Myth of the month: you can't build muscle on an empty stomach

Muscle & Fitness, Oct, 2004 by Chris Aceto

The Truth: Can you drive your car, say, 30 miles on a half-tank of gas? Sure can. The same holds true with your body. While glycogen, the stored carbohydrates found in muscles, is a main fuel source for intense training, reserves don't need to be full for you to hit the gym. In fact, that's how bodybuilders lean down without losing muscle mass; they train with levels of glycogen just high enough to suffice for hard training, which encourages the burning of bodyfat.

What to Do: Eat a small snack--a combo of 30-40 grams of carbs with 20-40 grams of protein--within two hours of training. That's enough to fuel the body and exert an anticatabolic effect on muscle without overloading the stomach and possibly causing intestinal distress. Try a very small bowl of oats or cream of rice cereal mixed with whey protein powder, or 5-6 egg whites with two slices of rye toast. Your muscles--and your stomach--will thank you.