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Question: Hiit pre & post nutrition for fat loss?

(Posted by: ♥ r ε b ε κ α h ♥ on 2009-12-29 16:15:08)

Im 18, 5'8'' and 140 lbs. i just started doing High Intensity Interval Training last week, 20 minutes/ 3 times a week. My main goal is solely to burn fat so that i can get my abdominal muscles to show and start having a more toned look. I dont want to drop more than a few lbs in overall weight though. But im really confused on how and when to eat with HIIT and also the best times to do it because i hear many different views. Most of the time i workout in the morning and i do some strength training just to maintain muscle. So considering my fat loss goal, should i do HIIT on an empty stomach in the morning and then eat afterwards? Or should i eat something before and after HIIT in the morning, and how long do i wait to eat?

Posted by: resistnzisfutl on 2009-12-29, 16:27:40

Good job on starting HIIT, which is one of the most effective routines for fat loss. First off, I would not suggest working out on an empty stomach, especially when doing anything that's high intensity like weights or HIIT, since your body is already in a catabolic state, and the exercise will further plunge the body into catabolism (muscle wasting). The idea here is to reduce bodyfat levels while maintaining lean muscle tissue. Your diet should not significantly change when incorporating HIIT. One of the concepts of HIIT is to burn up your glycogen stores before the body starts converting muscle tissue for energy during a process called gluconeogenesis. This means you want to have at least one meal with carbs in it well before your HIIT workout. Your HIIT workout should be complete just before or right around when your muscle and liver glycogen stores are depleted (usually 15-20 minutes). You should eat about an hour and a half before HIIT to allow for gastric emptying and nutrients to begin hitting your bloodstream. I'd also suggest having something immediately after HIIT like you would with weight training. The idea of HIIT is to increase your 24 hour metabolic rate, or resting metabolic rate (RMR), to where your overall fat oxidation expenditure is greater than before you started HIIT. This is where HIIT is superior to more traditional forms of cardio where the primarly caloric expenditure was only during exercise. Additionally, at rest, free form fatty acids are used for energy rather than glucose, so when your resting metabolic rate is increased, your overall fat burning is increased in a 24 hour period. Studies have shown HIIT workouts can increase the RMR up to 36 hours after a workout!

Posted by: candygirl 16 on 2009-12-29, 16:22:21

You eat before you hIIT. hope this helped.

Posted by: [O]peration [I]raqi [L]iberation on 2009-12-29, 16:24:44

Ideal is to eat a nice well rounded meal with protein complex carbs and fats 1-2 hours before you work out, but if it's time to work out and you're hungry eat a banana right quick. Also taking creatine powder before your workouts is a good idea. After your work out drink a whey protein shake. Do not delay in eating your protein shake. For some reason they say it's best if you eat within 30 minutes of your workout being over

Posted by: Jim P on 2009-12-29, 16:38:01

I've been performing HIIT for several years now, and it's one of the main reasons why I'm in the best shape of my life. Because my HIIT workouts are very demanding, I prefer to have at least one meal in my system before I perform a workout. My pre-workout meals are small and consist of some form of lean protein and some form of complex carbohydrate. I wait an hour to an hour and half after eating before I perform my workout in order to make sure my meal is digested. Here's an article on sprint training that you might want to check out. Sprint training is my primary form of HIIT. functional-fitness-facts.com/ sprint-training.html