Glycogen question

[6andaHalf]

The only stupid question is the one not asked so....

I've been doing a mostly low carb diet eating around 100-200g a day (with my height and weight i see this as low I guess). I've read countless articles that preach eating carbs 1-2 hours before a workout for energy, then I read article that say glycogen is stored for a long time if you are not being active...

If I eat a lunch that contains a higher amount of carbs (white rice) around 1pm and workout at 5pm, will I still have adequate stores for a good workout or is it really that important to eat those carbs that close to working out to prevent fat gain. My flawed logic would be if I eat too many carbs and sit around for 4 hours... bad things happen haha. I will be eating around 100g+ of carbs today for lunch but have only had 70g carbs thus far today (All from fruit and milk pretty much, no starches). I'm not new to all this and have gotten good results, just curious about this.

I know so many ppl say just hit your macros and it doesnt matter but thats hard to believe due to things like insulin and the time you lift. is nutrient timing really gone these days?

 

[Jiigzz]

Meal timing is only relevant for those competing in endurance races or those exercising multiple times during the day. The main reason is to ensure a full glycogen capacity before race or the next bout of exercise. If you are working out for <90mins, 1 time per day this rule of thumb doesn't apply as the glyocgen you have stored will more than likely be carried over to the next day.

Don't get too caught up in semantics wrt meal timing, especially if the primary concern is energy for the workout. You can manipulate the pre and post meals in other ways to ensure AMPK phosphorylation and mTOR activation but wrt energy, it's largely irrelevant.

 

[6andaHalf]

What we have here is a direct answer that makes perfect sense. A rare species of answers facing extinction on the web as we know it.

 

[cumminslifter]

Meal timing is only relevant for those competing in endurance races or those exercising multiple times during the day. The main reason is to ensure a full glycogen capacity before race or the next bout of exercise. If you are working out for <90mins, 1 time per day this rule of thumb doesn't apply as the glyocgen you have stored will more than likely be carried over to the next day.

Don't get too caught up in semantics wrt meal timing, especially if the primary concern is energy for the workout. You can manipulate the pre and post meals in other ways to ensure AMPK phosphorylation and mTOR activation but wrt energy, it's largely irrelevant.

took the words out of my mouth. meal frequency is largely irrelevant and unless you are doing long endurance events or not eating any carbs your glycogen levels will not be depleted. I train over 16 hours fasted and have more energy this way

 

[bla55]

If given the option, I would bulk up majority of your carbs for post workout, but that's just me.