Pre-Workout Snack

I've started going at lunch to a trainer to up my work-out game. I find I run out of steam 1/2 way through the 45 minute work-out. For breakfast I have a smoothie with 30 grams of protein, then morning snack I've tried yogurt (doesn't do well prior to workouts); turkey/cheese; egg/cheese, but they don't seem to cut it . I'm so used to eating carbs pre-workout - banana, toast or apple/peanut butter, etc. Does anyone have some suggestions of something that will give me some energy.

Thanks!

At five weeks? post-op, I'm surprised you have the go to workout with a trainer. Most of us are only allowed to walk for the first 6 weeks post-op and then it's a gradual increase in activity - not everything all at once. Personal trainers, regardless of what they claim, often try to have a one size fits all style of training.

Also, based on your time post-op, I'd be willing to put money on you doing too much right now which is why you're running out of steam, not that you need to eat more. I would recommend trying to listen to your body. When you run out of steam, stop and eat lunch.

My doctor cleared me at 4 1/2 weeks to workout. I'm six weeks out.

At six weeks out, your body is likely exhausted from healing-- it takes longer than we think to get our energy back. It's great if your doctor has cleared you to work out, but check with your doctor on expectations for exercise intensity; your body may very well be telling you "too much too soon" rather than "not enough food."

Avoid the temptation to eat more. We were all really, really good at finding rationalizations that allowed us to eat more, and it got us all on the operating table. Don't do it.

95 percent of weightloss is food, not exercise. If you're tired, finish your workout with a walk, and skip the food.

I tend to agree with the others that you may be jumping the gun a bit with trainer level workouts - are you and your doc communicating on what you mean by "workout"? He may be thinking of you advancing some to an elliptical from a treadmill, which presumably you don't need a trainer for. (True story of one of our octogenarian in-laws - he got cleared by his surgeon after hand surgery to return to "normal activities" though the surgeon did not anticipate that su*****luded digging ditches and pouring concrete. So be clear on what you are asking and on what he is permitting.)

At this point I would be more inclined to just listen to my body and give in when it says that enough is enough and just do some cooldown. As you progress further from surgery you will be able to do more longer. And, as Grim notes, the main driver for our weight loss is our diet and not the exercise at this point.

As you progress you may indeed run into further endurance issues that can be addressed. At around four months I ran into a wall with swimming, running out at about an hour. The advice from my RD (who is a fitness oriented RD) was to have a pre-workout snack that was relatively high in complex carbohydrates, moderate in protein and low to moderate in fat. What I settled on that was most workable for me was a small meat and cheese sandwich which worked very well. Substituting peanut butter for the meat and cheese, hence increasing the fat and decreasing the protein, didn't do the job, so for me, that recommended profile did the trick. For the strength circuit that I was doing, no special snack was needed as I had no endurance issues with that, even out to 90 minutes, so the content of the workout can influence the content of the snack that is needed. Note also that I did not increase calories to fuel the workout, but just reshuffled the existing diet. YMMV

Reshuffling the existing diet is fine, whether it's for exercise or not. Great point. The danger is always when people eat extra to "fuel" a workout, or eat back exercise calories.

My doctor cleared me to exercise, knowing what I would be doing, as we talked at length about it. I run 3 miles 3-4 times a week with no problem. My problem is midday exercise-and I know it is nutrition based, because I had the same problem pre-surgery. Though then, I would eat carbs and since we are trying to be low-carb, I'm trying to find something that will work. I'm not trying to increase my calorie intake, I'm trying to find something that would give me a boost mid-day that I will incorporate into my 600-800 calories a day. I won't be eating "more than normal."

I know what we eat makes the biggest difference in our weight loss, but I exercise because it makes me feel good, it's good for my body and mind, and it's something we should all be doing.

So, I'm looking for a recommendation of a pre-workout snack that would give me energy.

The problem is that you're looking for something that doesn't exist and trying to solve the wrong problem. The most readily available energy source for your body, and therefore the quickest, is glucose. Everything else your body can make glucose from will take more time.

Over time, as you're more healed and farther out from surgery and have built up your stamina, you will be able to make it through your workouts without any additional fuel. You're trying to solve the problem of "my body isn't ready for what I want it to do" with "let me throw a fuel that doesn't exist at it."

Listen to your body. Stop when it tells you that you need fuel and eat a good protein-rich lunch. Eventually you'll be able to stop later and then, eventually, you'll be able to make it through your entire workout.

^^^^^This