Eating before a workout?
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maddduo
Posts: 10 Member
Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
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Replies
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You do not have to eat before a workout (unless you find it genuinely helps you feel better, some people do).
You do not have to fast before a workout (unless you find it genuinely helps you feel better, some people do).
I find that if my workout is under 1.5-2 hours, I'm fine doing it fasted. Anything longer and I like to have something light to eat. This is just what works best for me.3 -
The pre and post mini-meals? Pre/post. Carbs and fat, fat and protein, protein and carbs. Athletes and pros may need the pre/post and mini but I don't need any of those. Our mileage may always vary. I remember a time when those with functional muscles worked hard for a living and didn't have to overthink it. They enjoyed their meals and everything still fell into place. Beautiful muscles.1
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Neither is correct!
Your trainer is a clown and should know better.
Using muscles for fuel would be a last resort in a starvation situation. You have loads of glycogen and fat onboard already and it's those fuels your body uses.
Now if you are exercising intensely fasted for a long duration (2+ hours typically ) you can run through your glycogen reserves but then your exercise stops as you have "bonked" / "hit the wall" and you will need to stop.
Your friend is also ignorant about how bodies work.
You are using fat for fuel all the time, when you are sleeping, when you are sitting at your computer, when you are exercising - it doesn't need special nurturing and you don't burn it first. You are 99.9% of the time using a blend of both fat and carb for fuel in a ratio primarily related to your intensity level. It's simply something you don't need to concern yourself about unless you are into endurance cardio.
You lose bodyfat because you are in a calorie deficit over a period of time - it's as simple as that, no forcing required, no fussing about what fuels you use during exercise.13 -
^^^This.
I was just thinking about military bootcamp and training. There's no foofoo anything for those folks, either.2 -
Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
Neither is correct...your body doesn't use muscle as a primary source of fuel save for very extreme circumstances...ie, your body is actually starved of both body fat and calories.
Training in a fasted state will typically result in using more fat for fuel...but when people talk about this, they neglect the part where you are constantly going through the process of storing and burning fat...the net effect of burning more fat for fuel during a fasted workout is negated by the fact that once you eat, your body will again start storing fat...ultimately, your net fat loss is going to be dictated by your calorie deficit, not working out fasted or not fasted.
Fasted training has it's benefits for endurance athletes where performance is concerned, because it trains the body to use fat for fuel more efficiently and effectively...but it really has no bearing on net fat loss.
In reality, you are constantly cycling through using glycogen stores and body fat for energy most of the time.
Eat well...train...take in appropriate energy (calories) to meet both your fitness goals and weight management goals, and don't over-complicate that which is not complicated.6 -
Now that I'm eating in a caloric defecit, I have a protein shake about an hour before my workout. Then I have a fig bar on my way to the gym. If I don't, I feel hungry and don't perform as well.3
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cwolfman13 wrote: »Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
Neither is correct...your body doesn't use muscle as a primary source of fuel save for very extreme circumstances...ie, your body is actually starved of both body fat and calories.
Training in a fasted state will typically result in using more fat for fuel...but when people talk about this, they neglect the part where you are constantly going through the process of storing and burning fat...the net effect of burning more fat for fuel during a fasted workout is negated by the fact that once you eat, your body will again start storing fat...ultimately, your net fat loss is going to be dictated by your calorie deficit, not working out fasted or not fasted.
Fasted training has it's benefits for endurance athletes where performance is concerned, because it trains the body to use fat for fuel more efficiently and effectively...but it really has no bearing on net fat loss.
In reality, you are constantly cycling through using glycogen stores and body fat for energy most of the time.
Eat well...train...take in appropriate energy (calories) to meet both your fitness goals and weight management goals, and don't over-complicate that which is not complicated.
Thank you. This was really helpful.0 -
So, while you can choose to eat/not eat before a workout, it will depend on your goals a little bit.
If trying to build muscle, generally food before exercising will provide energy to push harder and get better muscle activation. Proper macros (particularly protein) especially post workout are important as well. If you have enough energy without eating beforehand (I usually do not) then it’s less important, but you would still want the protein afterwards (like a good quality protein shake. I use optimum nutrition whey).
If your primary goal is losing weight and your workout is primarily to burn calories, then do whatever you are most comfortable with. If I’m just doing cardio, I usually don’t eat before hand and will have like a yogurt or something small afterwards.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
Neither is correct...your body doesn't use muscle as a primary source of fuel save for very extreme circumstances...ie, your body is actually starved of both body fat and calories.
Training in a fasted state will typically result in using more fat for fuel...but when people talk about this, they neglect the part where you are constantly going through the process of storing and burning fat...the net effect of burning more fat for fuel during a fasted workout is negated by the fact that once you eat, your body will again start storing fat...ultimately, your net fat loss is going to be dictated by your calorie deficit, not working out fasted or not fasted.
Fasted training has it's benefits for endurance athletes where performance is concerned, because it trains the body to use fat for fuel more efficiently and effectively...but it really has no bearing on net fat loss.
In reality, you are constantly cycling through using glycogen stores and body fat for energy most of the time.
Eat well...train...take in appropriate energy (calories) to meet both your fitness goals and weight management goals, and don't over-complicate that which is not complicated.
Technically, you fast every night/morning. Hence, the first meal of the day is breakfast, because you are breaking your fast.0 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
Neither is correct...your body doesn't use muscle as a primary source of fuel save for very extreme circumstances...ie, your body is actually starved of both body fat and calories.
