Weight lifting diet question.

[GreenLantern]

Hi. I go to class from 8:30 until 10:50, then I go to the Gym.

What I am looking for is a good meal sized snack I can scarf down inbetween class and the Gym to keep my energy up.

Right now I usually eat a medium sized bowl of Cheerios in the morning, then down a granola bar before I hit the gym. But I feel like I could have more energy, by the time I get to cardio I am burning out.

I guess I could double my granola intake, but I was hoping that some people on this board might share their routines for pre/post diet work out.

So.. share! Thanks

[LIP MAN]

I find a really good meal/snack is i cut up about 3 strawberries and a banana in some maple oatmeal (the weight control/high fibre stuff) with some yogurt. It makes a delicious snack and it will fill you up, give you vitamins and you will burn off the sugars in the fruit while you work out.

[OilKiller]

Protein shake. Nice and easy and will help keep your energy up. For smaller meals, I quite often replace them with just a protein shake.

[LIP MAN]

Ya protein shakes work good, but I usually have one after the workout as you want to repair muscle. Mix some protein as well as glutamine, which is a protein building block. But protein is the most important part of diet when trying to gain muscle mass.

[mykalberta]

Orange gatorade, Tbsp canola Oil, 4 ice cube plain nf yogurt, 2 scoop protien powder - for after workout of course.

Personally for your time frame I would just scarf down some protien, OJ, ProPowder, etc if you really think you need something.

I dont ahve anything 3 hours before I workout.

[EVERLAST]

start eating more protein for brekky!
Steak and eggs ........eggs ......anything with eggs.
Also, what you are describing as burnout from cardio seems like a dehydration problem. Your heartrate will always be elevated as a result of this. Start drinking more water durung the day and within a week you WILL notice a difference I promise. Cardio will seem allot easier.

[soulchoice]

The first and foremost question before one can cleary answer your question, green lantern is what are your goals. Cut, bulk, maintain? Which one are you trying to achieve.

[GreenLantern]

Thanks for the tips so far guys a lot of good ideas here, I appreciate the help.

soulchoice; I am about 75% cut, 25% bulk at this point. I do lots of reps with lighter weights for cut, but for certain exercises I will keep it heavy because I still want to build that muscle up. (basically just bicep exercises)


I do need to start eating eggs, I haven't even had them in my diet really and that is a no no for sure. I am going to try doing a shake, not protein but just a regular shake, before my work out now with a granola bar. See if that can't keep me afloat, I also picked up a new multi vitamin to see if maybe a change will help things progress a bit better.

Water thing is so true as well, I am going to make an effort to drink about 3-4 big glasses of water every night now between supper and bed time, to make sure I am properly hydrated for the next day.

[HOOT]

Protein Shake with Creatine beforehand and a Protein Shake with Glutamine afterward.

Depending if you are trying to cut or bulk would depend on what type of protein you will need.

[Captaincanada80]

Im doing a Power Bar (Triple Threat) and B12 pills

[kipperfan]

If you cannot go home before you go to the gym(or even if you can) an awesome pre workout meal is a full chicken breast(I bake them 5-10 at a time and put em in the freezer till I need them) in a whole wheat pita and some leaf spinach. You can stick the chicken in one baggie, pita in another and the lettuce in the 3rd. Couldnt be any easier, slap the chicken into the pita after class, throw the lettuce on top and you're eating within 2 minutes!

[daaznfob]

Greenlantern

Complex carbs give u energy dude. Invest in a multi vitamin, take it with breakfast.
What i do is buy a bulk of OATS! Simple cheap and a large bag is like 5 bucks. If you are strapped for time buy a grinder or blend it up with ur protein shake, mix with milk fruit whatever. Thats your carb source. For more protein i suggest eggs, milk yogurt, steak, eat whatever if your trying to gain size. Stay away from simple carbs (sugars) as they spike ur insulin which u wanna do only after your work out.But ya i notice a huge difference in my energy when i just overload on complex carbs before work outs. If you want more info on anything creatine work out routines just ask or pm.

[missdpuck]

Anyone know anything about the glycemic index? I thought having fresh ground peanut butter on whole wheat was a good thing but then I was told no, it's too high on the glycemic index.

[HOOT]

I personally will just eat Natural Peanut Butter by the spoon full, as far as I have read its pretty healthy and a good way to get good fats in your diet. I don't eat it with bread though because my body doesn't do well with bread.

[Hack&Lube]

Remember to start off each workout with:

"In brightest day, in darkest night, beware my power-- Green Lantern's light!"
















Also, stay away from Bananas because they are Yellow.

[missdpuck]

Originally Posted by HOOT

I personally will just eat Natural Peanut Butter by the spoon full, as far as I have read its pretty healthy and a good way to get good fats in your diet. I don't eat it with bread though because my body doesn't do well with bread.

I do the same with the peanut butter. It's cool because it's so portable too lol.

[Azure]

Yeah, it sounds like you either need to start getting more protein, OR, begin your day with more complex carbs.

[Tron_fdc]

If anyone can tell me how to post an Excel file I can throw up a diet plan I have from a fitness model I once dated. I've made a few modifications to suit what I was doing, but it was pretty intense and over 8 weeks I dropped about 10lbs, and went down about 5% in bodyfat.

[HOOT]

Originally Posted by Azure

Yeah, it sounds like you either need to start getting more protein, OR, begin your day with more complex carbs.

I would say have some complex carbs when you wake up to fuel your body from not having any food for 6-10hrs, however protein is important to have in your body when you are heading to the gym. This will stop your body from breaking down and using muscle to fuel itself, instead it will use what is in your belly. Then having another protein shake after your workout will help your body find protein to help it repair itself when you are done.

I personally use creatine mixed with my pre-workout shake to help my muscles stay hydrated and then glutamine afterwards to help the recovery process. I also have a protein/glutaimne shake before bed as this is the time your body will be doing most of its repairing. I also take 6g of L-arginine (I know it helps for sex too) before bed as it will help increase your HGH levels.

I have found since I have been getting ~10g of glutamine everyday my soreness and fatigue is gone after a day vs. a few days.

It depends alot on goals, extra money you have available and of course time restraints. For myself if I aint working I am at the gym or golf course....oh and on CP, of course!

[Tron_fdc]

Yeah, I'm pretty big into Glutamine as well. I've combined it with NoXplode and a low fat, high protein diet and seen some amazing results. I tend to think a lot of it is mental as well.....I start thinking that I feel stronger when I'm lifting and I should be doing more because of all the supplements, and it tends to translate into heavier weight, and more intensity when I'm sprint training. I've heard the same thing from steroid users (no I've never tried them) but a lot of guys think they SHOULD be lifting more, so they do.