Craving lots of carbs...

rcatr

To Banks - I agree about the veggies! When I strength train, I try to do carrots & hummus as my last snack before dinner 'cause it allows me to get through my strength training and my cardio with enough energy, versus if I were to eat a fruit or something else.

rcatr - Yeah. I always have protein. If I DO eat rice, it's about 1/2 cup with 4 oz. of chicken breast or tilapia. Is that not enough?

So... I've been doing my interval runs for a few weeks now (consistently) and the last few times, I haven't eaten anything before... I'm only out MAXIMUM 30 minutes and I eat almost immediately afterwards. I don't eat before just because I do it in the morning before work and I really can't push myself to wake up 2 hours before just to eat and then sit around for 2 hours to go out... I keep reading articles saying that running on an empty stomach is okay and gives a better fat burn, so long as you're not long distance running or out for a long period of time.

I seem to have more energy and better runs when I have the banana than when I don't but today I just chugged some water before and felt better than on days when I don't have anything in my belly so I may just start trying that. Hopefully I'm correct in assuming this is safe & okay to do.

I've been eating more carbs than before because of the cravings and the cravings aren't as bad as they were before. I'm not going over on carbs (save for days where I go over by no more than maybe 10g) but am getting enough so I think I was just having withdrawals from not eating so many. I'm better about eating more veggies the last couple weeks too so I'm probably getting enough from those as well.

Thanks everyone for your input!

Running on an empty stomach is absolutely okay in my book. I'm not saying that as an authority, but for me it works. If I eat before a run, I get sick. Now, before a long run - anything above 6 miles - if I don't eat anything, I run the risk of losing energy so I eat and then wait a while before I run.
What do you eat after your run? I know it's a 30 min run, but you're running intervals so those are big bursts of energy. Have you considered having a glass of LF milk after your run? Some people swear by a glass of choc milk after a run...and what an awesome treat I don't know if it's the calcium or what, but it's supposed to help.