When to eat when running?

A glass of milk and coffee are my pre-morning run meals. I don't feel it is necessary to eat a meal before your run.

If you believe you should eat something, then I would suggest eating a snack before you go to bed. This was a suggestion given to me by a fellow runner for when I do very early runs.

When I run in the morning, I always run fasted. I cannot eat first thing, and don't see the point in forcing myself to do so.

Over the summer I was running much longer distances (6-11 miles). I would wake up an hour early, eat a Balance Bar, go back to sleep for an hour or so, and then get up to run. I needed the fuel if I was running farther. But right now, I only run about 3 miles (tops) so it's not a big deal.

The point is - do what works for you. I wouldn't mind thinking about food as I ran....it would be good movitvation to keep a decent pace so I could eat sooner!

When I run at 5 AM, I pretty much get up, get dressed, have a few sips of water and head out. I HATE running with anything on my stomach!

If you're not running very far (3 - 4 mi) you probably don't need to eat until after. If you're very concerned, try doing bulletproof coffee.
http://www.bulletproofexec.com/how-to-make-your-coffee-bulletproof-and-your-morning-too/

i can't run with anything in my tummy either.....in the AM i just go and run....if i have to do it in the day (3-4pm) thats a few hours after lunch so im good. Just make sure you eat after (snack or your meal). Everyone is different or even maybe just a banana 15-20 mins before).

happy running!

how far are you running? If it's less than 10-12 miles then there is no real need to eat until after. You need to drink water but not eat. Your glycogen stores will not burn up until 10-12 miles at min.

something funny to share: I always chuckle to myself when people carb up before a 5k...or worse bring snacks along in a wagon for the 1 mile "fun run", yet they're walking. It's hysterical to me.

I struggle to eat first thing too but do find that for me it can make the difference in how I feel during a run and I am better if I have had something. I now tend to have a yogurt and I mix in a tea spoon of oats and some berries and it is light enough for me to get down but gives me enough energy to have a good run too.

I run 5 miles almost every morning before work and always eat after the run. I don't like running with food in my belly. I have plenty of energy to go 5 miles unless I cut the carbs back too low the day before. Best runs I have are when I have oatmeal for dinner the night before. My after-run breakfast is relatively high protein.

I run pretty much every morning, and I too get sick if I eat first thing in the morning.

If I'm going to be on a long run, I bring gels with me. I usually have two gels if I'm running more than 8 miles. If it's a short run, I just bring water. They are easy to keep down.

If you find yourself hitting a wall, a lot of my runner friends who have the same morning issues as I do will eat a banana before heading out the door. I am fatally allergic to bananas, so I haven't tried it, but it works for them.

Protein shakes- I've seen it go both ways. When I do a lot of hard lifting, I'll drink one, but I never use them after a run. I prefer yogurt and a piece of fruit or a vega shake.

anything up to 10k then I can get by on a slice gluten free toast with marmalade with a mug of green tea and a mug of coffee, 10k up to 10 miles and I just take water and nakd bar x

I eat after my run. I have coffee before my run, and eat after. Today I had two oatmeal packets with protein powder mixed in.

I have been wondering about protein shakes? Is it necessary to drink? Do you feel a difference when you drink them? Are they gluten free:)? There are probably so many out there how do you choose which one?

As some other posters have said, it's a personal choice.

Since losing my weight, I've taken up running and have read a fair amount about running and nutrition. There are many studies that show that runners who eat before hand perform better than those who don't (I'm interested in long distance running, not sprints).

When I'm running < 6 miles, I don't worry if I don't get some food on board before I run. If it's longer than 6, I'll take some Gu Chomps and I recently bought honey at CostCo. Honey is not quite as effective as Gu but it's much, much cheaper. For longer than 12 miles, I carry up to 32 oz of homemade "recovery drink" that has glucose, potassium, and sodium.

Keep in mind that we have quite a bit of glycogen in our muscles, bloodstream, and liver. All told, it's about 2k cals worth of glycogen whose sole purpose is to fuel our muscles.

"protein" - never before a run. Protein takes a long time to break down and it provides no benefit for high intensity exercise. After a run, recover with a ratio of 3:1 carbs:protein but that's after a run.

I would really, really suggest that you check out the nutrition section at runnersworld.com They tend to push food (RW is more of a newbie runner site vs the more hard code runningtimes.com) but if you look at, for example, the Sweat Science section, you'll get more of a flavor of "science" vs "dumbed down science" that sometimes creeps into the other sections.

Happy running!

I feel like crap if I eat before running. If I'm going over 10 miles I'll have a tbsp of peanut butter on a piece of bread with a squirt of honey about an hour before I go. Under 10 miles I go totally empty. On long run Sundays I'll make a big breakfast to eat with the family when I get home and showered. Other days I don't eat until after noon regardless of whether or not I ran that morning.

I ran my first half marathon at the beginning of the month. I ate my peanut butter and honey sandwich before I left the house which was about two hours before the race. I ate one GU at about the 8 mile mark. That was it. I had a gatorade and a beer at the finish and then actually ate something about two hours later.

A friend of mine doesn't use GU or anything when he's training but will use them when he's racing. This makes sense to me.