Pre-AM cardio meal/snack - what do you eat?

Will210

I have been doing AM cardio on an empty stomach. This advice is from the Body For Life Book. It is also advised from other sources as well. However, there is a group that says training on an empty stomach is silly and might cause your body to burn muscle mass. The empty stomach crowd says that hey if you work out on an empty stomach you will burn fat especially after a night's sleep. And if you eat food - you will just burn that first before burning fat and waste part of the workout.

Sooo..just curious to see if anyone has a pre-workout meal or snack. Specifically cardio workout. And if that meal would change with steady cardio vs. HIIT training.

I was thinking maybe an apple or some other fruit. Doesn’t seem like that would be too heavy and disrupt the work out.

Appreciate any info including thoughts on the great debate.

Lmezz11

I'm interested in the answers to this too...
Personally, I think having something small would be better than nothing.

DonniesGirl69

I've done the "run on empty" thing, but I find my energy flags pretty quickly and I slow down. Now, if I do an early morning run, I'll have a spoon or two of peanut butter or a GU (carb gel) pack and maybe a cup of coffee for the caffeine kick. Helps me have a faster, more productive run.

camelgirlmn

I always eat at least an hour before I workout. You have to have fuel to burn calories.

Bilbobradshaw

I drink half a cup of almond milk with 1/4 package of a dried meal replacement shake (then drink the rest post- workout), along with a glass of water with lemon and a dash of coconut water. It's enough to give me a little boost and keep me from feeling sluggish during work outs, but not something too heavy so I don't feel weighed down.

ExcelWithMel

I do what you do: work out right when I get up on an empty stomach. I'm usually swimming and burning less than 300 calories and don't feel weak. Then I eat as soon as I get home a good balance of carbs and protein, then a snack mid-morning, and then lunch, etc.

My swim is a HIIT workout. I do a few warm up laps, then 100% down and 50-60% back. Rest 15-30 seconds, repeat for 10-20 laps. Then a few cool down laps.

If I lift first thing (strength training), I do eat something like a piece of fruit, and then protein immediately after. But I usually lift after work.

Colleen_G

I have a protein shake 45-60min before workout. It doesn't matter if it is for cardio or HIIT.

We are advised to have something small, an apple and a tbsp of peanut butter or something of the sort. People get sick at our boot camp if they haven't put something in their belly beforehand. VERY PUKING SICK. But our workouts are beyond intense.

I don't have any scientific backings, but even before working out where I am now, I always tended to feel better, work out longer and stronger when I had a little something beforehand.

Test it out for yourself would be my best advice. See what works for you. Just make sure you have that 45-60 minute window.

MzFury

Yeah, I kind of got beyond that body for life idea, don't think it's the wisest. If it were a 20-minute walk, fine, but for HIIT or similar, you need SOMETHING in the tank. I usually have a latte when I get up with 1/2 cup 1% milk (about 50 cals), 8 oz strong coffee and a teaspoon (20 cals or less) of maple syrup, and a little cinnamon. I can do steady state cardio with just this, no problem. If I'm going to do Insanity or anything more strenuous, early on, I also have like half an energy bar, typically between about 100 and 120 calories, and between about 5 and 10 g protein depending on the bar. Then I work out about half an hour later and don't suffer for energy. The thing, too, to remember is that if you want to work out your BEST, you need some fuel. There may be some evidence to show a higher fat burn for first-thing-fast exercise but it definitely is not the best way to improve your actual fitness and ability, which in the longer run will payoff not only in your body shape of course but also in all the other stuff you really should care about getting out of it...

amandainfanto

Just spoke with a trainer... this is what he said.

If you are working out in the morning you have thirty min before to eat something (a HALF of a banana) and thirty min after to eat as well. This will burn off quickly. After a workout maybe have eggs with ONE piece of toast.

But, eating bananas in the morning are for people who want to gain weight/muscle.. so it's not the best idea if you will not be working out right after. The banana will spike your insuline and when you only eat that, your metabolism will start to slow down because it is on a high.

Hope that helps!

smaschin

If your eating right through the day then you have enough glycogen stored from the previous day to prevent any adverse effects, so working out cardio early AM on empty stomach is fine upto about 45 minutes, if its gonna be longer then have something first like a half bagel and peanut butter or jam, or a banana or something similar.

