Only eating carbs before and after a workout...a good or bad idea for losing fat?

[Rock Lee]

I know that most people reduce their calories from carbs when they begin cutting, so it seems to me that only eating carbs before and after a workout (when your body needs the energy) would be taking this idea to the extreme. Is it a good idea though?

Currently I eat 6-8 meals a day, each with at least 50 grams of protein, trace amounts of carbs, and 5-15 grams of fat in the form of coming from meat, eggs, or fish oil. An hour before I lift weights I eat around 50 grams of carbs from oatmeal and 25 grams of whey protein. After working out (I recently started walking at a low intensity for 30 minutes after each workout) I drink 50 grams of carbs from dextrose and maltodextrin and another 25 grams of whey protein. An hour later I eat another 50 gram bowl of oatmeal with some whole low-fat protein like chicken breast or tuna. I only lift weights three times a week so that's, along with my Saturday cheat meal, it for my carbs.

Anyone see a problem with this? Would it be more beneficial to change any of the macronutrient ratios? My stats by the way are 205 pounds @ 15% BF.

Thanks for any input or advice.

 

[Matthew D]

that is has been a hottly debated topic on here lately but I am experiementing with myself about not eating before I do my morning cardio..

 

[Alt+F4]

There is an article in IA's site that sounds something like this. Called Timed Carb Dieting.

http://www.ironaddicts.com/articles/lose bodyfat.htm

Maybe he'll chime in.

 

[lancelot]

There is an article in IA's site that sounds something like this. Called Timed Carb Dieting.

http://www.ironaddicts.com/articles/lose bodyfat.htm

Maybe he'll chime in.

i'm sure it works to strip off fat, but at what cost? it's not all that healthy in the long run. It basically emphasizes no carbs except pre/post workout for 3-4 days and then a carb up. then, you are not getting enough fruits and veggies in your daily diet. that's whats wrong with the atkins diet as well. how long can you keep that up for? no daily anti-oxidants from fruits and veggies? think about it. Just stick to a healthy diet utilizing low gi carbs is probably the best advice concerning carbs. And once you've got your diet and work-out in check, cardio and calorie manipulation should be the main components to fat loss. Don't goto "unhealthy" extremes IMO.

 

[Matthew D]

take it you are not a big atkins fan either

 

[Jag]

Rock Lee,

i've been doing that for a while now only i train in the morning on an empty stomach & have carbs only after the workout.

the rest of the day i'm eating protein & platefuls of broccolli, cauliflower, asparagus etc. fibrous veges.

every fourth day whether it's a training day or not i have high G.I. carbs ALL DAY with small amounts of protein.

i seem to run out of puff at the end of the third day & this eating day fills me back up again. i feel like crap on the day i'm eating but believe it or not on the fifth day i wake up leaner & also feeling much stronger.
it's working really well.

Jag

 

[NPursuit]

I did a carb restriction of pre and post workout for 2 months. The fat loss was great at first, but my energy levels dropped significantly during my lifting sessions after the first month, even with refeeds, and eventually the fat loss stalled out completely. I believe it can work well for some people, but others just need the carbs.

 

[IHateGymMorons]

There's nothing wrong with a diet like that for a small period of time. Try it out, EAT YOUR VEGGIES, and have a refeed day every now and again. I don't think anyone's going to lack any vitamins/minerals just because they didn't bananas, grapes, and apples for a few weeks. It's a good plan to drop bodyfat. It's basically a TKD approach.

 

[Dwight Schrute]

If a lot of your protein comes from powders or liquid on these types of diets mineral/vaimin excretions can definelty be a problem, especially calcium. If you do a TKD make sure your whole food intake is adequate.

I have found that most people tend to stall on these diets at around 12% +-2%.

 

[Scottyo]

i think it depends....and lancelot dont listen to all the bs about fruits and veggies. fruits can be had during carbups, and most TKD and CKD's you can have plenty of vegetables.
Secondly, like Bobo mentioned many people stall on these approaches around 10-12%. I however, had much better success at lower bf levels on a true CKD than dieting iso, or mod carb/high protein, or 40/40/20 in the past.
the key to making most of these work once you get lean IMO is to do a CKD or UD2 right....drop the cals fairly low on your no carb days, and really carb load (with good carbs and low fat/mod protein) on your carbups. The reason I think a lot of people fail is because they don't do the carbups right and just burn yourself out. I personally dont like the TKD idea because its not usually as structured and you really dont hit the deficit followed by an extended 1.5 day or 2 day carb up like the traditional CKD or UD2.