Why do you recommend eating carbs and protein before a workout in the morning?

I work out in the morning and I used to workout fasted but I’m changing things up, so I’ve been looking into pre-workout meals/foods.

Austin and you have mentioned eating some sort of carb and protein. I think I understand why we should carbs before working out, but I was wondering why protein? Is it just a convenience factor, like “you need to get to your total daily protein goal, so might as well get 30 grams in when you can”, or is there another reason?

It’s more of advice to consume a meal rather than specific foodstuffs or macros prior to activity. In the context of resistance training, individuals seem to respond differently to different pre- and intra-workout dietary strategies and the plan should therefore be tailored to the individual’s preferences and needs. It is important to note that fasting does not improve exercise performance in any study; this leads us to recommend that individuals eat a pre-workout meal when performance is prioritized.

2 Likes

Thanks Jordan. Makes sense. I tried to edit my post earlier to say that I wasn’t working out fasted for any specific reason, just convenience, but it wasn’t letting me.

How about for fat loss? Any evidence that lifting fasted (e.g. first thing in the morning) leads to a greater percentage of fat being lost vs. lean mass if the trainee is in a calorie deficit?

I can’t eat before the workout in the morning. Many said it’s not good, but I just can’t eat.