eating before exercising???

timanda2

Just wanted some thoughts on my dilemma. I have two kids, so I get up very early to exercise before they wake up. I never eat breakfast before I exercise because it is so early and I have no desire to eat at that time. However, I had just read that you should eat something small before exercising....Is it harmful to exercise on an empty stomach? Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcomed!

AleciaMarie21

I usually have my skinny bagel and peanut butter and a bottle of water before I exercise. Gives me the energy to get through it I think. I tried it once without eating first..bad idea. I was SO light-headed.

TristaVan

I am in the same boat...I would like to hear what everyone else has to say too.

GingerDarlene

I dont think it is harmful; unless you feel you need it to get you through your workout. I've always read that it is best to eat afterward b/c your body is still burning calories after you workout, to help burn what you eat after your workout.

luv2ash

I think any trainer is going to tell you to eat a carb/protein balance before a workout; however, as in your case it is not possible. could you eat just a portion of your bfast before you work out. Its just fuel for body that it needs to have for a good workout.

skinnyme125

I always thought that if you ate before exercising you would get cramps. So I wouldn't eat much, maybe a slice of toast and a small glass of orange juice or something. Then have a nice omelet after or something.

iheartmemories

I don't think it is harmful... I can't workout on an empty stomach or else I can't keep up. My endurance goes downhill.

I would drink a glass of milk before starting.

bigpoppasweets

I think it depends on the exercises you are doing. If it's aerobic, you should be fine.

eamartin

I don't rcmd it but thats from expierence. I get very light headed and sick to my stomach.

scagneti

I exercise before breakfast. I know some people swear by it (burn your fat instead of food you just consumed) but I do it because I feel ill if I work out on a full stomach and I don't have two hours to make breakfast, eat and let it settle before I start getting ready for work. I was really hungry one morning though and I had a handful of almonds half way through my workout just because I was getting distracted by hunger pains.

NMorse1907

I don't eat before working out in the morning unless I've been up for awhile and am starting to get hungry. I'm usually up about an hour when I work out and I'm not hungry that early in the morning....My doctor told me when you workout after eating (breakfest or even working out at night) your body burns the fat of the food you just ate instead of what's already on your body...

jengbloom

I always exercise after breakfast as I too get light headed. Checking by blood sugar and it gets too low if I don't eat before I exercise.

cahira

When I was training for the 3-Day we would do 6-15 mile walks at the crack of dawn. I didn't like eating a full breakfast that early. So I would have a handful of almonds with some chocolate chips and/or craisins. It always gave me plenty of energy, but never made me feel full or sick.

bgodw002

You should definitely eat before exercising if not you break down muscle instead of buring fat...because your body goes into save mode from being "starved" overnight.


Eat Before Exercise?
Saturday, November 10, 2007Tara Gidus, MS, RD, CSSD, LD/N

I have heard it way too often lately…."My trainer (or someone else) told me not to eat before I exercise in the morning because I will burn more fat if I exercise on an empty stomach." This is simply not true! In fact, the opposite is true. You should eat before you work out to lose weight.

When you wake up from overnight, your glycogen stores (carb stores) are pretty low. It seems logical that since your glycogen is low that you should then use fat for energy if you go and work out. If only it were that easy we would not have the epidemic of obesity that we have! Instead of your body using stored fat to fuel your workout, your body decides to use muscle instead of fat. It wants to hang on to fat, just like you like to hang on to your savings account. Your body treats your fat stores like savings and does not like to have to use them.


In addition, whenever you put your body into significant low energy, it thinks it is starving and that just teaches the body to go into survival mode and hang on to fat. Not only will you store fat, but you also won’t get a good workout. If you have ever hit the wall or felt really low on energy during a workout, it is very likely due to improper fueling before you worked out.

If you are exercising first thing in the morning, I don’t expect you to eat a large amount. Just a small pre-workout snack is enough to tell the body that it has some fuel coming in. As long as the body knows that you are giving it some fuel to work with, it will respond with burning small amounts of body fat. However, it is when the deficit is large (no food after overnight fast) that it will conserve fat storage. Even eating 100-200 calories will do the trick.


If you are not exercising in the morning, but rather at lunchtime or after work, have a small snack before your workout if it has been more than 3 hours since your last meal or snack. Again, a 100-200 calorie snack should be plenty to get you through that workout. Follow the workout with your next meal within an hour or with a snack if it will be longer than that until the next meal.


You will actually lose more body fat and perform better if you eat before working out. If you are still skeptical, give it a try for a few weeks and let me know how it goes!



