Eating breakfast before or after you work out?

hausisse
hausisse Posts: 90
in Fitness and Exercise
All my life I've eaten a fairly large breakfast (toast w/ nut butter and fruit w/ non-fat plain Greek yogurt) right before I work out and after I work out I drink a glass of milk or coffee with some milk, then a smaller lunch, and then maybe a snack or nothing at all for dinner. Eating before I work out has never bothered me at all... in fact, if I eat nothing, or even just something small, I find that I get hungry quickly and I'm not so sure that's good.

However, I've gone from 104 lbs last Sunday to 106.8 lbs this morning! Granted, since I injured my achilles tendons I've only been doing pilates/strength training and not so much cardio and I've been pretty sore, but my stomach looks bigger in the mornings... when I press on it it feels like bloat, but I think I may be able to squeeze more fat than I used to. I'm not sure if that's just my imagination, though.

But, er, more to the point: breakfast before or after you work out?

Replies

  • hausisse
    hausisse Posts: 90
    to clarify: my target weight is between 104-105 lbs
  • losbeatlesmolan
    losbeatlesmolan Posts: 29
    I think that ideally you should have something before and after. If you only want to eat once, then have it before hand - your body needs energy for the work out
  • EmmaKarney
    EmmaKarney Posts: 690 Member
    I workout on an empty stomach every time. I have plenty of energy - do whatever works for you.

    If I ate at 6:30am I'd most likely be sick at 7am in the gym.

    I don't eat breakfast until 10:30am. Yes, 4 hours after I wake up.
  • hausisse
    hausisse Posts: 90
    I guess I'm just wondering which would be ideal for weight maintenance, you know? People say to have a small snack first and then eat breakfast afterwards, but it seems like that's mostly because they say they feel sick if they work out after eating a real breakfast. I don't. So what's ideal? :o
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    There's a lot of studies on fasted cardio being very beneficial (search the boards here for a lot of threads on this very topic), but it really depends on how you feel. I work out very early on weekdays, and always drink coffee, but usually only eat half of a granola bar, if anything at all (too much food before just makes me feel sluggish and nauseated). Depending on how hard you workout, everything I've heard and read indicates that you body needs something for recovery shortly after a good hard workout...
  • AshatanViz
    AshatanViz Posts: 34 Member
    You say you've eaten a big breakfast all your life. If that's the case, then I don't think a 2 pound weight gain one week out of your LIFE is due to your normal eating habits. Something else (your energy expenditure) most likely changed.
  • lindak1948
    lindak1948 Posts: 12
    I had have 5 one on one sessions with a trainers. She told me to have some complex carbs (like oatmeal) 1/2 hr before working out. Then within 1/2 hr of workout completion have some protein. Maybe this info can help you?
  • squatsandlipgloss
    squatsandlipgloss Posts: 595 Member
    It really doesn't matter. Eating before has benefits, and working out on an empty stomachs has benefits as well. So do whatever feels right for you.

    I don't plan my meals around my work out. If I don't want to work out early in the morning, I will have breakfast and work out after.
  • allisonmrn
    allisonmrn Posts: 721 Member
    I prefer to workout before eating anything. I feel the fat burning effect is greater that way, and I still have great energy. But what works for me may not work for you. You should try it one way for a couple of weeks and see how well you perform, and then try it for a few weeks the other way and record your performance, energy levels, mood etc. Then compare the two and decide which way is better for you.
  • hausisse
    hausisse Posts: 90
    I worked out without eating too much beforehand this morning... I just had some dried fruit with almond butter and a glass of milk. Still, though, I was really quite hungry! How do you keep it from reducing the effectiveness of your workouts?
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
    I guess I'm just wondering which would be ideal for weight maintenance, you know? People say to have a small snack first and then eat breakfast afterwards, but it seems like that's mostly because they say they feel sick if they work out after eating a real breakfast. I don't. So what's ideal? :o

    Eating at maintneance is how you maintain. Meal frequency is irrelevant to weight maintenance.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    I worked out without eating too much beforehand this morning... I just had some dried fruit with almond butter and a glass of milk. Still, though, I was really quite hungry! How do you keep it from reducing the effectiveness of your workouts?
    Everyone is different. For me, I'm less effective if I eat a big amount of food...it slows me down.

    If eating a good sized breakfast works for you and keeps you moving, stick with it. Its very likely your slight gain has little or nothing to do with whether or not you're eating breakfast. It could just be a hormonal fluctuation, or you weighed in after eating something with high sodium...
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
    Unless you're overeating like mad, worrying about a 2.6 weight gain is insane. Go take a poop and get back to us.
  • fit_grrrl
    fit_grrrl Posts: 32
    weight lifting - eat breakfast and then afterward a shake

    Cardio - Breakfast and shake afterwards because cardio is easy work for me
  • Warchortle
    Warchortle Posts: 2,197 Member
    Food window times don't matter, but I can't do cardio with food in my stomach.
  • hausisse
    hausisse Posts: 90
    Why do you eat before you do strength training and not before you do cardio? Just because it's easier for you? Is there some scientific reason as to why it's more beneficial or does it not matter? You see so many different things on the subject -_-
  • Loftearmen
    Loftearmen Posts: 380
    There's no right or wrong answer to your question. It's a matter of opinion. Also, if you're tripping because you weigh 106lbs instead of 104lbs then maybe you have bigger things to worry about than your meal timing.
  • matt2442
    matt2442 Posts: 1,259 Member
    How tall are you? 104-106 is pretty low. Also just as everyone else says if I'm doing cardio ill drink chocolate and maybe have a banana in the morning. Lifting usually milk, toast with pb, and an apple.
  • acostanx
    acostanx Posts: 5 Member
    I hear different inputs on any subject so it's just a matter of switching it up to see what works for you.
    Up until now I had heard that you HAD to eat something before working out but then just this morning someone else told me their trainer told them that they can burn more on an empty stomach if they workout early in the mornings.

    Who really knows.

    If I don't eat "something" before my cardio. . .I get very lightheaded.

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