Seems like a long time though. I wish I could find that post. You can go search for it if you think I'm lying.

~dE

 

[maxb01]

So, protein alone just after, complete carb meal 60+ min.
Ok. Yes, I'll follow your advice, as I have no problem losing weight, but I do keeping muscle.
I've dropped my bodyfat from 7.5% to 5.5% (mind, this is a Tanita scale reading) in 3 days, using Therma Pro, morning cardkio and diet, but my abs still don't properly show; I don't know if it is because I'm losing the muscles with the fat or because it's the skin that is too loose on the lower abs, or maybe there's water underneath, but my abs are flat yet still soft. But you can see there's no much fat on my body, so if in few days my bodyfat and weight drops and they still don't properly show, I don't know what to do anymore. If i harden them and bend slighlty forward you can see them, but there's like a puffy look.

Next time I want to try again with the anabolic diet (high fat + high protein); I tried it last time and I got good result, but cutting the carbs can give you water retention, that's way I'm not trting it this time. Also, last time I didn't do it properly and I kept my fat too low and I didn't 'carb up' at weekends (because I was cutting): the result is that at the end of it my energy levels were next to none, and I even got some water retention. But what put me off of keto diets is that it's pretty expensive and boring living off pure fat and protein (training must be fun). But I do like that 'carb up' weekend of DiPasquale's diet, when from friday night to Sunday evening you must eat whatever you like and in any quantity you like.

 

[cyberflash]

I agree the the Protein ... but sometimes I also add Glutamine

 

[Dr. E]

Thanks for the info . . . . from all the literature I have read, I don't think anybody knows for sure what the optimal intake is, but generally having protein right after and carbs about an hour later seems to be the most recommended.

The Doc

 

[blood_drinker]

Not really.
if its weight training, eat IMMEDIATELY after, with a combo of simple carbs (1g per pound of bodyweight) and protein.

If it's cardio, do incorporate some carbs.
Yet do so 60-90 mins after. EAT BOTH THE CARBS AND PROT 60-90 mins later.
WHY?
because the fat burning effect, and most of the calories burnt are burned during the 1hr-1hr30 that you abstain from eating.
Cheers