Dinner before working out

mrocks

I work a typical 8-5 job. I have 2 children at home one is 3 (my son) and another who is 8 months (my daughter). My drive is typically an hour so I get home by 6 everyone husband included is starved at that point, so as soon as I walk into the door I have to make dinner for my family. That's 6:00pm - 7:00pm dinner. Then 7:00-8:00 - clean up dinner and spend some time with my kids. 8:00-8:30 is typically the time I put Adriana down for bed. Whenever I'm done our bedtime routine I workout. Which can vary anytime from 8:30-9:30 depending on Logan, some days he just needs more mommy time. Which is fine by me.
Which leads me into my question. By the time I cook and eat a pretty good sized meal, would it be more beneficial for my weight loss to eat 1/2 my dinner before working out and the other 1/2 after? I've contemplated cooking a healthier meal for me and a meal my family would eat but that's a lot of work. And if I do that its usually a salad I'm eating for dinner. I need to lose about 40-50 pounds of lovely baby weight. Every fitness/weight loss magazine I read has a different opinion there seems to be no uniform answer on which is best for you to do when it comes to night working out and eating.
Any one have a good suggestion on what I should eat before and after working out? I do the Insanity workout program.

galgenstrick

doesn't matter for weight loss. eat whenever you want. But you may get an upset stomach or something if working out intensely on a full stomach.

wordyroo

It shouldn't make a difference to your weight loss when you eat. I'd only change things if you feel ill while working out or are ravenous afterward.

Your life sounds just about like mine, only my kids are 4 and 2.

asyouseefit

If your husband is at home earlier than you, maybe he could make dinner so you workout when you get there?

rachpie90

Eat about an hour beforehand and something small. A banana, some oat cakes, a nice smoothie or protein shake (you can have these about half hour beforehand) and carry a snack for after too.

Don't ever do what I did and eat loads of pasta before a long run! Oh my word. Never again.

smcrimmon84

I eat my entire dinner before working out 100% of the time. I work 8-5, get home around 545, and have a husband and 2 young kids who want dinner then. In a perfect world, I could go to the gym straight from work, work out, and then cook dinner but I cant make them (especially the kids) eat dinner at 7-730 pm when their bedtime is 8! So I cook dinner, finish up around 645 (depending on what dinner was and how long it took to prep/cook), my husband handles bad/bed and I go to the gym at 7 or I go after the kids are in bed. Works out fine!

upoffthemat

Sounds like you are working out a couple hours after you eat which isn't horrible. If you are eating enough it is making you feel sluggish or you want something to eat after your workout you may want to save some calories for something light after the workout, but I would think waiting until after the workout to eat anything would be a really long gap between meals.

mrocks

Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.

I_Will_End_You

I almost always work out right after dinner. It doesn't matter, unless it upsets your stomach or something.

wordyroo

Maybe save enough calories for a yogurt or some fruit with peanut butter or some other quiet, quick snack?

acheben

mrocks wrote: »

Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.

You could make a casserole or something over the weekend (or earlier in the week) that your husband can just throw into the oven before you get home.

MarmiteToes

I'm always starving by the time I get home from work, so my first priority is to make dinner and eat. But that's it for the day, whether or not I work out I don't eat anything else. I work out 2-3 weeknights, always after dinner (usually at least an hour later), and never have any issues. I'm usually hungry when I go to bed but that's OK with me. You know your body best, so as long as you're staying within your calories you can eat whenever works for you.

beatyfamily1

How ever it makes you feel go with that. I eat dinner 4:30-5:00pm and workout at about 8:00pm because it makes me feel sluggish if I workout right after I eat.

MostlyWater

I'm also pretty hungry at that time. I work out in the early morning instead.

Debbs83

It doesn't matter when you eat, as long as you stick to you calorie goals. I work out from about 7:00 p.m. to 8:00. and eat dinner after. I go to sleep around 10:30. I have kept off 30 pounds off for the past 5 years and now just losing the 5 pounds I gained back over the holidays.

callsitlikeiseeit

doesnt matter.

if you can work out on a full stomach, go for it.

i take my run usually an hour or 2 after dinner (depending on how much i ate lol). but my morning gym workout i cant have too much on my stomach or ill get sick.

kshama2001

mrocks wrote: »

Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.

Sure, you could save some of your dinner for after your workout. You could also have a quick quiet snack like oatmeal or refrigerator oats that you started ahead of time.

oolou

If you are hungry after your workout and you don't have any calories saved for that time, then saving some of your dinner for eating then would seem to be the best solution.

mrocks

I don't really count my calories. I probably should do that. I eat 3x a day so I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories. I'm trying to break down my meals into smaller meals and more frequent, but I'm so busy at work to do it. Next is to figure out heather dinner options that aren't so heavy. Of course my husband is blessed with a metabolism that I envy. He can eat like a cow and still not gain a pound. I just don't know what is good eat after working out that's not a shake. And I already eat oatmeal or refrigerated oatmeal for breakfast every morning.

lilRicki

I eat supper before I go to the gym, and then have a post workout snack when I get home. As long as my macros are right, it doesn't matter to me when I eat. The problem I have is burping up supper however, especially doing core exercises.

nadler64

Editing to expand, on second thought/reading:

Doesn't matter when you eat; do what works for you. Weight loss is CICO, period. I do recommend that you weigh, measure, and count calories. " I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories." That's a dangerous assumption. Try counting for a couple of days what you actually eat. I know I was in for a shock when I did it, and I thought I ate pretty healthy.

But anyway, all these schedule complications are why I get up at 5:00 am and work out then. Have been doing it since before my kids were born (and they're now 21 and 15). Can you get up earlier and work out first thing?