since a couple months i have been drinking whey protein 30 mins before morning LISS. I read somewhere that drinking whey before LISS more or less prevents muscle loss during the exercise. I used to have up to 2 scoops of whey before my morning liss, but since a couple of days i have a gut feeling that tells me that is way too much. i also started to wonder if whey was even necessary before liss.

so i am wondering how much whey to drink before liss, if any.

since a couple months i have been drinking whey protein 30 mins before morning LISS. I read somewhere that drinking whey before LISS more or less prevents muscle loss during the exercise. I used to have up to 2 scoops of whey before my morning liss, but since a couple of days i have a gut feeling that tells me that is way too much. i also started to wonder if whey was even necessary before liss.

so i am wondering how much whey to drink before liss, if any.

It can't really hurt... but two scoops might be a little much. Try one scoop with maybe two tablespoons of honey for some quick-burning carbs.

It can't really hurt... but two scoops might be a little much. Try one scoop with maybe two tablespoons of honey for some quick-burning carbs.
LISS should be performed fasted. There's no reason to supplement with protein prior to this type of exercise. Done properly and with a diet to support, you will not lose lean mass performing LISS cardio.

By eating before LISS, your body will utilize the contents of your stomach before it goes to fat stores for energy. In essence, you're just outputting calories to output calories rather than burning your stored fat. Search for LISS in this forum and you'll find more information about it than you could read in a week.

-R

LISS should be performed fasted. There's no reason to supplement with protein prior to this type of exercise. Done properly and with a diet to support, you will not lose lean mass performing LISS cardio.

By eating before LISS, your body will utilize the contents of your stomach before it goes to fat stores for energy. In essence, you're just outputting calories to output calories rather than burning your stored fat. Search for LISS in this forum and you'll find more information about it than you could read in a week.

-R


Coming off a minimum 6-8 hour fasted state when waking up (unless you are waking up to eat in the middle of the night), you will pretty much already be catabolic, so a little something for your body to "chew on", as I said, can't really hurt, unless it's something with a significant low-GI carb value. I wouldn't recommend a bowl of oatmeal or a whole grain bagel before AM LISS (unless you anticipated the LISS session was going to go for more than 90 minutes). And what works for one person may not work for another. Search for LISS in this forum and you will find more conflicting information about it than possibly any other topic.

I'm in total agreement w/Bluestreak, as I do fasted "LISS" cardio as it's called here on the JSF, as well as ALL of my clientele on SGX/SUP2/FGX/etc. I definitely do NOT advise honey or any kind of carb before "LISS" as that would totally defeat the purpose of tapping into fat stores for energy during the cardio session. That's one of the worst things you could do if mobilizing fat stores into the mitochondria to be burned for fuel is your goal, and with "LISS" that is what the goal of the exercise is.

~SC~

"We should never be completely fasted. As soon as you're protein starved, you start breaking down muscle. Throw a catabolic activity like cardio on top of that and you're begging to waste away. Fortunately, it's not too difficult to prevent this muscle catabolism, because all we have to do is eat a little protein. When it comes to cardio, eating protein before will preserve muscle tissue without impacting fat loss." - Dave Barr, T-nation.com

"I recommend that the whey drink be 40 grams of protein, with no more than 20 grams of carbs... to be taken immediately before and after training. This routine before cardio will not hinder your fat burning. Adding the protein before cardio will preserve muscle mass while you burn stored fat. Your metabolism will also rise slightly. Also remember that the more muscle you have the more calories you will actually burn as well since it takes energy to sustain the muscle." - Jeff Behar, Bodybuilding.com

"Should morning cardio be performed on an empty stomach or not? Well, here's what I like to do: Add a half-scoop of protein to a cup of java an hour before mild to moderate morning cardio. This will help you attack stored fat directly, before the lingering protective effects of insulin get involved. The small amount of protein (about 10 grams) may actually help combat cortisol (a potential morning problem especially when coffee is involved) and preserve muscle mass without jacking your insulin too high." - Dr. Lonnie Lowery, T-nation.com

"One strategy many bodybuilders use is to drink a protein shake or eat a protein only meal 30-60 minutes prior to the morning session. The protein without the carbs will minimize the insulin response and allow you to mobilize fat while providing amino acids to prevent muscle breakdown." - Tom Venuto, Burn the Fat Feed The Muscle

"Doing cardio on an empty stomach can result in burning more fat," confirms Michele Olson, PhD, professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University in Montgomery, Alabama. "Research shows that the amount of extra fat burned is not an appreciable amount," notes Olson. "Furthermore, there's no significant increase in total caloric expenditure whether you exercise on an empty stomach or after a meal," she says, citing a study published in the International Journal of Sports Medicine (1998). "Weight control is based on total calories burned, and during cardio the body uses a combination of carbs and fat as fuel," Olson points out. In other words, while doing cardio right after waking up is effective, why risk losing muscle when all you have to do is eat a little something before your workout? Your best bet is to take an amino acid supplement or ingest whey protein without added carbs. A research study confirms that when amino acids are taken before cardio, more fat is used as fuel. So you'll be able to train harder and burn more calories and fat overall. - Muscle & Fitness Hers

"If your body uses the amino acids from whey protein, it won’t have to break down existing muscle protein to get aminos for fuel, which obviously could compromise your muscle size. The research shows that taking in a small amount of whey protein (without carbs) before you do cardio may also help you burn more fat when you exercise." - Jim Stoppani, PhD, Flex Magazine

I'm sure you can find just as many articles which support the concept of completely fasted AM LISS cardio. All I am pointing out is that there are differences of opinion.