to eat before a run or not?

sgarrett333

Do you eat before you run/workout or not? If you do what do you eat and how long do you wait?

hananah89

depends on how I feel. I do my longer (for me anyways) runs on saturday mornings and most of the time don't like to eat anything beforehand. But if I am hungry, I'll have beef jerky or a banana. Anything heavier than that makes my stomach cramp up pretty quickly. But if I'm just doing my weight lifting, which I do after work, I tend to have an apple or Luna bar before leaving work as my afternoon snack.

BrianSharpe

It depends on how far I'm running or the type of workout.

If I'm doing a mid-week 5 or 10km run I'll run fasted first thing in the morning, for longer runs (90 minutes or more) or triathlons I'll eat at least 2 or 3 hours in advance. I don't like running with food in my stomach.

I don't usually eat before rowing (indoor machine) but do before weights.

If I'm riding I can eat almost immediately before heading out.

It's pretty variable and comes down to trial and error for yourself.

ja9smakinachange

As others said it depends, if I'm running first thing in the am I don't generally have time for food to settle before going so I don't eat. If I'm doing an organized race I generally try to eat a banana or oatmeal as soon I wake knowing the race is usually a few hours away.

__Di__

I will eat a banana or sometimes an orange around 45 minutes before a run. If I have eaten a proper meal, I will wait until three or more hours have passed before I run.

guessrs

I don't, I just stay well hydrated with water. My stomach acts up when I have a bite. I run first thing in the morning.

grantdumas7

Before I lift I have a scoop or two of cytocarb mixed with coconut water.

jdm_taco

Almost always lift on empty stomach

Only eat before run if I'm running more than 40 or 45 minutes

victoria4321

Unless you're running over a 10k, you can probably eat after

RunnerInVT

Anything over an hour is a good idea to have something. Gatorade makes a liquid gel which is their pre workout drink. Thinner than a GU its good if you're on your way out and dont want a lot of water. Then ill put a GU in my pocket for mid run just in case. Before a long race ill have toast and PB at home with a cup of coffee, then the gatorade waiting at the start...it goes down smooth but too big for my pocket.

MeganCamm8077

I can usually only handle a piece of toast about a half hour before. I definitely prefer to eat afterward, as long as I don't see it as a "reward"

vivaldirules

TMI Alert!

I gotta poop before I go for a run, so yes. I have a light breakfast (granola, fruit, greek yogurt) and COFFEE! about half an hour before I run (and after I go "number two").

Sorry about that.

rybo

I don't like eating before a run.

Kayden1986

I eat a shake before that's all lol or I get cramps

CyberEd312

I plowed through 4 waffles, a banana, a travel mug of coffee, and a glass of chocolate milk then got my braces on and was out the door and at the park within an hour and got 5 miles in.... I think it is more of a personal preference thing... I like to eat before I workout so that is what I do.... Best of Luck

maQmIgh

God, no, I don't... I was silly enough to eat a small slice of toast last week about an hour before I ran... I had a major stitch and intergestion within 500 yards D-:

I'm not saying, people don't eat before a run... Every body has different requirements... I'm just saying my body and I don't see eye to eye when food and fitness are concerned ;-)

MarieAnneN

I don't, I just stay well hydrated with water. My stomach acts up when I have a bite. I run first thing in the morning.

Same here. Depends on each person, my stomach cannot support and I cramp I have eaten within 2 hours before my run.

But keep in mind nobody is the same, best thing is for you to test it and you'll find out what works the best for you!

sgarrett333

Thanks all. I feel horrible if I eat before I run, but I have no energy to run if I don't eat. I guess I'll stick to early evening runs.

Ninguneado73

I run at 5am, so I don't eat, only drink enough water. However, I eat something the night before.

takumaku

It depends ...

Short runs (under an hour, including warm ups), I eat nothing.

Long runs, I will eat something high gi with very low fiber. Grits is my standard prerun, preworkout meal.

litatura

I can't run on an empty stomach (that's when I get stitches/cramps) so I make sure to have a big glass of water and eat a banana, apple, protein bar, etc. about 30-60 minutes before I run.