Training in a fasted state will typically result in using more fat for fuel...but when people talk about this, they neglect the part where you are constantly going through the process of storing and burning fat...the net effect of burning more fat for fuel during a fasted workout is negated by the fact that once you eat, your body will again start storing fat...ultimately, your net fat loss is going to be dictated by your calorie deficit, not working out fasted or not fasted.
Fasted training has it's benefits for endurance athletes where performance is concerned, because it trains the body to use fat for fuel more efficiently and effectively...but it really has no bearing on net fat loss.
In reality, you are constantly cycling through using glycogen stores and body fat for energy most of the time.
Eat well...train...take in appropriate energy (calories) to meet both your fitness goals and weight management goals, and don't over-complicate that which is not complicated.
Technically, you fast every night/morning. Hence, the first meal of the day is breakfast, because you are breaking your fast.
This got me thinking. Just out of curiosity. What length of time would be considered a fast. Hours, minutes? Any second I don't have food in my hand?
If I don't eat from breakfast until lunch (let's say 3-4 hours), is that a fast? What if I eat every 2 hours all day and all night? Would those small breaks be considered fasts? 2 -
cwolfman13 wrote: »Years ago a trainer at the gym told me to always eat before a workout, because otherwise your body get's it's fuel from muscles and you can lose muscle. A friend told me about something called mini fasting and the article I read says not to eat before or after working out because your body will burn fat first. Does anyone know which is correct? Don't really care about the mini fasting, just the burning of muscle or fat. Thanks, Lynne
Neither is correct...your body doesn't use muscle as a primary source of fuel save for very extreme circumstances...ie, your body is actually starved of both body fat and calories.
Training in a fasted state will typically result in using more fat for fuel...but when people talk about this, they neglect the part where you are constantly going through the process of storing and burning fat...the net effect of burning more fat for fuel during a fasted workout is negated by the fact that once you eat, your body will again start storing fat...ultimately, your net fat loss is going to be dictated by your calorie deficit, not working out fasted or not fasted.
Fasted training has it's benefits for endurance athletes where performance is concerned, because it trains the body to use fat for fuel more efficiently and effectively...but it really has no bearing on net fat loss.
In reality, you are constantly cycling through using glycogen stores and body fat for energy most of the time.
Eat well...train...take in appropriate energy (calories) to meet both your fitness goals and weight management goals, and don't over-complicate that which is not complicated.
Technically, you fast every night/morning. Hence, the first meal of the day is breakfast, because you are breaking your fast.
This got me thinking. Just out of curiosity. What length of time would be considered a fast. Hours, minutes? Any second I don't have food in my hand? If I don't eat from breakfast until lunch (let's say 3-4 hours), is that a fast? What if I eat every 2 hours all day and all night? Would those small breaks be considered fasts?
I have seen 8-12 hours.0 -
Might want to define what workout is for you.
I wouldn't be concerned about burning muscle or fat unless we are talking endurance training and more on the ultra side of endurance training at that.
If workout means strength training and we are speaking of breakfast, I suggest you eat something easily digestible that will give you energy and help with MPS as part of a well balanced nutrition plan. Think maybe whey, steel rolled oats, banana, etc...
If work0ut means running 10k. Well I defer to the athlete's preference and most more seasoned runners might prefer to run fasted or on something like gummy bears.1 -
Don't eat a pound of chicken Parmesan before deadlifting. Trust me on this.5
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I have learned a decent balance - eat lightly and make sure to drink in advance. I have had workouts where I was nauseous and I have had others where I got dizzy/light-headed/faint (once I even had to stop and sit down). So you don't want to err to either side. And then more hydration and protein afterwards.0
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You can either eat or not eat before a workout - I don't think it really makes much of a difference other than affecting how you personally feel during the workout
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I am not a coach, but just a beginner but my coach always tells me to eat after training but only on the condition that 30 minutes pass.0
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I am not a coach, but just a beginner but my coach always tells me to eat after training but only on the condition that 30 minutes pass at least. Because you need to help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein within the best two hours of your exercise session if possible. Good post-workout food choices include:
-Yogurt and fruit;
-Peanut butter sandwich;
-Low-fat chocolate milk and pretzels;
-Post-workout recovery smoothie;
-Turkey on whole-grain bread with vegetables;
Success!
_____________________________
https://paradigmpeptides.com/product-category/sarms/0 -
if your goal is weight loss, never eat because you have to, keep it simple, if it's dinner time and you are not hungry, don't eat, also don't eat before a workout just because your trainer told you to, and don't think daily, daily, daily, think bigger picture, skipping dinner may not jive with some on here, but think about that extra slice of pizza or two you will have on Saturday night now you can and not go over your calorie baseline for the week for example, and this is advice for overweight folks not for peak athletes obviously, think how many times you've overate, well undereat0
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JaneSpringer3xa wrote: »I am not a coach, but just a beginner but my coach always tells me to eat after training but only on the condition that 30 minutes pass at least. Because you need to help your muscles recover and to replace their glycogen stores, eat a meal that contains both carbohydrates and protein within the best two hours of your exercise session if possible. Good post-workout food choices include:
-Yogurt and fruit;
-Peanut butter sandwich;
-Low-fat chocolate milk and pretzels;
-Post-workout recovery smoothie;
-Turkey on whole-grain bread with vegetables;
Success!
_____________________________
https://paradigmpeptides.com/product-category/sarms/
For beginners, this type of workout meal coordinator isn't necessary (barring specific medical needs, of course). You simply won't be depleting your glycogen stores. That said, if you WANT to eat something after a workout, there's no reason not to.0
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