To Eat or Not to Eat Before a Workout??

quiksylver296

I'm at the gym at 4:30 a.m. No way I could eat that early. Blech.

LeslieChia1111

I worked with a personal trainer who told me a cup of black coffee before a workout was the best for energy and fat burn. I have been doing that for years and it works for me.

11Templars

As many have pointed out, it's an individual preference, I guess it boils down to what some of your goals are.

I myself do fasted cardio when "cutting" and eat 2-3 hours before lifting, except on weekends, when I do fasted cardio and lifting. Not going to lie though. Fasted lifting isn't supper fun. But again, only when cutting, and only 2 days a week. Otherwise, I always eat 2-3 hours before doing cardio or Lifting.

springlering62

At some point someone told me not to eat more than two hours before a yoga class. Power of suggestion, maybe, but I get queasy if I don’t have at least an hour to digest, esp if it’s a hot class. So I usually have a smoothie at 7 am, walk for an hour, and then hit a class or two. I come home rarin’ to eat lunch, though!

Danp

In my experience anything with a duration of less than 1 hour doesn't really matter much so comes down to personal preference and how you feel. I've had people tell me that can't stand working out if they've had something to eat so go fasted and others who say they feel uncomfortable exercising on an empty stomach so will have something light.

If the session is getting up to over the 1 hour mark that's when I think you need to start thinking about how you're going to fuel your workout but that takes a little more planning than just an eat/don't eat decision.

AmyBethTN

I do not eat before my 8am workouts. I grab my preworkout drink and sip on it while I play Mom Taxi and drop the kids off at school. Normally I don’t eat until I am done working out. If I am unusually hungry before I will grab a banana or some toast with pb.

lalalacroix

If my workout is a short run followed by lifting then I don't really need to eat.

When I'm going on a 6-8 hour hike I'm certain to eat. I'll usually have overnight oats plus oj. That combo gives me tons of energy. I'll also have several snacks on the trail.

xxzenabxx

Cardio or light walking- fasted. Strength training I eat a medium sized meal 2 hours before. I can normally lift on a mildly full stomach.