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Originally Posted by M. Steng
I have no idea about the science or physiology behind it, but I can speak from experience. I too workout early in the morning (5:30) and try to not eat after dinner the night before. Usually, though, in the mornings I will have something very small to eat; I'm talking maybe a sip or two of protein shake, a handful of almonds, half a banana, etc. I take BCAA's before and after my workouts as well. It's also crucial to get protein back to your muscles as quickly as you can post-workout, like within 20-30 min. I slam a protein shake the second I get into my car after the gym because I can feel my muscles craving some fuel to rebuild after working out.
As far as what you're burning (protein, carbs, fats, or a combo of both), I wouldn't really worry about that too much. Whatever you put into your belly pre-workout, being a small bite or sip of something, is going to get digested and used up more quickly than anything else. Unless you're doing a marathon or some really insane workouts, I don't think your body is going to turn to your muscle protein as its first source of fuel. From what I've read it's also largely dependent on what type of workout you're doing. Most likely you're going to be burning fat before you get to the protein in your muscles.
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I started going in the morning (6:30) last week. I was going with nothing except the protein shake I had at 8 the night before. I can tell I feel weaker but it's been a huge encouragement to fight through it and push harder so far.
I eat about 30 min after I finish lifting (shower, short commute to work). I want to get into BCAA's but I've read conflicting reports about that breaking your fast and what the insulin spike does to your fasted state.
Would a BCAA drink before the work out be beneficial given my goal is drop body fat percentage and build lean muscle?
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Originally Posted by fridge112887
Essentially you're doing a form of intermittent fasting. How long are you working out? What intensity are you training at? What type of workout are you doing (weights vs cardiovascular)? There's plenty of info online but a very good starting point would be leangains.com. Martin Berkham (who popularized IF a few years ago) runs the site and offers plenty of quality info
From experience, IF it does work. If you're looking to shed weight, fasting is an awesome tool (again, from experience) and the early morning mental clarity was probably my largest 'pro'. I stopped fasting because it threw my hormonal cycle off and my cortisol spiked at weird times and it was a pain to fall a sleep at night.
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Most of my workouts take 45 min to an hour. I'm doing weightlifting. Typically 3-4 exercises, 5-7 sets within each exercise, 4-8 reps depending on weight load. My goal is to go heavy enough that I can only do 4-6 solid reps.
I've done IF before but I was working out after work when I did it. The diet plan I'm on now has been really beneficial to help me shed some lbs and I can already see my belly getting smaller.
I guess I'm just trying to make sure I'm not going to throw anything major for a loop in my body and develop diabetes or something. Also, just don't want to derail my gains/loses by throwing something (like a BCAA drink) into the equation.