Eating protein and carbs before exercising could lead to fat-gain

10/05/05 Eating protein and carbs before exercising may lead to fat-gain and muscle wasting warns Warrior Diet author Ori Hofmekler.

Pound down a good protein shake with some banana before exercising to gain muscle lose body fat? According to groundbreaking research, eating before exercising can be a recipe for disaster, stimulating fat gain and leading to catabolic muscle loss — rather than the opposite — warns cutting-edge diet guru and bestselling Warrior Diet author Ori Hofmekler.

In order to provide the muscle with nutrients and energy, food must be first fully digested. During digestion food is broken down into smaller compounds, yielding molecules of amino acids, fatty acids and glucose — which are transferred to the body’s tissues through the circulatory system. The digestion elimination process, that occurs in the stomach, intestines, liver and kidneys, respectively, requires substantial amounts of energy. During digestion, blood flow shifts from the brain and muscles to the inside organs (responsible for digestion and elimination). That shift in the blood flow profoundly affects the brain and muscle tissues, lowing their capacity to perform and resist fatigue.

Consuming a pre-exercise meal made from a blend of fast releasing proteins and carbs (such as whey and sugar), looks initially quite appealing. In theory such meals would nourish the muscle tissues with amino acids and glucose to inhibit muscle breakdown, while providing instant energy. It all makes sense, but even so, in real life, things often work differently than in theory.

Recent studies demonstrated that eating fast releasing foods before or during exercise could be counter effective, to say the least. Investigators in the school of sport and exercise science, University of Birmingham, Edgbastion, England found that ingestion of carbs before exercise adversely elevated plasma cortisol levels. Interestingly enough, there was a significant reduction in post exercise cortisol when carbs were not ingested before exercise. Furthermore, there was a faster shift from carb to fat fueling during exercise, when a pre-exercise meal was not applied.

As for protein, what failed to reach mainstream nutrition knowledge is the already established fact that protein rich foods raise cortisol levels if applied incorrectly. Studies at the University of Lubeck, in Germany, found that oral administration of fast releasing protein foods such as hydrolyzed (pre-digested) proteins, have an even more profound cortisol elevating effect, compared to whole protein foods.