Morning exercise before breakfast.

witchy_wife

How bad for you is it?

I work full time, I leave the house at 7am and arrive home at about 5.30pm. I have two young children so have a busy few hours once home from work, making dinner, eating dinner, getting kids bathed and to bed and then cleaning up. The absolute last thing I feel like doing come 8.30pm when all that is done is start exercising. I’m a morning person, not a night person. I’ve tried exercising at night and I usually don’t feel like I have anywhere near enough energy for a decent work out. It also wakes me up which isn’t good as I usually go to bed around 10pm.

I have recently bought a treadmill as I have quite a bit of weight to lose and so many people have recommended jogging / running to me as one of the best exercises to help with this. I am fairly unfit but have started the couch to 5k program.

So the only real time I can do my exercise is before the kids are up in the morning. I have no problem setting my alarm for 5am, it’s only 45 minutes earlier than I am normally up. I generally feel quite energetic and lively on a morning (yes I am one of those annoying happy morning people lol). And it isn’t that I can’t face breakfast first thing, but I just won’t have enough time to digest something before getting on the treadmill.

I’ve seen various sites online, some say it’s good for you and good for burning fat. Others say it will end up with you burning muscle for energy which I need to avoid. I have PLENTY of fat to burn lol.

Can anyone offer any advise at all please? I know that if I try and fit it in to other times of day I will end up not doing it, but don’t want to do myself more harm than good in the long run.

soccermom004

I've been using this site for over a year and a half. I've lost over 40 pounds and kept if off for over a year now. My schedule is similar to yours and I used it as an excuse not to exercise for years. I started getting up between 5-5:30 to either do an exercise dvd or walk and now I actually run. I seldom if ever eat breakfast before I exercise. I either eat an eat white/laughing cow cheese sandwich in the car on the way to work or ea something at my dest when I get there. Have never had a problem from exercising before I eat. You have to do what works for you. Good luck!

jfscottie

My wife and I have been a morning exerciser for years. She usually grabs 1/2 a power bar and I go without eating. I find I have plenty of energy and usually have great workouts. Don't get too wrapped up in the fat vs. muscle, eat before, after discussion. It turns out that those types of issues are secondary to your primary weight loss activity.

We both know that exercising is great for cardio-vascular improvement and for feeling overall better about how your body "feels" -- it's a must have for your well being and I recommend you make it a part of your everyday life.

However, don't see it as the weight loss panacea that some claim it to be. Do some research and you will find that the major contributor to any weight loss program is controlling your calories. Your body will naturally burn about 3 to 4 times more calories daily than the calories you burn from a workout. This means that as long as you get up in the morning, and move around, you can expect a good calorie burn. In my case, I burn about 2000 calories a day without any workouts. My workouts vary between 0 (off days) and 500 ~ 700 calories per day. If I workout 4 times a week I can burn between 2000 and 2800 calories. However, my body will naturally burn about 14,000 calories for the week so my workouts contribute a maximum of 14% of my total calorie burn -- not a significant amount.

That's not to say that it doesn't help. You will discover that a good workout allows you to indulge a little bit more on foods without missing your daily target.

So, be militant about your calorie counting and add exercise to make yourself feel better. Don't worry too much about the subtleties of fat vs. muscle burns at this state. When you are training for you first ironman, you can focus on those details.

Good luck!

babymamahowell

My story is similar to yours. Two young children at home and my husband is gone on average two nights a week, so exercising in the evening was just not for me. By the time I get the kids to bed I am tired too! My husband and I are both up at 4:30 to exercise and I have never ate breakfast before I get on our treadmill. I typically will have oatmeal and coffee when I get to work. I find that i don't feel as hungry after I work out and I have been successful doing it this way so far.
Good Luck!

CarsonRuns

You don't need to eat before you workout. You won't burn muscle if you don't.

witchy_wife

Thank you all for your replies! This has really reassured me that I am not doing myself too much harm and can keep up with my exercise.

muddyventures

Personally I hate eating before I run (morning workouts)...but I DO have a glass of water and a cup of coffee before I run! I actually don't like to run unless I've had 2 hours after a meal (snack is different), I seem to always deal with tummy issues if I do.

deb3129

I have been exercising first thing in the morning before eating or drinking for quite a while now, and so far have not noticed any adverse effects. There are some days when I get really thirsty before I am done, but so far I have done okay. I also work full time, have 4 kids that are involved in a ton of activities, and have to fit exercise in wherever I can to make this work.

witchy_wife

Thanks for your comments. I do usually have a big glass of water before starting and a bottle to keep me going as I do it but just can't squeeze in breakfast with enough time for it to settle before hitting the treadmill.