Read more: http://www.healthline.com/blogs/diet_nutrition/2007/11/eat-before-exercise.html#ixzz1DNqZxn1F
Healthline.com - Connect to Better Health

msemejuru

I exercise before breakfast as well. I make sure I drink water as soon as I get up before dressing etc. As long as I'm hydrated, I workout fine and can keep up.

scha4r

Not eating before exercising can put an extra strain on your body and it will not workout so efficiently. Grabbing something (a banana is VERY easy to digest) before you workout is probably best. Ease your stomach into it, sometimes going from eating nothing to eating a lot before working out can actually make you feel sick.

Try something simple (banana) and then maybe add some carbs. Thomas Light English Muffins with Natural Peanut Butter is healthy plus it gives you energy for the workout. Hope this helps!

astorey0127

My husband is a former bodybuilder, and he has always told me that it's way better to work out on an empty stomach because instead of burning out the calories you would have consumed for breakfast, your actually digging into your fat reserve and burning the fat faster than you would if you ate something beforehand. I hope this helps you! I've just started this up again and am trying to work out in the mornings! It's so hard!

SoFancySoBlessed

I USUALLY EXERCISE ABOUT 5 AM (BEFORE MY BOYS WAKE UP) AND I FOUND THAT IT HELPS TO EAT SOMETHING LIKE A PIECE OF TOAST W/ PEANUT BUTTER OR A BOWL OF MULTIGRAIN CHERRIOS BEFORE I START!!! FIRST OF ALL IT HELPS ME WAKE UP ALL THE WAY, SECOND I DONT FEEL LIKE I AM STARVING HALF WAY THROUGH MY WORK OUT....I SAY EAT LIGHT AND LOTS OF WATER!

jerikamarie123

I have been told that eating something small before working out helps jump start calorie burn, then eating something afterward keeps the calorie burning going. I usually do a carb before and 8oz of water. I feel less light headed during my workouts, and not to mention less hungry after burning lots of calories too...

Hope that helps!!!
Good Luck!

kvsweatt

You will probably get lots of responses to your question, and just remember everyone is different! All I can tell you is what works for me. I HAVE to eat something before I work out, if not I get sick to my stomach, light headed and usually end up quitting half way through. Sometimes work requires me to work out in the am. When I do I try and have something small like a small banana, or half a bagel with some peanut butter or almond butter, or I have a 1/2 of granola bar (the ones that come two in a pack). I eat then wait about 30 mins doing things like checking my email, going through the mail / bills or getting lunch ready. Before you know it 30 mins is up and I can work out. Now the intensity and length of my workouts dictate how much I eat prior. If I'm doing a 45-60 min class then I'm eating double what I would above, but waiting twice as long to start (1 hr compared to 30 min.). This way my body has a good fuel source to work off and keep me going. I DO NOT recommend working out on an empty stomach! Some people think that if they do this the body immediately turns to the fat cells for fuel, from my schooling and what I read is that body will go for protein then fat. Hope this helps....K

wishy1612

HI ! When i was a bodybuilder i trained at 6 oclock in the morning and always had a black coffee before a cardio session,it seemed to give me a boost.Afterwards i then had a meal with protein of some sort in it.

adenham18

I have a friend who is going to school for sports medicine, and he is very knowledgeable about this stuff. He told me to have protein before a workout. I don't know if it matters where it comes from, but i find it easy to have some water with a special k protein snack bar. Then after my workout, I usually eat my regular breakfast, egg white omelet or oatmeal. I hope this helps you:)

RGonVSH

I don't think it is harmful unless you are feeling weak or dizzy before you complete your workout. My doctor, however, told me to eat a banana with a tablespoon of almond (or peanut or walnut) butter before exercising early in the morning. Of course, at the time, I was starting with a 4 mile walk in the morning, so I guess it may depend on what your workout is.

Finallyhappy03

I really think this is a personal preference based on what your particular needs. I drink a 3-4 oz glass of orange juice before my workouts in the morning. It's worked for me but may not be for everyone.

hazelware

As a sports nutritionist i always encourage my clients to eat a small meal before exercise, even first thing.

This could be a banana, a yoghurt, piece of toast, maybe with some peanut butter (no butter though). this meal will fire up your metabolism and put some petrol in your tank. Whatever you ate the night before will have been mostly used up by your normal body functions. i.e. respiratory system, hormone balance, digestive system etc.

I guarantee you will get more out of your workout if you have something small.

Good Luck

H

kwardklinck

I would say only eat before exercising if you're hungry. Otherwise, do your workout, take your shower, then eat your breakfast. When I ran, I would do it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I would get stomach cramps if I had too much in my belly so this worked for me. Just do what works for you. Don't worry about what other people say.