So I'm pretty much at my goal weight and, as most of us are… I'm saggy. So now I want to build some muscle and lift weights more intensely but my trainer says I have to eat carbs. Carbs build muscle.

My problem is I've taken three weeks off from working out basically just to let my body settle after 85 pounds and my mind and now I have very little motivation so if I eat carbs in the morning and then I don't work out do the carbs turn to fat? I think carbs will turn into one of two things fat or muscle. Is there a way to eat carbs right before I work out so I know they're going to the right place? I don't know. I'm afraid to eat carbs after 10 months almost of no sugar no carbs I'm very adept at the keto thing and it's easy for me. Any help is appreciated

I've never heard that carbs specifically build muscle. Excess calories, protein and working out builds muscle.

Follow the advice of your surgeon and dietitian.* Do not buy into the bro science peddled by physical trainers, who do not understand post-wls surgery eating and seem to want to push everyone to chow down on all sorts of crazy kinds of food.

*If you haven't specifically asked them how you should be eating while weightlifting, don't hesitate to call or email your bariatric practice and ask for guidance.

Carbs give you energy but do not build muscle. You can get that same energy through your calories without pounding carbs.

Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

You don't need carbs!!! That's probably a real bad idea this soon into maintenance. Protein Protein Protein!

thank you for that. i sent an email to my NUT asking what i should do.

I have a personal training certification. Your trainer 1) doesn't know what they are talking about and 2) should not be giving you any nutritional advice, period, because it is outside their scope of practice. There are very, very few CPT certifications that include any kind of nutritional information. Your NUT will be able to give you better advice.

Sorry if this comes across as snippy. It really irks me when professionals overstep the boundaries of their licensure, because they could actually hurt someone with their bad advice.

@@Caribear i agree!!!!!!!!!!!!! someone could make a ton of money being a WLS specific personal trainer. it's so much different for us i'm waiting to see what my NUT says thanks ya'll i trust you guys more than some non-sleeved/wls person - <3

Protein is what is needed if you are looking to build muscle mass; carbohydrates provide our short term energy needs and are often needed to fuel our workouts - it's one of those big YMMV things that depends upon what you are doing and your specific physiolgical needs. Carbs are not going to turn into fat unless you are consuming excess calories, in which case it doesn't matter whether that excess is from carbs, fats or Proteins - it's the excess calories.

When I was part way through my loss phase, I strategically added some complex carbs to improve my endurance during the workouts (a common bit of nutritional advice is to have a meal/snack that is relatively high in complex carbs, moderate in protein and low to moderate in fats an hour or so before a workout - I found that a small meat and cheese on whole grain sandwich did the trick for me.) This worked very well in extending my endurance while swimming beyond an hour, while made little difference in my strength workouts that averaged 75-90 minutes, so you may or may not need that added boost depending upon what you are doing - experiment with it some to see what works for you.

Your fears are real, and this is a common problem amongst those who get into these trendy diets - they may help keep you away from those foods that caused problems, but they don't help you learn how to get the nutrition that you need on a sustainable basis - they cut out the good along with the bad (much like what happened during the low fat fad.) Now your challenge is to learn how to include the good foods that you need in your diet without triggering the cravings for the junk that probably got you into trouble in the first place.

Another little caution about setting your workout and muscle building goals - most all of us want to get rid of the excess flab that we are left with after massive weight loss, and want to build muscle to feel and look better. However, added muscle needs maintenance - you have to keep it up to keep that added muscle from turning into fat when you lose interest, get injured or ill and can't keep up the workouts. Aim to do what you think that you can keep doing over the long term. The exercise in general is a good habit to develop and provides many health benefits, but it's also easy to overdo it. I realized early on that I wasn't going to get a Schwartzeneggar body (not to mention maintaining it...) but settled into what I could do to improve and maintain decent strength endurance consistent with my lifestyle goals. My routine has evolved over time, but I still consistently do an hour or so of work each day between swimming, strength training and hiking - this is after 12-13 years, so I guess you can say that it is an established habit. It may not be perfect, but it's what I can keep up in the long term, and it allows me to do most anything that comes along with little problem of excess fatigue or sore muscles including things I rarely do like digging out a tree or kayaking across the bay.