How long do you wait after eating to workout?

twinmomtwice4

I don't necessarily like to work out first thing in the morning but sometimes that's all my schedule will allow for. I have to eat breakfast in the morning or I cannot function.

I've been waiting about an hour after breakfast to work out....wondering if that's enough time for my food to digest or should I be waiting a little longer?

I also drink hot water with lemon upon waking so I'm hoping that helps get the digestive process going a little sooner than later!

zyxst

I wait at least an hour, but I hate working out on a full stomach.

alyssamiller77

Depends what I ate and how much I ate but typically a good 1.5 - 2 hours is what I need. If I have any food still digesting when I start to work out I can feel it and it makes me sluggish which ruins the whole workout. Generally if I can get a full two hours after a meal I have a good energy peak and its usually a good workout for me.

shrednyc85

Maybe try something small like a granola bar or some light fruit, then you should be able to work out right away or within a few minutes.

3LittleMonkeyMom

I get up and exercise. I can't eat right after. I shower, make a cup of coffee and relax. About an hour or an hour and a half after I exercise I'm HUNGRY.

chivalryder

After eating, it is strongly recommended to wait at least 1 hour before you start working out. 2 hours would be much, much better.

However, if all you're eating is something small and light, you can start working out right away. After all, endurance athletes eat food during the race, and not just energy snacks. Things like sandwiches and the like!

manderson27

An hour at least. But I don't eat a huge breakfast and top up with a protein shake after my work out.

chivalryder

I get up and exercise. I can't eat right after. I shower, make a cup of coffee and relax. About an hour or an hour and a half after I exercise I'm HUNGRY.

You should at least have a glass of milk or something right after your workout. It will give your body something to use to speed up recovery and increase the benefits from the workout itself!

EnergyYesPlease

An hour is perfect, but sometimes I wait a little bit longer if I ate something really filling. Same goes with a lot of water intake, I'd wait an hour after that as well, you'll cramp up if you consume food and water shortly before a workout...

megleo818

I think you have to listen to your own body -- I usually try to eat something small no sooner than half an hour before my workouts.

As an interesting aside, my husband just ran the SF marathon and trained with a coached team beforehand. They taught him that if you're working out for a long time (like running for a couple of hours or more), it's advised to drink every 20 minutes and ALSO to eat a little something about that often. Like a couple bites of a Power Bar or something -- again, whatever works for your body. The thinking is that this keeps your fuel level constant. He said it made a huge difference in his endurance when he followed this advise. He's 46 and finished the marathon in 4.5 hours!

ninerbuff

10 hours.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

MrsKosal

It depends on what I ate. I usually wait about an hour. Or, maybe just eat a protein bar or something small first, and then eat a mid morning snack after the workout.

chaser1977

After eating, it is strongly recommended to wait at least 1 hour before you start working out. 2 hours would be much, much better.

However, if all you're eating is something small and light, you can start working out right away. After all, endurance athletes eat food during the race, and not just energy snacks. Things like sandwiches and the like!

Just curious why it is strongly reccommended. obviously if you dont like working out with a full stomach thats one thing. Is there a biological reason? Reason I ask is that my strength/cardio workouts are at night after dinner, can be anywhere from 30 min to 3 hrs after. I haven't noticed any difference either way.

Berto0391

Normally an hour...really depends on how my body feels.

alpine1994

I don't think it matters, as long as you have enough energy to get through the workout (like you don't feel faint) and you don't feel sick from having a full stomach. I eat 6 small meals during the day so I don't really have to wait a long time after eating to work out, but I like to give it at least an hour just to be safe. When I was eating 3 bigger meals a day, I would have to wait at least 3 hours or I'd feel sick.

josiereside

If I am doing cardio (running) I like it to be close to 2 hours. For weight training I usually weight an hour. I also drink the hot lemon water first thing to "get things going!" Works like a charm, particularly helpful if you have a race scheduled that morning or traveling, etc!

megleo818

10 hours.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Really? You're just going to say something like "10 hours." and list your qualifications without giving any reasoning? You're really saying that if I eat breakfast at 9:00 a.m., I can't work out until 7:00 p.m.? I have to go hungry all day before I'm allowed to exercise? -- That's ludicrous.

josiereside

10 hours.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Really? You're just going to say something like "10 hours." and list your qualifications without giving any reasoning? You're really saying that if I eat breakfast at 9:00 a.m., I can't work out until 7:00 p.m.? I have to go hungry all day before I'm allowed to exercise? -- That's ludicrous.

Yeah, that makes no sense whatsoever... perhaps they meant 1 hour???

