Pre-Workout: Will is make you gain weight/hurt weight loss?

jasminelemae03 wrote: »

I've begun to stall a bit on my weight loss and I want to kick my workouts up a notch. I walk/jog every morning and hit the gym every evening following a workout plan I found online. The issue is, in the evening I feel I have NO ENERGY! I still go and definitely get the work done, but I feel like I can't push myself the way I want to during those workouts because I'm so tired. My brother is a gym rat and so is my best friend. I always see them posting about the pre-workouts they use and how it gives them energy for the gym. I'm concerned that it might make me gain weight or make it even harder to lose. TBH I'm not even 100% sure what it does. Is it something I should try or no? If not, what can I use to get some extra energy before my evening workout? Please help.

Most pre-workouts are in large part caffeine...

If your energy is low, you might want to re-evaluate your calorie targets.

Calorie deficits cause weight loss; surplus causes gain. If it fits in your calorie goals then go for it. Its mostly caffeine and stimulants. I prefer natural: coffee.

Sounds like your body is telling you that you need a rest. How much/often are you exercising?

I had a manager that used to talk his 'hulk' juice to help amp him up, but it just helped it didn't make the workout possible. I have a coworker now that uses something different, but it just gives him some extra energy is all.

I drink it every morning. I get up super early and have to exercise on an empty stomach. It helps me a lot. Coffee makes me overheat/sweat and I don't feel like adding ice, cooling it down, etc.

jasminelemae03 wrote: »

@Stella3838 I thought about that, but they always make it seem like coffee is so bad for you when losing weight. Except for a cup every few weeks, I've basically given it up for green tea.

Black coffee isn't bad for you.

ETA: Even cream and sugar in your coffee isn't bad for you if it fits in your daily calories.

jasminelemae03 wrote: »

@Stella3838 I thought about that, but they always make it seem like coffee is so bad for you when losing weight. Except for a cup every few weeks, I've basically given it up for green tea.

You'll have people for and against, but it could be better than it's had a reputation for. I agree with @andrea4736 that many times people load it up with high calorie things. Black coffee would certainly be best.

https://authoritynutrition.com/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee/

jasminelemae03 wrote: »

@cwolfman13 I stick pretty closely to what the app tells me I should take in daily. Do you think adding a snack before the gym would help?

Perhaps...

But the app isn't really telling you anything...you put in your stats and desired rate of loss and the app ran an algorithm and spit something out...if you have an aggressive rate of loss target you are going to be pretty low calorie...and thus pretty low energy (because that's what calories are)...as energy dips, most people are going to have a dip in their CO.

An interesting thing happened to me when I went to maintenance. I basically went to maintenance because I was in a very long stall and just said screw it. I was still losing, but it was at an incredibly slow pace and so decided to take a maintenance break and then I thought I'd resume things a few weeks down the road.

As per my results and the math that was going on, I assumed my maintenance calories would be pretty low...by the math I figured they'd be around 2300 calories or so. Oddly enough (but not really) as I increased my calories I felt better...I was less fatigued and all of a sudden my weight started dropping again...I hit 2300...then 2500 and my weight continued to drop...2700 and weight continued to drop though it slowed...finally hit 3000ish calories and had dropped an additional 6 Lbs when it finally leveled off.

What is this sorcery? No magic really...I was so fatigued from dieting that my workouts were suffering...not only that, but my daily general movement was suffering. I found that as I increased calories I had a hard time sitting still to watch a t.v. show or movie...I was super fidgety, and I wasn't that way before...and in the gym, all of my lifts went up immediately...I was suddenly faster on my bike and able to go longer...my sprint intervals went through the roof, etc.

Not saying that's what you should do necessarily...just that a lot of people forget that when their CI comes down, very often their CO comes down with it, particularly if you've been dieting awhile.

Check the calorie count on the pre-workout and factor it into your daily calorie goal.

Think about yourself and hunger patterns and how you and your body reacts during day with your routine.
For me personally, my high energy time is around 11am and luckily i get to work out then.
But im also hungry when i wake up.
I have a tiny breakfast like a boiked egg n apple with black coffee.
I get to work and have higher carb w protein meal snack an hour-45 min before work out.
Have smaller lunch, small afternoon snack, bigger dinner. I enjoy food at night so save main meal for then (with room for a few choc!)
When i trained lunch AND after work i did similar but ensured i had small carb afternoon snack w protein. Plus black coffee.
I cant fast and work out esp if wanting to perform resistance or weight training. Some can.
I always try do my weight training first leave cardio later as im stronger in morning n need strength for that. But again, its personal to you and how you feel n what you can do to make it sustainable.

Very possibly.. it depends what is it in. I have the perfect podcast for you https://atpscience.com/episode-25/