Actually, a few questions: Situation: I'm on an excercise program right now to lose about 20 pounds while maintaining muscle mass. I train each muscle group 2x week [high reps] and do 30 min cardio 3-4x week. My workouts are pretty consistent.

1. In my diet, what range of protien, carbs, fat should I maintain? Should I go high protien or carbs?

2. I have to workout early in the morning because of my schedule. Should I eat anything before the workout for energy [a banana?] or should I wait until after?

3. Is it essential to get carbs in right after the workout? I've been drinking protien shakes, but I wonder if I should ingest more carbs right after the workout?

I have to eat something before I workout. However, some people feel fine without eating anything. It is more physiologically sound to get something nutritious into your system before exercising. A banana is fine. If you can eat a little more then I would try to take in a more complete nutrition source that has both carbohydrates (banana) and protein (skim milk, whey protein powder, cottage cheese).

For what to take after your workout let me give you a very short and to the point response. Since you are trying to reduce your body fat levels then I would take in a combination of 20 grams of carbohydrates with 20 grams of protein directly after training. The body really wants carbohydrates after training but you don't want to load up on carbs exclusively.

Here are a couple of responses that I gave to a person that had a similar protein, fat, and carb range question as yours. The first response below has been individualized for a person that weighs 215 pounds. However, all of the information can be converted to your individualized needs by using your own bodyweight in the calculations.

You should also check out our nutrition section for good, fundamental information.

http://www.fitrex.com/nutrition.shtml

Response:
To start with, take in at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. This would be 215 grams of protein in your case. Then, to find the number of carbohydrate grams you should take in, just multiply your bodyweight by 2. This would be 430 grams of carbohydrates in your case. Finally, you should take in 72 grams of quality fatty acids like Flax seed oil, Olive oil, or Udo's oil. This is found by dividing your bodyweight by 3. Check out the recommended readings in the fitness info section of our web page to find out about Udo's oil! I have done some calculations for you but I also want to explain what is going on here. Here goes.

1 gram of protein has 4 calories. 1 gram of carbohydrate also has 4 calories. 1 gram of fat has 9 calories. For you this means.

First Week of Program:
Protein (215 grams x 4 = 900 calories)
Carbohydrates (430 grams x 4 = 1720 calories)
Fat (70 grams x 9 = 630 calories)
First Week Total - 3250 calories.

When you start your program you should start with the 3,250 calories with the appropriate balance of protein, carbs and fat that I have outlined above. But, here's the kicker! Each week of the 12 week program you should add 10 grams of protein and subtract 15 grams of carbohydrates to your diet. But, keep the fat intake the same.

So, you should end up on the last week of your 12 week program with these totals:

Protein (325 grams total)
Carbohydrates (250 grams total)
Fat (same at 72 grams total)

This would give you a new caloric range of:
Protein (325 x 4 = 1300 calories)
Carbohydrates (250 x 4 = 1000 calories)
Fat (72 x 9 = 648 calories)

Total on week 12 of your program - 2948 calories

Make sure you spread out your eating to 6 times per day so you are always bringing in some nutrients into your body for growth and recovery without eating so much that you store any extra calories from fat.

You will also need to kick in some cardio training to really get lean. But, not too much so that you start to lose your mass. On weeks 1-4 you should do 25 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week. On weeks 5-9 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 4 times per week. On weeks 10-12 you should do 30 minutes of cardio 5 days per week. Keep your heart rate between 130 - 140 beats per minute or 70% of your age predicted maximum heart rate (APMHR). You can find out how to get your APMHR by typing these letters into the Search function on the Fitrex home page.

Finally, you will see a drop in bodyweight with this type of diet plan. However, If you eat the way I have told you to, and if you are mentally strong enough to push yourself with your training you will keep the mass that you have built and the weight loss will come from fat loss! Since everyone is different you may have to adjust your carbs and fat intake down slightly but don't reduce the protein level. However, I followed this very same plan (with adjustments for my specific body size) and I lost 36 pounds of fat in the first 8 weeks of the plan! Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

Second Response:

Low carbohydrate diets have been very popular the last 3-4 years. They do work but they are not necessarily healthy or something that you can do for extended periods of time! That is why there is so much contradictory information out there. A great compromise is to eat 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat. Please check out our nutrition section on the web site. This will explain all the basics for healthy eating. Once your diet is under control you just have to train consistently! I know it sounds simple. But, you still have to do the work. You can’t miss workouts or load up on pizza twice per week. Many people slip up on their diets or skip a workout or two and wonder why they can’t achieve the look they are after. What I am telling you now is beyond the basic realms of health and wellness. If you eat well most of the time and you workout pretty consistently you are definitely better off than most people. And hey, you are 6 feet tall and weigh 190 pounds. You are healthy and many people would die to be like you. But, if you really want to change the way you look, and get ripped, you have to be hardcore. Set a goal, and do everything you can to reach it!