Exercise before you eat?

IvaRai

Are you suppose to exercise before you eat or does it not matter?

Kushiel32

I don't really know what is recommended but I have found that eating before exercise makes me feel sick to my stomach so I always eat afterwards. If I workout in the morning I will have a nutragrain bar and drink water about 30 minutes before. But even that can make me feel sick if I use the treadmill. Though I am normally okay on a bike.

cakesmooth

I have a pretty tough stomach. Eating does't phase my jogging at all. I've been running for 19 years and have never felt ill while working out with a full stomach. It's more distracting to me to have a growling stomach on a run or to have side aches from dehydration while I run. But everyone is different I suppose.

stringcheeze

I usually eat afterwards 'cause I work out when I get home at night. If I ate, waited a half an hour, then worked out, I'd be too amped up from the workout to be able to sleep at night.

Just so I don't feel weak or lightheaded during my workout, I usually eat a little something before driving the half hour it takes me to get home.

jeanineadele

If I eat before exercise in the morning I get sick to my stomach. Trick I use: If I get a bad case of the munchies in the afternoon or early evening and it isn't time to eat I go for an hour walk. That makes me forget all about food.

Pete1977

Well, before I answer, I'll admit that what I'm saying is simply what my personal trainer told me. I have no idea if there's any real science behind it or not He says that it is preferrable to exercise before you eat. Reason being, when you first wake up in the morning, your blood sugar is low. When you exercise, your body will burn off all of its supply of blood sugar before it turns to fat stores to burn that as fuel. With little to no blood sugar at your body's disposal, it has no choice but to go directly to fat for its energy. Had you eaten first, then your body will go right to food energy before anything else. The other benefit is that by exercising first, when you do eat afterwards, your metablism is already ramped up, making your body more efficient at processing the food you just ate.

Again, I'm simply repeating what I've been told with no real idea if its true or not... but the argument does make sense to me Hope that helped!

jrich1

You need to eat before you exercise, if you dont you will have no energy to do anything with

dawnsant

I eat before I go workout. Now, I workout at like 7:30pm and I do not want to eat after 7:00. That is the only reason I do it. On Saturdays I workout in the mornings. On that day I do not eat before I go. However, I usually end up with a headache afterwards too.

dawnsant

I eat before I go workout. Now, I workout at like 7:30pm and I do not want to eat after 7:00. That is the only reason I do it. On Saturdays I workout in the mornings. On that day I do not eat before I go. However, I usually end up with a headache afterwards too.

bstamps12

Pete is correct. If you have little to no blood sugar and carbs to provide you energy for your workout, your body turns to stored fat for energy. If you do this repetitively, then even when there are carbs in your system, your body will have been trained to burn fat first instead of carbs. Make sure you remain hydrated so you don't cramp, and if you are absolutely starving when you workout it could lead to dizziness. If you feel dizzy, stop working out for that session and gradually work yourself into working out before your main meals.

flyingspatulas

I have to have something in my stomach before I workout or I feel sick, but I try to keep it simple like a piece of fruit or some other healthy snack. Then, if I'm still hungry after I workout, I eat something a bit more substantial. But like the others have said, a lot of it depends on how your own body feels - see what works for you!