Hi, I'm here to offer help

[W5CHELS]

cheers for the info - that's great!

My goal is to lose my fat and build muscle - not to be a stupid muscle man like Arnie, but to just have a nice body

 

[Justin]

Gertiegumdrop has given great advice, so read through it a couple of times. I'll give my two cents regarding protein powders...


Firstly, eating before or after a workout:

In my opinion, fasted cardio isn't really logical or effective. You need a good meal about 60 - 90 minutes before a workout, for energy. Without this energy, you won't be able to work as hard and will be exercising at a sub-par level. You want all the energy you can get to give 100%. Something slow-digesting such as porridge is an excellent choice for this pre-workout meal.

Following exercise it is essential to consume a meal of carbohydrates and protein. Exercise actually breaks your body down, damages your muscles. It is the recovery from food and rest FOLLOWING exercise that will make you burn the calories, develop lean muscle and get fitter. Therfore, the nutrients of a post-workout meal are very important. If you continue to exercise and not eat afterwards then you will keep 'breaking your body down' and it may hinder your progress in gettting fitter.



As for protein powders...


I would recommend a high protein diet when looking to burn fat. Protein requires the body to burn more calories to digest it than fats or carbs, and as mentioned by Gertiegumdrop, is required for helping those muscles recover.

Gertie is also right on that it is better to get your protien requirements from whole foods whenever possible. Fish, white meat, low fat cottage cheese, and boiled eggs are always great choices. I only usually recommend you go out and buy expensive protien powder is for some reason you cannot consume whole foods, or your job makes it difficult to eat regular meals (For example, I'll take a meal replacement if I'm working an 8 hour shift).

For the means of fat loss, I would not however say protein powders will offer much benefit in relation to what they cost to buy. Stick with focusing on getting a good diet in order.

 

[appleshape]

With regards to protein powders-I exercise very early in the morning, between 5 and 6am and always make a protein shake, half of which is consumed before exercise, half of which is consumed after. I'd then maybe grab a slice of granary toast about an hour or so after, maybe with a scrape of low fat soft cheese. I really can't face anything more than that at 6am! Is this ultimately going to be detrimental to my weight loss/muscle gain?

 

[Justin]

That sounds like a good pre and post nutrition plan. Does the proterin shake contain carbs? If not, maybe eating an apple or some peice of fruit along with it before the wrokout would be beneficial.

 

[appleshape]

That sounds like a good pre and post nutrition plan. Does the proterin shake contain carbs? If not, maybe eating an apple or some peice of fruit along with it before the wrokout would be beneficial.

Cool!
I use Boditronics Express Whey and Pharma Phd recovery whey. They're both low carb so I'll chuck an apple in pre workout just to be on the safer side.

 

[W5CHELS]

so what would be a good post workout meal? Pasta or something like that?

 

[Justin]

Pasta would be an excellent choice.

Another reason many people use protein powders is because they can be easily digested immediately after a workout, as often most people don't feel like eating solid food straight after a tough exercise session.

But if you don't want protein powders there are always some good post-workout smoothies you can create with a blender. It should be easy to find some recipies for these on the internet.