I've only just started working out after losing weight for the past 5 months. I have asked around about this but seem to get two different views. Since i workout now 3times a week burning off more calories i thought it was safe to say that i need to eat more on those days to supplement this calorie burn. On a weight loss site that i use they said that i should infact eat more because of this. On the BB site they say that you should eat exactly the same regardless of whether it is a workout day or not. But surely if you are eating less than what you are expending you are going to lose more weight. Should i be doing this instead, take into account the extra cals i will burn off during the whole week, e.g. say 600 in total add that to my weekly cal allowance and then divide that by 7 so that my cal intake stays the same on all 7 days but takes into account the extra cals being burned on workout days?

Cheers,
Joe

I think you will always get two views on this.

To me this makes perfect sense, I cycle my calories all the time, the harder/longer the workout the more calories etc. Also more carbs on workout days make sense to me.

I say just experiment with what works best for you.

The key IMO is Post workout nutrition. After a workout i have a shake with protien powder, glucose etc, which i obviously dont have on non-workout days. So therefore my cals are that bit higher at that time.

Otherwise, keep it the same. On workout days, your body needs the cals to shift the iron. On rest days, your body needs the cals to recover, rebuild, and adapt. So even though your not lifting, you still need to rebuild muscle and grow. Perhaps where you get those calories should differ, for example, i tend to eat more carbs on workout days then i do on rest days, but then on rest days, i may up the protien levels more to fill in the deficit caused by lowering the carbs.

Hope this helps. :)

The key IMO is Post workout nutrition. After a workout i have a shake with protien powder, glucose etc, which i obviously dont have on non-workout days. So therefore my cals are that bit higher at that time.


I'm doing exactly the same. But I was thinking to increase my pre-workout nutrition as well, maybe some oatmeal to get some extra-strenght during my workout..

I think swolecat recommends a higher caloric intake during workout days.

I'm doing exactly the same. But I was thinking to increase my pre-workout nutrition as well, maybe some oatmeal to get some extra-strenght during my workout..

Take in some complex carbs, whole food protien and healthy fats 2 hours before your workout. Then have a protien shake with carbs pre workout (about 15 to 30 mins before).

I have brown rice, tuna and walnut oil mixed together 2 hours before, then 2 scoops whey, 30g maltodextrin and 300ml milk 20mins before. Works great !

The key IMO is Post workout nutrition. After a workout i have a shake with protien powder, glucose etc, which i obviously dont have on non-workout days. So therefore my cals are that bit higher at that time. I agree completely with this advice. PWO nutrition is vital to getting an anabolic response to weight training. My PWO shake is close to 500 calories. That's 500 calories that I don't get on non training days. I don't know whether it's carb cycling or zig zagging but it's an effective strategy.

For what it's worth, I use Diet Power and the calories burned in any type of exercise are added to the daily caloric allowance.

Take in some complex carbs, whole food protien and healthy fats 2 hours before your workout. Then have a protien shake with carbs pre workout (about 15 to 30 mins before).

I have brown rice, tuna and walnut oil mixed together 2 hours before, then 2 scoops whey, 30g maltodextrin and 300ml milk 20mins before. Works great !

Sounds good, mate :tucool: , I think I'll have to change my 4 slices of turkey and a pear :o for something better :eat:

Just a different opinon: I think taking a daily perspective is too short a time frame to have any real effect. Food takes time to digest. My calories fluctuate by day (at most +/- 200 calories of my target) but I don't consume extra on lifting days per se. The fluctiation is random. The average is right on target. Of course of lifting days there is a pre- & post- workout meal that I don't have on cardio days or my rest day. I do have a post-workout meal on cardio days, but it's a different makeup & caloric content.

...I do have a post-workout meal on cardio days, but it's a different makeup & caloric content.

What does your post-workout meal on cardio days consist of? Can you give me a few tips? :eat:

What are the main differences between post workout meals on cardio days and on weight lifting days?

What does your post-workout meal on cardio days consist of? Can you give me a few tips? :eat:

What are the main differences between post workout meals on cardio days and on weight lifting days?
I must admit my own ignorance here, I was recently doing some research to try to find out what the difference should be. I wasn't able to find much that spoke to a difference between cardio days and lifting days. Most talk of "PWO meals" either refers to post-lifting only, or isn't clear about whether it might apply to both situations.

So, I got tired of looking and made up what I thought was an OK idea, and I've been using this plan ever since.

Post-lifting is MyoPlex Sport, which is 500Cals, 7g fat, 33g whey protein & 75g carbs made up of about 50/50 dextrose & maltodextrin. I mix that up with about 40oz H2O, chug 1/3 of it after I get back from lifting & post-lift stretching. After my shower I chug 1/3 of it with 1000mg L-Glutamine & 500mg Vitamin C, then down the final 1/3 gradually during the next 1/2 hour of my commute.

Post-Cardio is a higher protein content & less carbs since I'm not necessarily looking for an insulin spike. I mix 62g whey with 16oz skim milk and a banana, blend it up & drink it the same way. About 527Cals, 6g fat, 57g protein & 61g carbs.

I'm definitely up for criticism on my post-cardio meal. There is also a lot of conflicting information about how long to wait after cardio before eating again. I'm not cutting and I'm doing moderate-intensity cardio right now, so I don't wait after my workout. If I were doing HIIT I might wait a little while, but the jury's still out.