Lifting heavy + cardio eat before or after?

Zoey2120

Let me start by saying that my main goal is to lean out & lower my body fat. My gym routine is 10 minute warm up on treadmill or stairs, 30-45 mins of lifting & then 30 mins of cardio on the arc trainer after. Should I be eating before or after I hit the gym? I keep hearing different things, some say fasted lifting & cardio will result in faster weight loss. Others say that it's a myth & you will burn & lose the same either way. What are your opinions & personal experiences with this?

leggup

Meal timing has no impact on weight loss. Eat when it works best for you.

Zoey2120

britishbroccoli wrote: »

Meal timing has no impact on weight loss. Eat when it works best for you.

Thank you. It just gets confusing because I follow a lot of fitness competitors on IG & so many swear by fasted cardio & they look so amazing so I thought that was best lol! Oh & I love your name!

slittle80

Depending on what you're ingesting, it can have an effect. It can also impact your energy during your workout. I prefer to go in on a relatively empty stomach, and have a healthy meal/shake after my workout to refuel my body and speed recovery. I think you have to test things for yourself to see what works best.

jpaulie

relatively empty stomach for me. then post recovery meal. Find I'm sluggish if I eat right before weight training

cajuntank

In regards to fasted cardio... the sciencey explanation. (but in a nutshell, makes no difference)
http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-the-fat-burning-zone-fasted-cardio.html

But your performance might be a different story. You will have to see how each feels to your body to give yourself an answer. For the general person, either way would be fine. For the athlete or someone competing, then someone training with proper nutrition to enhance performance (i.e... having protein spread throughout the day and carbs focused more around training time) would be the way to go. This is called nutrient timing and only accounts for around 10% of anything meaningful if you are a competitive athlete...but might make the difference between coming in first place or coming in second place for example. Again, for the general populace, just do whichever you feel better in the gym doing.

psuLemon

While timing does not have an impact on weight loss (pending calories are held consistent) it might be beneficial to ingest protein and carbs post workout to optimize recovery and/or muscle development.

999tigger

The benefits of fasted cardio are small (look at the articles). Imo meal timing is important because you want to ensure you are fueled up and dont run out of energy during your workout. A better workout will mean more calories burned and weights lifted which will support weight loss.

If its an hour and you have eaten in the last 2 hours, then you probably dont need anything. See how your workout feels. In contrast if you do run out of energy or havent eaten recently then do try eating some complex carbs before. It sucks to run out of energy. Loads of suggestions on the internet of easy snacks. I always have at least a banana. The other thing you need to do is make sure you hydrate.

sarahf_24

Do what works for you. I personally can't eat anything before I workout as I feel sick during my workout...I feel like there is a brick in my stomach. You however it may not bother and find eating before gives you more energy. Do whatever works best for you!

lacroyx

sarahf_24 wrote: »

Do what works for you. I personally can't eat anything before I workout as I feel sick during my workout...I feel like there is a brick in my stomach. You however it may not bother and find eating before gives you more energy. Do whatever works best for you!

Same here. I have to wait at least 2hrs after eating something otherwise I get sick.

Zoey2120

Thank you for all the replies!

JayRuby84

I love the "do what works for you" motto. I workout in the evening after work during the week. I will sometimes have a small snack before hitting the gym, and protein rich dinner within an hour of lifting weights. Just hit your calorie goal and keep up the excellent workout schedule that you have going. Looks beautiful.

ksy1969

Do what works for you. I personally do IF and I always workout fasted. I usually don't eat for at least 5 hours after my early AM workout. That doesn't work for my wife though. She gets all weak and will even get dizzy later in the morning if she doesn't have some food when she gets home from her early AM workout-.

I know Psulemon mentioned a window to optimize recovery. It is my understanding, for the average person, this is irrelevant. The benefit is so small that it is only noticed by competitive body builders/ or power lifters.

Zoey2120

Oh I didn't mention that I always work out first thing in the morning, 7am. Not sure if that makes any difference. Once again thank you for the replies!

jesswhiting1031

Whatever works for you. I work out at 6 am, 15 min warm up, 30 min lifting and 30 min cardio. I like to have something small on the way to the gym like a banana and then eat breakfast afterwards.

amwoidyla

I've switched most of my workouts to the morning due to the gym being so busy during my regular hours. I always need a little something to fuel my workouts. Today it was half a banana and a smidge of nutella. What I eat after depends on my workout and how I feel.
Just do what works best for you!

Sued0nim

No issue with meal timing but personally I have to take care of what and when I eat pre workout to avoid nausea ...so it will have something light and carby generally an hour or so before and then protein within 30 minutes after

TimothyFish

For short periods of time, it is probably better to eat after and at least 2 hours before, just so you don't have stuff floating around to make you feel sick. But for longer workouts, you need extra glucose in your bloodstream or you won't have enough energy to finish your workout. In which case, you should eat or drink carbs during the workout. You should also eat protein within the first 30 minutes after a workout, to aid with recovery.

allie_00p

Zoey2120 wrote: »

Should I be eating before or after I hit the gym?

Yes.

Zoey2120

Thanks again! I think I would prefer to eat breakfast first. The only reason I wasn't doing so is because I was afraid that it would slow down my weight loss.

questionfear

Just going to echo what everyone else said about doing what feels best. I work out at 5am, and I just cannot eat that early. But I do have a plan in place to eat when I get home, usually premade hardboiled eggs or some granola.