channon18 Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 Hey all, I'm on Day 23 of my first Whole30, though I've dabbled in paleo for over a year. My Whole30 goal is to get myself past some terrible cravings and emotional eating issues that have caused me to get to the highest weight of my life (at 30 years old). My overall goal is fat loss--this is not a case of "I want to get cut." This is a case of my body fat % being around 40% and a clear need to lose a lot of fat. I'm a Crossfitter and currently using a crossfit endurance plan to train for a half marathon this fall. That means that I WOD on M, T, R, and F. I do sprints on T, intervals on R, and a "long run" on Sunday (still not very long). I'm loving working out and I know I'm dropping weight since starting Whole30. The place I'm struggling is with pre-/post- nutrition. There is so much conflicting ideology out there. I read a lot about people trying to gain muscle/get cut, which is fine, but I don't think is the philosophy I want to follow as someone with a LOT of fat to lose...obviously I'm happy to gain muscle for sure--but I don't think my aim is to consume a bunch of calories to do so. So, I have no idea what to eat. I read some things saying I should get starchy veggies before, some say after. Some things say that if you really want to lost fat, skip the post WO meal. Some say skip the pre WO meal and do it fasted (which I can only do if I'm doing a 6am WO and I "fed" the night before). I like being lowish-carb, but I want to find a place where I feel fueled for my workouts but I'm still consistently burning fat--not working out and then consuming back all the calories I've burned. I've had a couple WODs while on the whole30 where I clearly knew I didn't have enough fuel. I don't know if that was a carb issue or an overall food issue. So...I'd love your advice. There's a part of me that's scared to death to eat potatoes after I work out, because I feel like I'm throwing sugar into the places I just burned...but that's not based on anything scientific. On the other hand, I can see how carbs before the workout may give me energy--but then I worry I'm burning the carbs instead of burning existing fat. I'm probably overthinking it all, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have another three months of marathon training, so my workouts will only get more intense. I have to get my body fat down--I do endurance events because I like them, but I don't want to do them at 40%+ body fat... Thanks for reading a long post... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmary Posted July 23, 2014 Share Posted July 23, 2014 You are doing the whole30, right? Why not follow the whole30 recommendations for pre- and post-workout nutrition? Those recommendations are as follows: pre-WO if first thing in the morning or needed for performance, have protein and fat (small portion), no carb. post-WO palm-size of lean protein, optional carb (see carb curve in the book for guidance). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
channon18 Posted July 23, 2014 Author Share Posted July 23, 2014 Right, but I'm planning for my reintro, and I'm wanting to take an approach for fat burning. Doing the whole30 eating around workouts hasn't made me feel fully fueled, so wondering if I should mix things up or what for my specific focus of fat burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoJo09 Posted July 24, 2014 Share Posted July 24, 2014 Post-W30 it will need to be trial and error to find what works best for you - do you perform 100% during a WOD with nothing/carbs/protein/caffeine? After a workout, do you have the best energy for your day (or the next day, depending on what time you work out) if you have carbs/protein/nothing? You need to be really patient to find out what works best for you. And you know what, it might change on any given day - some days I come home from the gym and smash a giant breakfast, other days I'm fine with nothing or just an egg, even though I feel my intensity is the same each time. And carbs in general are another really personal thing - some people can eat starchy vege all day long and still lose fat, some people can only eat a sweet potato once a week if they want to lose. Jason Seib, from Everyday Paleo, has had some really good fat loss tips on his Facebook page the past month or so that you might like to check out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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