Training & Nutrition - Question Regarding Carbs

Hi,

First off before I get to my question, I need to tell you some pertanent information about my situation. I'm 5'7" 175lbs with 15%b/f I lift weights and gain muscle as a body builder, and soon I will be trying to shred fat in a competition style for my tour accross Canada. Being that I have no car my only way to and from the gym is riding a bike which takes care of my cardio for the days to lose the weight and get down to 7-8% b/f. Each day I have a limited number of calories/carbs especially in my diet sooo I have to use them carefully.

Sooo my question is, is it better to eat more carbs before I cycle to work/ the gym, or is it better to eat them after i've gotten there to replenish the lost calories?

Thanks in advanced, I might post my first draft of my diet a little later and everyone can help criticize it :) ;
Jay Polisak

hmmm i'd say before and after, to have the fuel in your in the first place and then the fuel you'll need to work out with.....your body can process approx 60g/carbs and uses approx. 250cal per hour so you don't have to have a huge meal ahead of time, but you want to have the fuel in you to cover the ride....How long a bike ride is it? if its just a short ride i'd suggest something like a bagel, then when you get to the gym maybe an energy bar. ..... then the usual post workout drink/meal

The ride to the work is about 3km, the ride from work to the gym is about 8km, and the ride home from the gym is about 5km.

Thanks for the input pcates

The ride to the work is about 3km, the ride from work to the gym is about 8km, and the ride home from the gym is about 5km.

Thanks for the input pcates

oh ok...so not much at all. i really wouldn't worry too much about it too much, just eat your regular meals during the day and you'll be fine or at most a small snack before the 8km ride (depending how much you've eaten beforehand, if you haven't eaten anything in a while before you leave work maybe try a few fig newtons or a banana)

7-8% BF!!?? :eek:
An elite cyclist is in the 4-12% BF range. If you're doing a cycling tour across Canada, starting with 15% BF would not be a bad thing. You will have ample opportunity to become emaciated during your tour.

Sooo my question is, is it better to eat more carbs before I cycle to work/ the gym, or is it better to eat them after i've gotten there to replenish the lost calories?It probably doesn't make any difference. A better idea is to "dribble the carbs" while riding in, eliminate highs and lows.....

your body can process approx 60g/carbs and uses approx. 250cal per hour so you don't have to have a huge meal ahead of time
Just a quick quibble. Unless you're riding very slowly, your body is using probably 500 calories per hour. 250 is the recommended rate of replacement per hour to sustain the workout.

The ride to the work is about 3km, the ride from work to the gym is about 8km, and the ride home from the gym is about 5km.


You will likely find it challenging to get down below 10%. I think that you're probably going to need more cardio - you're only doing about 16km per day, and since you're doing it in chunks, you're not going to get into a real fat-burning mode. I'd suggest finding time for a 30km ride at least once a week, moving to longer rides as you get more fit.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Road Buzz -- My goal is to lower my body fat percentage so that when i'm going over hills I've got less weight to pull, not to look good. But thanks for the idea :P.

Richard and Grebletie -- I'll keep that in mind.

Ericqu -- Right now I eat about 3500 calories per day and being that I dropped my diet down to 2500/day I should be able to lose about 2lbs per week at that rate. My job is very physical so i'm counting on that to burn a lot of calories. Thanks for the concern though, I will definitely keep that in mind if i'm not losing the desired amount of weight/week.

I thought I would just add in my new diet aswell, everyone can take a look and tell me what they think.

RMR = 1931 calories/day
Cycling = 400 calories/day

Breakdown (fat/carbohydrates/protein) in grams

Breakfast meal – 375 calories
-Multi-vitamin
-1/2 Cup oatmeal (3/30/6)
-1 tsp. Flaxseed oil (9.2/0/0)
-1 Scoop Whey protein (1/3/25)

Pre-work meal – 367 calories
Chicken Sandwich
-1 Chicken breast (2/0/22)
-2 Slices of bread (5/43/11)

First break meal – 412 Calories
-2 Slices of bread (5/43/11)
-1 Whey Protein powder (1/3/25)

Lunch meal – 289 calories
-3oz. Round eye steak (8/0/26)
-1/2 Cup Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Rice (1/23/3)

Last break meal – 289 calories
-3oz. Round eye steak (8/0/26)
-1/2 Cup Uncle Ben’s Whole Grain Brown Rice (1/23/3)

Pre-workout meal – 367 calories
Chicken Sandwich
-1 Chicken breast (2/0/22)
-2 Slices of bread (5/43/11)

Post-workout meal – 372 calories
-Multi-vitamin
-1 tsp. Flaxseed oil (9.2/0/0)
-2 Apples (0/42/0)
-1 Scoops Whey protein powder (1/3/25)

Total Calories 2471