Q & A – Carbs, Protein and Cardio
Question:
I am currently getting ready for a bodybuilding competition and reading many suggestions to do cardio on an empty stomach. Understanding this principle, but with my work schedule, very difficult. My work time starts at 5:45 a.m. My drive is 40 minutes, so leaving the house at 5:00 a.m. I work Tuesday – Friday and have a three-day weekend. Currently, I do a three day split with weights. (Sunday, Monday and Wednesday). Three days of cardio and abs. (Saturday, Monday and Thursday). I rest on Friday.
Generally, I eat my biggest portion of carbs in the morning. (one – half cup of oatmeal). I manage cardio on an empty stomach on Monday, since I am off work. On Saturday, however, the gym doesn’t open until 9:00 a.m. On Wednesdays, usually lunchtime before I can get away from work to do cardio. My second and fourth meals are just two scoops of whey with skim milk. Having to switch some meals to make sure I get a whey shake, post workout. On cardio days, should I just move the oatmeal to post-cardio? Or get rid of it completely and replace the calories with protein? And does it really make much a difference when cardio is done?
Answer:
The answers to your questions depend on what type of metabolism you have. If getting ready for a show, and trying to get rid of stubborn body fat and have hit a plateau? Then doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is probably the only solution.If you’re someone with better genetics for staying lean and losing fat, you can get away with doing cardio at anytime. While still seeing results.
One thing to understand, the more insulin your body releases, the less successful your attempts at burning body fat will be. This is why for most people, doing cardio after eating a meal with carbs will have a lesser effect on fat loss. You don’t necessarily have to have an empty stomach. Seeing good results doing cardio after only a whey protein shake with out carbs in it. If you decide to do this, make sure you don’t mix your shake in skim milk, because 16 ounces of it contains 24 grams of carbs. (Milk sugar or lactose).
If your body is holding on to fat and it doesn’t seem to be coming off, you should definitely not be consuming carbs before your cardio. However, if you have a lightning-fast metabolism and the type of guy who loses three pounds if he misses a meal, you can and should eat a meal with both protein and some carbs before your cardio session.