Question! AM Calories Eaten vs. Excercise

schaacker

I wake up in the morning and go outside for a 30 minute walk at about a 3.5 pace. Then I make my morning oatmeal and do my harder cardio workout that burns around 500 calories about an hour later. My questions are:

- Do I need to eat before my walk? (I do drink water)
- Do I need to eat the amount of calories I expect to burn before the walk? And/Or the cardio workout? (I do have a protein shake right after I finish)

Just want to make sure I am not making another mistake - until I joined MFP last week I didn't realize I should be eating extra calories for my workouts and hit a wall. It's frustrating to work so hard and then realize your doing something to block your progress.

Thanks for your help!

Sidesteal

You should focus on hitting your end-of-day goals. Structure the timing of your meals according to your lifestyle.

That being said, nutrition CAN effect your workout performance. I would suggest that you experiment and see how you respond. Some people swear by pre-workout meals and some people train completely fasted. Both are valid and you should see what allows you to work the hardest.

PhilipByrne

You should focus on hitting your end-of-day goals. Structure the timing of your meals according to your lifestyle.

That being said, nutrition CAN effect your workout performance. I would suggest that you experiment and see how you respond. Some people swear by pre-workout meals and some people train completely fasted. Both are valid and you should see what allows you to work the hardest.

This is so good I could have written it.

himiller3

Some people swear by pre-workout meals and some people train completely fasted. Both are valid and you should see what allows you to work the hardest.

Agree completely.

I train 2x a day, my morning workout is completely fasted (I eat within 30 minutes after my workout), my afternoon workout is 2 hours after I eat. This is ideal for me, but maybe not for someone else.

schaacker

Awesome - thanks so much for your help!

kmbrooks15

I have to eat before I work out; I am hypoglycemic and will get the shakes if I don't. However, I don't workout right after I eat either or my stomach gets upset. I try to eat an hour before I work out.

The others are right...just experiment with what works best for you. This is one of those things where there isn't a right or wrong answer; it's more about maximizing what you can do during your workout.