Working out before Dinner or after?

According to my trainer friends, it's beneficial to workout up to 2 hours before having a big meal as your body will still be burning more calories than usual from having just been working out. I weight train with a little bit of cardio in the form of HIIT, so this does not apply if you're just doing cardio, as once you're done with burning calories while you're cardio-ing, that's it. Having said that, your body will be burning more after a (weight) workout regardless of what time you consume calories (before or after). I've also been told by my trainer and read through multiple sources that consuming protein no more than 30-40 mins after an intense workout helps your muscles with recovery and provides better results as long as you're killing it in your workouts. So even if I'm eating dinner soon after coming home from the gym, I make sure I eat within those 40 mins (obviously making sure there's protein in my meal) and if not, or even if there is, I sneak in a shake as soon as I can before I have my meal. If you've worked out after dinner (which is what I usually find myself doing because my days are jammed too!), I still make sure I have protein immediately afterward (again, if my workout contains weight training). Hope this helps and good luck with your journey

Used to always workout before Dinner- but the last couple weeks I've had things come up after work and have been eating later because I'd get those things done, workout, and then eat. Don't think it matters? as long as I have the calories- but was thinking about incorporating a protein shake after working out. So- would eat dinner after work, work out a couple hours later, and then protein shake? Or does the protein shake even matter that much- just read a lot of people say that it's a great thing to have protein after working out. Any advise would be great! Thanks

Re: eating and then working out vs working out and then eating: I would base your decision entirely on personal preference and gym performance. In terms of fat loss the differences aren't going to be substantial.

There's not a whole lot of long-term research (that I'm aware of) that compares ONLY nutrient timing while holding all other variables as constant as possible (matched total protein intakes, isocaloric, etc). I do not believe you have any need to rapidly shuttle protein into your body the moment you put the weights down, but that being said, it's certainly not foolish to consume a good portion of your protein somewhere near the training bout.

I have done both. I prefer to workout when I get home. Or if I am making something like baked chicken, I'll put it in the oven and get my workout in while it cooks. But sometimes I have to run errands and can't do that, so i wait about an hour after I eat and then do my exercise.

Whatever works, so long as you are exercising.

I workout before breaking my fast then I workout after eating my last meal of the day but I found that removing meat from the last mean and going with nice helping of brown rice and a ton of mixed veggies until im about to burst does not drag me down or slow my performance even if working out immediately after my meal which I normally do.