That helps me too, when the going gets tough
Out of interest - what and when do people eat pre work / intra work out?
And please don’t feel your going too “low tech” / over overly specific with your answers.
Two portions of simple carbs, one pre, one intra is helpful. But not as helpful as “I eat a mars bar duo. One half as I’m walking to gym from the car. And one between sets”.
I genuinely feel that every time I’ve tried this approach, its just been an excuses to eat, well a mars bar duo.
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Man I’m on here too much today. Anyway:
I work out first thing. I typically eat nothing and have one serving (~20ish grams of carbs) of an intra-workout. I’ve gone as low-tech as whey and Gatorade, to as high-end as Plazma. I do find differences along the spectrum, and drinking whey while working out is just a disgusting texture (so use BCAA powder and Gatorade if you go that route).
I like using the intra-workout especially for morning workouts because of the convenience - I don’t have to time my eating as specifically. I do really notice a difference in soreness (especially vs. a recent IF experiment…) and how much quality volume I have left in me late in the workout.
If you’re interested in my opinion, Surge Workout Fuel is a very good bang-for-your-buck product intra.
I then come home (or eat it at the gym before I hit the road in a normal work environment) and eat egg whites, turkey sausage, greek yogurt, and berries. This all makes my dinner my “pre-workout”, so I put the rest of my day’s carbs there (when I’m not being a turd and overeating at lunch).
I used to workout fasted but recently I’ve been having 100kcal of something
Usually it’s two pieces of chocolate, but sometimes it’s fruit or even a tablespoon of butter
Note: butter is like rocket fuel for me
My workouts aren’t long or intense enough to justify an intraworkout
I don’t eat a preworkout anymore unless it’s been a long time since my last meal and I’m famished, then it’ll be something around 30 P 30 C 10 F.
Intra, I’m poor so it’s just 30 gr of carbs or a Powerade
Plazma for me. I think it makes a huge difference, as compared to something like gatorade. There are other products out there that work well and aren’t as expensive, but if you can afford it, Plazma is the best option I’ve tried.
I’m natty af and I’m headed towards some pre-quaratine PRs at a 500-700 daily caloric deficit and lower bodyweight. Havent executed the actual weights yet, but if all goes according to plan, I’ll have matched or beaten rep PRs in bench in 4 weeks, squat in 6 weeks, and deadlift in 7-8 weeks. And hopefully I’ll be even lighter because I’ve been losing about a lb or so a week.
Also, I’m not that lean, so I’m likely still at the point where it’s not going to impact me that much.
I eat fruit before my workout. Lately its been watermelon. I read an article that take magnesium and creatine pre-workout could be helpful, and a good alternative to caffeine so I been doing that. When I do get something intra workout or use caffeine, it’s usually a coffee. Before I’d get one of those calorie dense coffee drinks but lately it’ll be a black Americano or Cold brew, either with non-calorie sweetener or sweet cream (70 cal)
I generally eat light throughout the day (like 1100-1400 calories remaining) and then by the time I finish dinner Im usually like 500-700 calories remaining. I keep my MyFitnessPal to maintenance at 190, but work around the caloric deficit by “Calories Remaining”
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At the peak of gaining weight this past training cycle, I would eat 2 pop tarts before training and post training would eat 2 scoops of whey, 1 scoop of PBfit powder, 1 cup of cinnamon rice chex, 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 cups of Fairlife skim milk and whipped cream all mixed together with a tablespoon of raw honey.
I never eat or drink anything during training. Anyone that played sports in high school will tell you that water during training makes you weak.
All thanks for the info. I can not respond to you all individually. But I can see there is a range from - natural sugar, refined sugar, to engineered/tailored supplement.
? Really? Surly this is sarcastic.
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I saw something similar too and tried the magnesium (can’t take creatine) it definitely reduced my soreness going in, but I wanted to go back to bed, not to workout
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Less sarcastic and more tongue in cheek. I don’t drink water during training and high school coaches tend to tell their athletes that water makes you weak, but for me it’s just what I am used to.
Also forgot to finish my post and write that, during fat loss, the pre training meal is 1 cup of cinnamon rice chex, a scoop of PBfit and 1 cup of fairlife skim milk and post training is 1 cup of fairlife 2 scoops of protein and 1 scoop pbfit.
I’m curious, how long do your sessions last?
60 to 90 minutes. I didn’t drink water during my half marathon either, which took 2 hours and 30 seconds.
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I’ll puke if I do straight whey as a pre- or intra-workout, but when I mix the whey with 2 scoops maltodextrin and 1/4 tsp salt it works out just fine. And it makes a huge difference because I train first thing in the morning. Then I have 2 scoops malto, 2 scoops protein in 16 oz skim milk post-workout. Been having trouble with bloating after the post-workout though, so I may have to switch something up.
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How is that even possible? Are you a camel?
I drank 2 liters during yesterday’s session…
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Negative: I just experience thirst and don’t satiate it.
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I’m skeptical of your approach but it’s working better for you than mine is for me, so I’ll just take it as wisdom, just like doing max effort trap bar deads for hamstring recovery 
You need to follow all of my approach, not bits and pieces, if you are going to use it. It doesn’t work in a vacuum.
And the deads didn’t recover the hamstring so much as test it. The squats played a bigger role.
What does ‘focus on strength’ mean to you?
What rep ranges are you finding yourself weaker in?
lifting in the 1-6 rep range I’ve never noticed a strength loss during a cut. Performance at higher reps (10+) often suffers just from lack of glycogen as a direct result of cutting.
Also know there is a difference between strength and the ability to display strength. Lower salt, fat, sugar during your cut might make conditions less favourable for displays of strength, but the underlying strength might still be there.