Sorry but I have a bit of background info on this post…if you’re bored skip the the end.
I used to be a T-Man with single digit bodyfat and some respectable lifts. Over the past year and a half several things have happened. I have a girlfriend, I work for a beer company, I am constantly on the go and never in the same place for too long. There is my list of “excuses” so as you can guess I am about 25 pounds over where I would like to/used to be.
Right now I wouldn’t say that I am going the way of Atkins but I have greately increased the protein while restricting carbs. I have dropped carbs to about 30 a day for the past two weeks. In that time I’ve dropped about 7 pounds without any exercise. I don’t exercise because I have no energy due to my lack of carbs.
I would like to try to a light run with this low carb diet but I do eventually want to return to lifting.
Yes I understand that more muscle mass I have the more metabolically active my body is, so I should just eat carbs and lift heavy, etc. etc., blah blah.
Well since the weight is coming off at a decent pace I want to keep up this low carbs. I know I’m not exactly losing it the “right” way but it’s working for me.
When I do start to lift in about 2 more weeks I want to keep the carbs low but I would like to have enough energy to put in a hard lift.
My question: I plan on drinking a Surge/Gatorade mix for some energy. When should I drink this? 20 minutes before my workout, lunchtime? Throughout the workout?
I think Surge is basically a stand alone post workout drink so you can probably skip the excess carbs from Gatorade. That said your first two meals after working out should include some carbs. Try something along the lines of Massive Eating and go with 4 PF meals and 2 PC (after workout). See what the more knowledgeable people have to say but I think this is a decent starting point.
I would say go with tyrosine or power drive 30 mins before the workout, or maybe some black coffee. You could go with half a serving of surge pre-workout. There is an article on here by JB explaining the importance of pre-workout nutrition. If you were to drink gatorade I would water it down, and start to sip on it about 20 minutes into the workout. thats just my opinion. i’m no expert
A few things that I can suggest to give you a little kick befor a work out while low carbing it.
The powerdrive, coffee, and L-tyrosine was a great suggestion. Start out with about a gram of L-tyrosine and see if that helps, and up it from there.
Ginko can also help.
You may want to try a small meal, P+F, befor hand that contains a good source of MCFA’s. They are quite interesting in the way they act in the body. They act much like a carb source, in that they are quickly metabolized by the body and can give you a carb like energy boost. Virgin coconut oil is a good source of MCFA’s.
I am sure there is more but it is pretty early yet and I just cant think of any.
As far as your surge type beverage. You may try drinking half during your W/O, and half after. I wouldnt suggest it befor hand if losing fat is your main goal.
My other suggestion is just go lift. It is do able. I have lifted on extreme carb diets more than one time and not had a problem. PPl do it all the time. Dont expect to break any records, but you can lift if you just do it.
Your diet sounds similar to the t-dawg diet more than an atkins program, so why don’t you do a search on the t-dawg diet and utilize that. As for the training and energy issue, make sure you’re getting in enough fat. You should be adapting to less than 30g carbs soon and be able to lift without too much difficulty.
I was on the Atkins for nine months (pre-T Nation, of course) and I worked out religiously while on it. The diet worked great for fat loss, and I managed to make some gains in the gym as well.
Your lifting energy will improve about a month or so into the diet…if necessary, pop some ripped-fuel type caffeine pill (that’s all they really are) before your workout. That should give you a nice boost of energy for the workout. It worked for me. Powerdrive is good for a more general state of alertness while low carbing, but it won’t be enough for the workout.
With that said, once I lost the fat (and following throat surgery), I started to introduce carbs back into my diet, and…presto! I gained mass and strength quite fast! Of course, I also gained about 10 pounds or more of fat, so it really is true for most people…bulking up is best done when you don’t care about some fat gain.
Check out the TDawg diet and start lifting NOW- without weight training to preserve your LBM while dieting thers a good chance your current weight loss is muscle. And consume the Surge during and Post workout.