The fat burn in the morning is true however it takes a while for your body to adjust before metabolising fat for energy and even then takes around 20 mins of exercise before it kicks in.

in short, if 45 mins or less then empty stomach, if longer then something small and sugar based as aoppose to starch based carbs, if real intense workout like i did this morning then eat about 60 to 90 mins before even longer if you can.

For example, yesterday morning i went for a short fast 4 mile run and did it at 5am with nothing before then a good breakfast upon return.

today i got up at 5 and had oatmeal with banana and choc sprinkles, 2 eggs on wholemeal toast and fruit juice, hour later i headed out for a 12 mile run with hills carrying a pack.l.

mndamon

I'm not a fan of working out on an empty stomach. A small half of a turkey sandwich, a protein bar or an apple like you mentioned. Just anything small enough to not drag you down. Like camel mentioned, I prefer having fuel in my system before working out.

sarahrbraun

I HAVE to eat a real breakfast before I go work out--close to 400cal. One day I ate like 200 calories, then went and burned off 400 on the treadmill. I went and sprayed my towel to wipe off my treadmill....and almost passed out!. I started making sure I had about 10g of carbs, and over 300 cal for my breakfast, and it hasn't happened again.

xtine4ever

I find that my workouts quickly run out of steam on an empty stomach, so I always eat a little before I go. I like banana and eggs with salsa.

smilesalot1969

I'm doing intermittent fasting (16/8) so i train on any empty stomach and really dont flag for energy at all. I think like everything its all about finding out what works for you and what suits your lifestyle. Everyone is different and everyones body responds differently. If you feel crappy working out on an empty stomach then eat, if like me you dont then its not a problem

camelgirlmn

I'm doing intermittent fasting (16/8) so i train on any empty stomach and really dont flag for energy at all. I think like everything its all about finding out what works for you and what suits your lifestyle. Everyone is different and everyones body responds differently. If you feel crappy working out on an empty stomach then eat, if like me you dont then its not a problem

True.. Find out what works best for you!

iWaffle

The empty stomach crowd says that hey if you work out on an empty stomach you will burn fat especially after a night's sleep. And if you eat food - you will just burn that first before burning fat and waste part of the workout.

That is correct. When you wake in the morning it's probably been at least 8 hours since you had something to eat. This means your insulin levels are at the lowest point for the entire day. So what is the role of insulin? What does it do? Insulin is the hormone that tells your body to store carbohydrates as fat. It's an energy storage signal. If you wake and then eat something before heading off to do your cardio your body's response to the food intake will be to release insulin which deters fat loss and encourages fat storage. Why would you want to put your body in a fat storage hormone state at the beginning of your cardio routine? That's counter-productive.

Eating also helps replenish your liver energy stores and this is your body's first go-to place to get the energy it needs. If you eat a 500 calorie breakfast before exercising you'll burn through 500 calories (depending on how quickly you exercise right after eating) of the food you just ate before your body finds the need to go to fat cells for energy. This isn't a total wash because you're going to be short those calories if you just burn through them and it will be as if you didn't eat much for breakfast. Still it's a better gamble to go ahead and initially call for fat calories up front when you know you're going to burn through them and your body is in the best fat burning mode of the day. It's possible that some of your breakfast eaten after the fact could be stored as fat but the overall effect (In my humble opinion) is a better scenario and opportunity for burning fat.

I believe that fasted cardio does make a slight difference in the fat burning effect of cardio exercise and over time, day after day, that slight improvement adds up to be a big advantage.

If you're doing strength training in the morning first thing then I would recommend having a little something to eat. A proper strength routine will burn though your glycogen stores and you'll probably be in a fairly low insulin state by the time you start cardio after the strength training.

The best response actually is this:
[

For the lean trying to get very lean (15% body fat or less for men, 22% or less for women), various strategies, including fasted cardio are probably going to be required to offset the mobization and blood flow defects.

But for folks who aren’t that lean yet, the folks in the middle range of body fat levels, it really doesn’t matter. The best time to do cardio will be whenever it will most consistently get done. If that’s first thing in the morning, fantastic. If not, also fantastic. It’s more important in this situation that it gets done than when it gets done.

