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Pre-Workout


HeidiMiller7

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Hi, 

I am by no means an athlete but this past year (about 10 months) I've really stepped up my fitness game!  Also, I am on Day 24 of Whole30 and I'm loving it!

  1. I workout six days a week at 6:00 a.m. at Farrell's FXB (3 days of kickboxing + 3 days of resistance bands strength training)
  2. I practice Yoga Basics 3 afternoons a week.
  3. I walk/run 3 miles with my husband, 1-2 evenings a week.

My question is about the pre-workout snack.  For my morning class at Farrell's FXB I've tried to give up my normal 1/2 banana and 1 Tablespoon of Almond Butter.  The problem is, I crash!  I'm not performing even close to my normal levels on the mat and I feel like I'm going to kill over and die.  My "effort" , or lack thereof, is reflected on my MyZone heartrate monitor and from the concern of my classmates.  The thing is, I FEEL like I'm giving 200% and I pray that I don't pass out-- literally.  My heart rate afterwards is all.over.the.place.  Today, I consciously made my first non-compliant decision and had 1/2 a banana and 1 Tbsp. of Almond Butter 20 minutes before working out.  I felt great!!  My energy was back!  My performance was back!  I was "me" again!  In the mornings I was trying:  1-2 hard boiled eggs & a few swigs of coffee or  1/4 cup Macadamia Nuts & 2 bites of guacamole or left over chicken & a few swigs of coffee, etc. 

Only once did I struggle with Yoga but that was Day 7 so I expected it.  A few times I've struggled with the walk/run but then I just walk more and run less.  That's fine.  I'm by no means a runner, even on the best of days!  I guess what I'm saying is that the Pre-workout meal guidelines seem to work for me in the afternoon/evenings but not in the mornings.

I know that by eating a 1/2 banana before Kickboxing/Strength Training I'm forcing my body to continue to burn sugar instead of fat.  That's a bummer.  What do you suggest?

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10 minutes ago, jmcbn said:

What do your meals look like the rest of the day?

If you're still needing that banana I'd wonder if you're not still running on sugar....

For me a typical day might be:

Meal #1:  Frittata (eggs, taco meat, onion, green pepper), Small black coffee, 16 oz of water

Meal #2:  Taco Salad (1/2-3/4 cup of taco meat, lettuce, jalepenos, 2-3 Tbs of guacamole), 1/4 cup of strawberries, maybe 1 hard boiled egg.  My other "go-to" is Tuna Salad (can of tuna, 1 1/2 Tbs Tessamae's Mayo, onion), Sugar Snap Peas, 1 hard boiled egg

Meal #3:  Whole 30 chili (from cookbook), a small apple    OR    Steak, roasted veggies (potatoes, green beans, Brussel Sprouts)  OR another dish from the Whole 30 cookbook.  Lots of variety at dinner but always protein heavy.

Afternoon Pre-workout:  scrambled eggs with veggies or 1-2 hard boiled eggs

Post-Workout:  Morning - I eat my breakfast on the way to work.  I know I should probably eat more but I can't.

Post-Workout:  Afternoon - a small apple and 1-2 Tbs of Almond Butter.  That is followed by dinner about 45-60 minutes later.

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I'm no expert.  But.  I think your meals AND your snacks look great.  If anything, actually, it looks to me like you are low on carbs, rather than having too many.  So if that banana and almond butter is what your body needs, my suggestion is to go for it.  And by the way, your pre-workout snack of a banana and almond butter (assuming the almond butter has an ingredient list of almonds and maybe salt) IS compliant.  It's not the perfect template meal for before a workout, but that's different from non-compliant.  

ThyPeace, had eggs, taco meat, onion, tomato, olives, a little potato, grapefruit, and tea for breakfast this morning.  Note how many more carbs I had than you, and still had a compliant meal.  

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ThyPeace -- Thank you for your response!  I really appreciate it!  Yes, the Almond Butter is made up of almonds and salt!  I'm feeling better about needing 1/2 a banana in the morning.  I went without today and 30 minutes into my workout I was about ready to crash!  

 

I hope you have a great day <3

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HeidiMiller7 (who I will now abbreviate to Heidi), one other note.  I often eat a big pile of sauteed vegetables at breakfast.  Today was unusual because we had leftovers from the night before.  More commonly, I make a big sautee of an onion, zuchini, yellow squash, a carton of mushrooms, and about a third of a head of cabbage.  You can use oil to do the sautee, but I actually prefer them cooked without oil.  They do need salt to sweat out the moisture, though.  (Drink it; it's delicious.)

So the source of your carbs can vary a lot from highly starchy (potato, butternut squash, cassava, boniato, sweet potato, carrot, banana) to not starchy at all like the above.  You might want to play there, too, to see what works best for you, and see if increasing the carbs at all your meals helps as much as the banana right beforehand does.  Either way, you end up learning more about your body's response to food.

(I have learned that I'm hungry really quickly if I have potato at breakfast.  Grapefruit, on the other hand, helps keep me satisfied.  The difference is about an hour.)

ThyPeace, and I need that hour most days.

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Hi Heidi. Avid distance runner here. It sounds like you're working out with depleted glycogen stores. I guess you've planned that.. as you're wanting your body to use fat as a primary source of energy? However, working out intensely and with that frequency will yield frustrating fatigue and inefficient energy burning if those stores are depleted. Most people with a full tank of glycogen should last 'at least' 60 minutes of aerobic activity without needing to refuel any carbs. Some can go 90-120m. If you're burning out in 30 minutes, it seems clear you're body is telling you that you need the carbs.

I'd keep the morning banana and almond butter. From your menu choices it looks like you'd be safe adding an extra fruit serving in to your routine anyhow. The banana is in the high glycemic index, is considered a simple carbohydrate and will be added to your short term energy stores quickly. You're certainly not being indulgent or non compliant. There's a lot of misconceptions out there about fat vs glycogen fueling though not sure if that is your goal in avoiding the banana. Check this out for more clarity: http://www.livestrong.com/article/331651-burning-fat-vs-glycogen/

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Thank you Addihul!  

You are right, I'm trying to burn more fat with the goal of losing the last couple pounds of stubborn belly fat.

Thank you for sharing your wisdom and experiences with me.  I'm going to return to 1/2 a banana and compliant almond butter.  It really does make a difference for me in terms of performance, how I feel working out,  and overall calories burned.

Have a great day!

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