Another running question....

[skibum231]

OK, i ave one more running question. Right now iam lifting Mon, Wed, and Fri, and running, Tues, Thurs, and Sat. When i run, i run before i have had anything to eat, then wait about 30-45 mins AFTER i run to eat. My goal is to basically drop BF%, and trim up a little.(but i obvisouly want to minimize the amount of muscle lose) How does this running sound? Espically the eating part.....

thanks

N

[Steve]

I don't run at all, but I'd take some whey protein one hour before I run and maybe a banana. After running I'd immediately do the same. All this to minimize muscle loss.


Steve

[bsenka]

It depends on your goals. If maximum muscle gain is most important, eat something first, but be aware that you are slowing down your fat burning. If maximum fat loss is your goal, don't eat before, and don't eat for an hour after. But, be aware that this can slow down your muscle gains.

For the past three months, I've been doing my cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach , and I don't eat for an hour after. I've lost more fat than my initial goals were for that time period, and I even managed to put some muscle at the same time. I've always had skrawny muscles that have more tendon than muscle belly, so adding ANY muscle mass was always a challenge. The gains have been very modest, but they are huge gains for me. For the first time in my life I have enough muscle on my back to be able to do sqats without a towel on the bar to protect my spine!

[4banger]

Have some whey and some carbs before you run if you don't want to loose muscle (who does?), in the morning when you wake up you're on catabolic mode, you body is not building muscle it's destroing it, unless you eat something right after you wake up it will only get worse, and if you add cardio (wich helps you to loose muscle) to that your are really asking to have negative results regarding muscle gains, you'll get smaller and weaker.
Eating as you wake up actually increases your metabolism and tells your body that it's ok to burn fat, the longer you stay without food the more your body will try to save your fat, and it'll use your muscles as a source of energy, now you don't have to eat a lot, just about 15 to 25 grams of whey with just about the same amount of carbs will do the job, and it's also very important to eat right after your workout.
You have to look at the big picture, you have take the amount of calories that you need (according to what your goals are) and split it into at least 5 meals throughout the day to maximise fat loss. You'll burm more fat by the end of the day by doing that.