Calling Dietary Gurus

[NickR33]

yeah if you eat too much too close to working out all the blood is in your stomach heating and digesting your food... instead of in your muscles where you need it

that's why a liquid meal is sometimes preferred, they're by nature already partially digested

I have a pre-workout snack as opposed to a meal... something carby/sugary but small... no science in that, just what works for me

[Trozzle]

I've been trying to eat about 2 hours prior, doesn't quite work out I'll still try have say a single scoop protein shake w/ a tablespoon of milo an hour or so prior, just not a full meal.

[Trozzle]

Yep, felt great during session this evening. Didn't eat anything after about midday, started session at 6pm. Only thing between then was protein shake in the afternoon about 4pm. Only ended up feeling a bit off because I drank too much water too quickly haha

[TTT]

Just from the other side of the fence...

Last night I ate 3 chicken thighs and rice and bottle of water.

then went outside and did 3x3 deadlifts for new weight PB.

I wouldn't have a meal before squats, but anything else, I perform better with a gut full of food.

no I don't do cardio.

[Birds]

Each to their own, but it really depends on the exercises you're doing and the food you're eating IMO. I can't do bench press on a full stomach, or anything that involves abs. There is other stuff I could do without noticing it, though. Keeping in mind your body is designed to digest while standing upright, this is one of the reasons it is said bad to eat just before going to bed (not sure how much truth/research there is to that). I know I ate pasta about an hour before a workout and felt sick half way through...that's a heavy meal because I eat a lot of pasta, will take forever to digest. Other foods like bread I can eat an hour before and not even feel like I've eaten.

My 2c after week or so of trials etc is that FOR ME a pre-workout meal is the dumbest shit EVER.

I feel sick after the first couple of sets, get fatigued very early on, and overall extremely grumpy. I end up leaving halfway through the session, having put in a very shit effort. From now on I'm not consuming ANYTHING at least 4 hours leading up to training, except for a maybe protein shake at some point a couple of hours prior.

Full stomach is worse, but a completely empty stomach isn't fantastic to work out on either. Last meal 2 hours before your workout should be plenty of time to digest past the point of it interfering with your workout, otherwise your meals must be too big or your digestive system incredibly slow. You can always just have a snack like a chocolate bar or a bag of chips - I find this to be a good compromise between getting pre-workout energy and doing things on a full stomach. Again, just what works for me...everyone is different and this is all about experimenting what works for you and what doesn't.

[Trozzle]

I think I might have to experiment a little further with different foods to see if it's just specific stuff that makes me feel like a bag of shit halfway through. So far it's been steak+veggies, and cereal that have done it - and only during push days, pull and legs don't seem as much effected. I don't think chicken bothers me too much.

Though lately since I haven't been eating after 1 - 2pm (workout at 6:30ish) I've been feeling fine. Kinda run low on energy, but certainly don't feel like a big blob that wants to spew for no good reason haha

[vspecIInur]

I've noticed consuming milk then going to the gym makes me feel like shit. Training on an empty stomach especially after waking up = WIN WIN

[Dani Boi]

I had an 800 calorie meal (brown rice, chicken, vegies and olive oil) about 1.5-2 hours before my workout (deads, bench and bent over rows) and felt great

[TTT]

when trying to gain weight, I used to take a litre bottle of milk outside with me as my drink during training.

it was awesomesauce.

I recommend all those Hard Gainers (said with "Air quotes" in very sarcastic voice) who can't gain weight or strength.

[Trozzle]

Am I a bad person if I had brown rice with honey for "desert"?

lol but no seriously, should I NOT be having just under a tablespoon of honey following workout? I know that's a really stupid question, but it's more aimed at the "small amount of simple carbs" after working out for the insulin theory.

[some_cs_student]

Am I a bad person if I had brown rice with honey for "desert"?

lol but no seriously, should I NOT be having just under a tablespoon of honey following workout? I know that's a really stupid question, but it's more aimed at the "small amount of simple carbs" after working out for the insulin theory.

I don't judge people based on what they eat, so no to your first question

Honey is more fructose than glucose, and fructose does zero for your insulin levels. If your trying to insulin spike dextrose would be better as that is sucrose only.

However post workout (assuming your doing HIIT or weight training of some kind) is the best time to consume simple carbs, so if your doing it for the taste I'd say go for it

I've read the *best* post-workout drink is chocolate flavored milk because its about the right mix for post-workout. Also the insulin spike is something that is debated among researchers, I believe in eating a meal post-workout but I always do a protein shake post-workout, but I also believe pre-workout is more important...

EDIT: The post-workout window is also debatable, one of my preferred researchers, metabolic effect advises its actually hours, not minutes

[Trozzle]

Awesome, cheers. Yeah I know it's debated enough to almost make this thread obsolete lol. Mostly did it for taste, had my steak with steamed veggies before the rice finished cooking... So I tried just some honey with it and it was great

[Dani Boi]

Eat whatever you want, as long as it fit's in your calories/macro's it doesn't matter.

[Trozzle]

you have never lifted a weight in your life well maybe those little silver girl ones

lol umad bro?

[Trozzle]

GOT CHICKEN AND RICE GENTLEMEN?

[vspecIInur]

Lots of chicken ftw!

I always make a big batch so I can have serveral meals from it especially when I do long hours at work.

What's everyone's opinion on the ready-to-eat chickens you can buy at woolies/coles? Are they drowned in oil?

[Trozzle]

The ones in bags? They're dripping in oily goodness lol

But yeah definitely good to cook a heap and put it in lunch containers. This all divided into 5 decent sized meals I think

[vspecIInur]

Yea bags...I was curious on how they were prepared lol

[GTR-N1]

I'm no guru but working off both evidence + your anecdotes...

* banana plus

* yoghurt plus

* manuka honey

...before a workout in a ratio that suits you!

Want to try?

Rationale:-

* bananas used by Benny Elias, Martina Navratilova etc weren't just taking it for carbs; but also for potassium to help muscle contractions

* yoghurt of good probiotic variety helps with quick digestion

* manuka honey isn't just glucose/fructose/mannose/sucrose/galactose but kills GI bacteria that can create a gnawing feeling in the gut

Feedback please? Guinea cops?

[Nee-san]

I just ate 3 mangoes, I find this is suitable pre-training cuisine