Nutrition1st

My response from a similar thread earlier today...

The way the question is worded makes it a trick question. Your pre/post workout dietary needs are night and day different if you are just doing cardio/aerobics or if you doing resistance training. Your body's primary energy source is fatty acids for cardio. If you are going to do resistance, your muscles needs glucose (from carbs) for energy and amino acids (from protein) for strength. The windows 2-3 hours before you workout, and up to 90 minutes after your workout is referred to as your recovery window. I wrote blog that discusses the differences.

RECOVERY WINDOW (Aerobic)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Nutrition1st/view/recovery-window-aerobic-294127

RECOVERY WINDOW (Resistance Training)
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Nutrition1st/view/recovery-window-resistance-training-294124

HTH

MissNations

It depends on what the exercise is. Running--at least an hour. Biking--maybe 20 minutes.

seaKind

have you tried boiled eggs? they are light on the belly, but protein dense for the Energy! for a carb, add 1/2 an apple or banana. I eat this before I teach aerobics on my early morning class. It's easy to grab as I scramble 2 sleepy kids out the door and it's something solid to use, but not so 'thick' as to make me to sluggish to get an effective workout.

thelovelyLIZ

I wait 30 minutes to an hour, depending on what I ate and what's on the agenda. As long as you're not cramping or feeling bad, just do what works for you.

lovespicyfood

So here's an answer that flies in the face of reason!

Sometimes I'll do my 4 1/2 mile run ~ 15 minutes after eating a large dinner. Now mind you, I know this is not recommended AT ALL, but it is what works for me at times. I work during the day and by the time I get home, my wife and daughter are waiting for me to have dinner. Since I'm not a morning workout person, I try to get exercise at night. With added daylight, a quick run is a very efficient for me to burn significant calories. I have a recumbent LifeCycle that I use at times also, but running just feels good and the minimum effort it involves is pretty high, higher than I can naturally push myself on the LIfeCycle...

If one doesn't cramp (which I don't), are there any studies validating this as "good" or "bad" for you?!

Again, I'm not promoting this method, but it's what I have to do sometimes...

xarge

10 hours.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Really? You're just going to say something like "10 hours." and list your qualifications without giving any reasoning? You're really saying that if I eat breakfast at 9:00 a.m., I can't work out until 7:00 p.m.? I have to go hungry all day before I'm allowed to exercise? -- That's ludicrous.

Yeah, that makes no sense whatsoever... perhaps they meant 1 hour???

The question was how long you wait after eating. Not how long you should wait.

ninerbuff

10 hours.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Really? You're just going to say something like "10 hours." and list your qualifications without giving any reasoning? You're really saying that if I eat breakfast at 9:00 a.m., I can't work out until 7:00 p.m.? I have to go hungry all day before I'm allowed to exercise? -- That's ludicrous.

Question was how long do "I" wait? Not you. I work out fasted. I eat at 12:00am, go to sleep, get up at 7:00am, then work out at 10:00am. Not ludicrous. You just didn't realize that I work out in the morning.

A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

sonyachan

I can go pretty quickly if I just have a green smoothie. Anything else, and I have to wait at least an hour.

mercedproperty1617

It all depends on what you ate and how much you ate. So if you keep your meal size down to a moderate size and eat light food. The hour window that your giving yourself between your meal should be fine. But your the only one who can really answer the question, because its your body and should only talk the advise you get from everone as just a guildline. I hope this clear up things for.

megleo818

[/quote] quote
The question was how long you wait after eating. Not how long you should wait.
[/quote] quote

True, she did ask that, but she elaborated to add:

"I've been waiting about an hour after breakfast to work out....wondering if that's enough time for my food to digest or should I be waiting a little longer?"

Just seems to me that someone who takes the time to list a long string of "qualifications" might have better used some of that time to read the entire post and discover the core question before giving a flippant, two-word answer with no backup.

froeschli

I don't necessarily like to work out first thing in the morning but sometimes that's all my schedule will allow for. I have to eat breakfast in the morning or I cannot function.

I've been waiting about an hour after breakfast to work out....wondering if that's enough time for my food to digest or should I be waiting a little longer?

I also drink hot water with lemon upon waking so I'm hoping that helps get the digestive process going a little sooner than later!

if it's not right for you you'll know... sometimes if i don't wait long enough, i just feel sluggish, other times i feel like throwing up. your body will tell you. for me it's 1-2 hours depending on the size/content of the meal...

Jyogi4u

I usually wait between 60-75 mins

Jyogi4u

Again, if its a very light snack then may be 15 mins is fine. But if its a decent meal say a veggie salad then yeah, 60-75.