four lifting days/week, 45–60 min, mostly compounds. Since starting a GLP-1, appetite is lowest in the morning, so I was training underfueled and calling it discipline. RPE drifted up, bar speed got ugly, and afternoon energy was flat.
What helped: a small pre-session carb hit 60–90 min out—usually 30g oats plus a scoop of whey—then electrolytes in 750 mL water during. If I wait until after, the session is already a write-off. Sleep under 6.5h makes the whole thing feel twice as heavy.
I’m not chasing stimulants. I just want enough substrate to finish sets without feeling drained. For those training on a deficit: do you front-load carbs, use intra-workout carbs, or just accept lower work capacity? Data over vibes—what’s actually moved the needle?