Carbs and lifting weight

[Brockcrawford 5]

Hey peeps

I was wondering about muscle building and carbs. The things i know is that muscle cannot be built without carbs for glycogen stores. Im going to be joining the gym end of this month and since i've been on 20-30g of carbs for 3 months my question is, should i up my carbs post work out to build some muscle and have greater lean mass or just keep doing what I'm doing and risk catabolic muscle break down?

[Thomas CPA 496]

Been working out for a couple of years. You should have upwards of 100 grams of carbs. Eat your normal foods, extra carbs before working out to boost energy and Proteins after working out to promote muscle growth..

I use a personal trainer who has other gastric surgery clients. She is certified and is helpful with both diet. and exercise.

I found the first couple of weeks returning to the gym was rough - lot of sweating and loss of strength due to rapid muscle loss. Now I don't sweat but a little even though I don't drink as much Water as I should. Strength back to normal and now increasing ability.

Start of slow, first two weeks were rough, could barely last 10 minutes on treadmill before stopping. Now back to 30 minute treadmill and 60 minute workout.

[kemo46 82]

Like CPA said, start slow. I had some good conversations with my trainer before I hired him. It is very important that you prioritize what you want to accomplish. I am almost 6 months out from surgery and less than 30 lbs. from my goal weight. My number one goal is still WEIGHT LOSS. We have a short window, generally within the first 8 months after surgery when we lose our weight and reach our goal. Even though I do cardio and weight training at the gym, we put together a program that the weight loss will still be the priority. If you start taking in more carbs and doing more weight training, you will build muscle faster but your weight loss will be almost non-existent. I have increased my calories and carbs for my exercise program and I have been toning up nicely but I have to make sure I do not over do my carbs and calorie intake to maximize my weight loss. This seems to be working very well for me. My body fat percentage has been dropping at a good rate, my weight loss has picked back up and I am stronger than I have been in years. I have very little loose skin, even after dropping 90 lbs. I have been doing weight programs that are working on the toning and that seems to be working out as well.

Now to answer your question. Talk to a certified trainer and build a plan around your priorities. Your ticker shows you are still about 95 lbs. from goal and 3 months post surgery. It seems that weight loss at this point should still be your main goal and you should really watch the carbs for that. Let me know what the trainer tells you. Good Luck.

[aroundhky 1,174]

I too want to gain back some of the muscle I lost during pre-op diet and since surgery (2 weeks ago today). From what I've read, it does seem to be important to make sure you get some carbs in right after a workout in addition to upping your Protein intake and having a variety of Protein from supplements and meats and veggie sources. I know I will not be as strong as I was when I was 300 pounds and lifted 4 days a week, but I still want some muscle tone and to fill in some of that loose skin that I'm anticipating. I've lost some muscle and I'm getting a little flabby, so I can't wait to get back to the gym. I agree with "Kemo" some too that weight loss, especially fat loss is my main goal. My plan is to only lift two days a week when starting back at the gym. But those two days a week, I will up my carbs a little, especially post workout meal. On those 2 days, I will lift heavily (after easing back into it) and with combination lifts more than isolation lifting. Then the days I'm off, I will do some cardio and make sure I really limit my carbs to increase my fat burn the other 5 days a week. Don't know if it will work, but that's my plan going in. "Brock", keep me posted on how it's going for you, I'm really interested in what you find out. Good luck!

[RickM 1,753]

As Thomas noted, carbs (preferably complex carbs) before and Protein after a workout is the common nutritional advice. I've never been into the low carb game (was never mentioned by doc or his program) but continued working on high density nutrition along with the requisite Protein intake. I have started experimenting with more complex carb (rather than my typical lunch salad) before workouts and do find that it helps with my endurance and intensity in the pool, though haven't seen much difference in the weight room, even though it is typically a 75-90 minute workout. I do still use the Protein shakes after the strength workouts, but a more typical greek yogurt/fruit/nuts after the pool.

At the level that most of us are working strengthwise, I suspect that we won't see much benefit from overloading either carbs or protein in our Quest for lean mass preservation, as opposed to serious body building, but a more normal carb/protein/fat profile is probably better than the trendy ultra low carb/ketosis diets for those into fairly serious exercise. At this point, as others have noted, just getting started at a measured pace to get used to things without overdoing it is probably best; once you get comfortable in a routine and building intensity after a couple of months you may find the need to start tweaking the diet to better fuel things.

[Brockcrawford 5]

Hey guys

Thanks so much for the input I think I'm gonna start a 12 week program http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kris-gethin-12-week-daily-trainer-intro.html and see where that leads me. The way i see it , some complex carbs on weight days and zero carbs on cardio days would probably work out better from a theory stance but i guess ill have to see and experiment to see what works. Right now i've started cardio and boy do my muscles ache. I decided to take a week off from work to start this work out program so the lactic acid and delayed pain subsides and I'm use to it by the time I'm back at work. I also found something interesting on whey vs casien and supplement timings for lifting days here : http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/satternorton.htm I think we all just need to find what works for us. Im about 32 percent body fat and already have a good muscle structure but it's my belief that we lose weight much faster when cycling between low carb with cardio and higher carbs and lifting due to the thermal effect of building muscle and keeping it. Thanks again and i wish you all the best