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-qa.html

befitandfearless

There's a post about that on my blog, check it out for explanations; http://befitandfearless.tumblr.com/post/26310809358

What Not to Eat PRE-Workout
* Citrus
* Fiber
* Dairy
+ Aim for 200cals or less to keep it light on your stomach.

shakew8

Its not a guessing game, its pretty clear but the "bro-science" just wont die. Post sources not your guesses.

plenty of research, some of the more recent..... http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21411835

Eating before a workout raises EPOC for an extended time after.

Will210

Interesting on the ncbi link. A link to another article on the same page seems to support a fasted diet:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15212756

Ingestion of carbohydrate in the hours before or on commencement of exercise reduces the rate of fat oxidation significantly compared with fasted conditions, whereas fasting longer than 6 h optimizes fat oxidation. Fat oxidation rates have been shown to decrease after ingestion of high-fat diets, partly as a result of decreased glycogen stores and partly because of adaptations at the muscle level.

Im_NotPerfect

I get up and run or ride my recumbent stationary bike in the mornings and all I do is roll out of bed, get dressed, take a few sips of water and go. If I'm biking it, I sip the water the whole time, but if I'm running, I don't have anything until I get back. Then I eat a greek yogurt and drink water.

MrsHRogers

All, I can say is how it personally makes me feel. Its a delicate balance. If I don't have anything at all, my energy falls down majorly, I feel a little sick and I honestly can't finish properly. Sometimes if its a long bike ride or hike I will actually have to take a protein bar or something with me to keep going.

On the other end of the spectrum, if I eat too close to working out, or the wrong thing I will get pukey. So that leaves me with eating something about 30 minutes before I workout and usually something fresh and light. An apple and a slice of cheese, a protein bar if I am in a hurry, etc.

AaronG91

People have already pointed out that you will get contrasting opinions/reports of the effects of fasted cardio on fat loss, personally I prefer to eat before as It allows me to push my muscles further rather than just emptying my energy supplies.

However, and unfortunately I don't have a link to a journal, I believe what you heard regarding muscle breakdown for energy when performing fasted cardio is correct, since fat metabolism isn't quick enough to be the only metabolic substrate you will use a combination of glycogen stores and muscle tissue depending on your intensity (this also occurs when you have eaten but the % of energy coming from muscle should be lower)

And with regards to what I eat, something on the lines of 1 scoop of protein, with soya milk, ice and a banana (blended) works for me.


Just found this <excerpt below> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9931180


Our results support the hypothesis that endurance training enhances lipid oxidation in men after a 12-h overnight fast at low relative exercise intensities (22 and 40% VO2 peak). However, a training effect on RER was not apparent at high relative exercise intensities (59 and 75% VO2 peak). Because most athletes train and compete at exercise intensities >40% maximal VO2, they will not oxidize a greater proportion of lipids compared with untrained subjects, regardless of nutritional state.


So by the looks of it unless you are doing very light intensity fasted cardio whether you eat or not will not change fat loss. However, it doesn't investigate muscle wastage but with that in mind you may well be better off eating before.

taylor5877

I usually eat nada. I just run around my neighborhood in the morning so breakfast immediately follows my run though. Some of you may be going somewhere for your cardio.

peachyxoxoxo

Fyi people you can't just cite one study and say "here's the evidence, so I know it's true." There is a lot of contrasting research on this subject. I actually wrote a paper on this very topic for my metabolism class last year, and my final say was that there is no conclusive call on whether or not it's better to eat or exercise in a fasted state.

Personally I work out in the morning without eating anything, but only because I work out at 5:30 a.m. and I'm not going to make myself get up any earlier than that to have a snack. If I work out later in the day I'll probably eat something first.

jenr

I get up at 4:30 AM to do my exercise before work. This usually consists of either a cardio routine (Turbo Fire / Insanity) or strength training (P90X), sometimes one of each. :-) I don't have the time to eat before my workout and wait 1/2 an hour, and I find it hard to work out after eating (I always feel weighed down in the middle), so I eat as soon as I am done my workout.