Nutrition Tip - Can Protein/Carbs Before Exercise Help to Burn Fat?


As we all know, nutrition is a key part of any fitness program. This especially applies to your workout nutrition. Here is a great tip from John Berardi on the topic:

Protein/Carbs Before Exercise To Burn Fat?
by Dr. John Berardi

While nearly everyone nowadays knows that pre, during, and post exercise nutritional intake is critical for improving protein status and glycogen synthesis, most people fear that the ingestion of protein and carbohydrates during these times will decrease fat oxidation (burning).

Well, put simply, they’re wrong (sticking out tongue).

Studies have demonstrated that even in the presence of a relatively high carbohydrate intake (and large insulin response), the addition of protein to a carbohydrate meal can increase fat burning during exercise.

So it looks like a well-designed pre, during, and post exercise intake will not only improve protein status and glycogen resynthesis but it may actually increase fat burning. Bigger and leaner? Say it ain’t so.

Enjoy this Post? Spread the Word: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Furl
  • NewsVine
  • Reddit
  • YahooMyWeb
  • Technorati
  • Netscape
  • StumbleUpon

Related Posts
Nutrition Tip - Protein for Fat Burning
Having a Plan — Nutrition
Effective Nutrient Timing
Weekly Nutrition Tip - Why Choose Oats
Nutrition Tip - How Much Water Should You Drink?

rss 30 comments
  1. c
    September 15th, 2008 | 2:39 am

    I have tried so many diet programs without success and nearly gave up, and then I bought and tried Fat Loss for Idiots. It is a no-nonsense approach that really worked for me!

  2. October 31st, 2008 | 12:04 am

    Protein help build and recover your muscle, not help burn fat.
    Home Fitness

  3. January 16th, 2009 | 4:29 am

    When I was a child, I studied it is better to exercise than to go on diet. The diet will help a lot in getting good shape if you carry out exercises daily for a good one hour or more time.

  4. January 17th, 2009 | 12:59 am

    my bro was keen interested to making body i just suggesting him after reading your article and its worked.
    thanks Dan

  5. March 8th, 2009 | 7:34 am

    Very useful Information..

    Thanks !

  6. May 19th, 2009 | 7:36 pm

    I normally have a whey/oatmeal shake preworkout.

  7. June 10th, 2009 | 10:53 pm

    My trainer told me that its okay to eat all the things I love to eat but with moderation, and accompanied by exercise before the day ends, and i think he’s right, because I already shed 26 lbs of my weight, but I want to try whats written in this article too.

  8. July 8th, 2009 | 8:51 pm

    Studies have demonstrated that even in the presence of a relatively high carbohydrate intake and of protein to a carbohydrate meal can increase fat burning during exercise.

  9. July 15th, 2009 | 7:20 am

    Your post hits the nail on the head. Eating right combined with regular exercise will pretty much always result with a leaner body. Unfortunately, carbs have been given a bad reputation the last 10 years. I try to educate my patients that it is the type of carbohydrates they eat that are the problem. Keep the good information coming!

  10. July 17th, 2009 | 6:19 pm

    I’ve always wondered if proteins before exercise has benefits. Someday I’m going to put on a bit of a experiment. Thanks for the post!

  11. October 19th, 2009 | 3:52 am

    i think protein is a great supplement for diet .

  12. December 4th, 2009 | 3:40 am

    Whey protein has shown to increase fat oxidation. Having carbs before a workout will give you the energy to give a hard workout and thus help you burn the calories and work your muscles to hypertrophy. Increasing your lean mass will raise your RMR.

  13. December 20th, 2009 | 4:53 am

    this is pretty cool ..
    i’m gonna try this .. i wish that it works ..

  14. April 21st, 2010 | 6:15 am

    thanx for the post ,its good for me that protien addition in diet can increase the fat burning ,i was searching like that
    thanx

  15. June 27th, 2010 | 12:24 am

    hmm, i never thought so before i read this article but now it’s clear. Now i know that they are wrong.
    I think I’m pretty sure that Protein is one of the Main Factor/Point to increase diet goal possibility, and also it’s a good supplement for us while doing a diet program. Which means it can’t be separated from diet programs.

  16. June 27th, 2010 | 8:15 pm

    Very useful Information..

    Thanks !

  17. July 23rd, 2010 | 11:42 am

    thanks for the tip, do you know the best way to burn belly fat?

  18. December 2nd, 2010 | 12:33 am

    Good tip on this article. Pregabalin, Linezolid, Sitagliptin, Rosuvastatin Calcium, Tioconazole, Solifenacin Succinate,Lornoxicam, Fenticonazole, Sertaconazole Nitrate, Tapentadol HCl One of the emerging Indian Manufacturers of Active Pharmaceutical

  19. December 7th, 2010 | 2:56 am

    Thanks for this useful tips. Remy Hair, Natural Remy Hair, Machine weft hair, Hand-tied Weft Hair, Indian Remy Hand-tied Weft, Natural Hair Hand-tied Weft. We Are the Manufacturers and Exporters of Remy Hair

  20. December 29th, 2010 | 2:52 pm

    I don’t know about eating protein and carbs before exercise helping to burn fat. However, I have heard that you should take them in post exercise to help with recovery and to feed the muscles.

  21. February 18th, 2011 | 2:41 am

    NICE POST! THANK YOU!I hope there will be something like this again soon

    freshwater pearl set

  22. March 10th, 2011 | 12:29 pm

    Protein, Carbs, and Fat intake are all important. I just think it is funny, for all the ones who think that a protein overload right after a workout really makes a difference. Your body repairs muscle tissue over time, so a regular intake of quality protein, carbs, and healthy fats, is simply all that matter when it comes to recovery via natural ways of normal consumption without drugs or hormones, etc.

  23. April 7th, 2011 | 11:04 am

    Dr. John Berardi is the man! If you have never been to his website you should because he has so much great scientific information on diet tips that are some of the most effective techniques that you can use. Great tips on how to get bigger and leaner!

  24. April 12th, 2011 | 7:55 pm

    better to avoid bad carbs, if you need carbs make sure they are good carbs from fruit that your body will process easily

  25. hgh
    May 10th, 2011 | 4:29 am

    awesome article shared by you and thanks for posting such a great article

  26. May 20th, 2011 | 12:29 pm

    Interesting, I never knew that your food intake before excercise made a difference, looks like I’ll have to make a few adjustments.

  27. adel
    June 11th, 2011 | 9:01 am

    Great article . very helpful tips to lose weight .This is Another site it seems similar to yours.It talks about - best ways to Decrease body fat

  28. July 20th, 2011 | 12:01 am

    I admit, I have not been on this website in a long time, however it was joy to find it again. It is such an important topic and ignored by so many, even professionals! I cheers for helping to make people more aware of these issues. Just great stuff as per usual!Enjoy the remaining portion of the year. Your conducting a fabulous job.

  29. August 23rd, 2011 | 9:18 am

    The real trick with the diet/workout balance is eating the right foods all the time, not just cramming the good carbs and proteins in right before a workout. That kind of strategy simply doesn’t work with everyone. Moderate exercise consistently at a regular time in the day combined with a balanced diet (good food + good portions) is the key to long term fitness and diet success.

  30. August 24th, 2011 | 12:21 am

    Very realistic advice! You do what you want to achieve, because “no pain no gain”. Keep in mind that there is always time to pay back for everything you have worked for.Thanks for sharing with us…

comment on this article

Notice: All comments are moderated. Your comment will appear once approved.