eating before or after morning workout?

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mdouhan
mdouhan Posts: 22 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey

Are there any major drawbacks or benefits to eat before or after a morning workout session.

I tend to favour eating afterwards before I have started a habit of working out before work starts and if I want to eat before that it gets to be really early, so i workout and then eat and then start my working day

after working out for an hour or so I eat a large breakfast, around 12 I eat a failry normal lunch and around 3 a top u of fruit or similar and a small salad for dinner around 6.30

Works for me but I am wonering about the breakfast part a lot.

rgds

M

Replies

  • hooah_mj
    hooah_mj Posts: 1,004 Member
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    If I eat, even a little something, before an a.m. workout, I put out a much better workout...

    I always replenish my protein w/in 30 minutes of a major workout.
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    This came from my daughter who is on Team USA she is a weight lifter she said So your body will have the energy it needs to work out. You can't drive a car with no gas. She says its the same thing.
  • nakrya
    nakrya Posts: 191
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    I think it depends on the person.

    I work out most days after work and on Saturdays I do a morning workout, and I always eat before as it gives me that energy boost. Then I have my protein snack afterwards, and then within the next hour or two a good lunch.
  • Bleux
    Bleux Posts: 186
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    You really should eat a little something, even if it is on the way to the gym in the morning before your workout. Your body needs something to burn so it doesn't go into starvation mode or start burning your muscle.
  • perrim
    perrim Posts: 117
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    I agree that it depends on the person, however, on the weekends when I work out in the mornings, I NEVER eat beforehand. It makes me too queasy for my workout and the few times I have done it, I always have a much worse workout because I would get stomach cramps and be burpy. And when I work out in the afternoons, I have to have eaten at least 1-2 hours beforehand. Same thing happens if I eat within an hour of exercising.

    I had a nutritionist once tell me that for some people, you actually burn more fat if you work out in the mornings on an empty stomach because your body is still in fasting/cleansing mode. Not sure what hard evidence is out there to prove that, but it seems to be the case with me!
  • beeks
    beeks Posts: 7 Member
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    everything that I have read has said that if you are able to, working out before eating is best... it burns more calories throughout the rest of the day then if you eat breakfast before exercising. However some people need to eat before they exercise otherwise they feel sick, if that is then eat before.
  • beeks
    beeks Posts: 7 Member
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    everything that I have read has said that if you are able to, working out before eating is best... it burns more calories throughout the rest of the day then if you eat breakfast before exercising. However some people need to eat before they exercise otherwise they feel sick, if that is the case for you then eat before. I guess it all depends on the person.
  • rbc_racing
    rbc_racing Posts: 31 Member
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    A lot of good info on this link

    http://www.muscleandfitness.com/muscle_supplement_breakfast/nutrition/176
  • xoxsandee
    xoxsandee Posts: 14
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    It depends on the workout as well.
    A few years ago, I went to the gym without anything in my stomach. My plan was to do weights and then cardio.
    I wasn't even half way done my weight training and I felt so sick, I had to sit down. I felt so dizzy and almost fainted. I literally sat in the change room for 20 mins and finally got up and drove home (luckily I live really close to the gym). After that, I learned to EAT before working out.
    I think I would have felt sick even if I was just planning to do cardio without food.
    I guess it does depend on the person, since I know some people can workout without food. But in my opinion, I do not think the work outs would be as good without food because you need it for energy!
  • mzmoonlight
    mzmoonlight Posts: 160
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    You should definitely eat some carbs before working out, this is because when working out (doing cardio) your body uses energy from your glucose stores and if there is none available will turn to your muscles (so you effectively lose muscle not fat). The way I get around this if I dont eat before a workout is to have a glucose tablet or two. You dont have to eat a big meal before working out (that wouldnt be good) but a banana would be enough. You should always take in protein after a workout too (if you've been weight training) to help repair the muscles and reduce your recovery period.
  • kwardklinck
    kwardklinck Posts: 1,601
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    I guess it depends on the work out. If I try to run on an empty stomach, I'm totally spent afterwards. On the other hand, if I eat a full meal, I get pains in my stomach while running. I usually just have some peanut butter on a cracker before and eat a full meal after. If what you're doing works for you, you should keep doing it.
  • nickyfm
    nickyfm Posts: 1,214 Member
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    My trainer told me to eat some kind of protein and carbohydrate 2 hours before our morning sessions. (At 6:30am all i could be bothered making was a peanut butter sandwich haha)
    Eating any closer to that may make you nauseous, but other than that, i find i fatigue really easily and am really lazy if i don't eat before a workout.
    Good luck!
  • sunnysashka
    sunnysashka Posts: 296
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    i do not eat 2 hours before and 2 hours after workout. As far as I know, if you do that, your body burns fat this way better. If you eat before or too soon after workout, your body will be burning food and fat will stay with you and your muscle will grow (I don't want that:wink: )...
    And the same thing as a lot of people here. If I eat too close before workout, I have stomach pain.
  • smae1980
    smae1980 Posts: 794 Member
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    You really should eat a little something, even if it is on the way to the gym in the morning before your workout. Your body needs something to burn so it doesn't go into starvation mode or start burning your muscle.

    I agree with the Idea but the reason is not true. You will not go into starvation mode or start burning lean tissue in a matter of hours. That process takes a period of time (weeks) of not getting enough calories
  • sarahsmom1
    sarahsmom1 Posts: 1,501 Member
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    Its amazing how we are all told different things. Evidently we just need to do what is best for us. I also heard you should eat your first meal with-in a hour of waking up to start your metabolism. I know my daughters work outs are very rigorus she eats, lifts and trains from 9-12 then eats lunch and takes a nap to recover then shes starts again from 2-5 then back home to eat 5 days a week but she cant lose weight she has to stay in her weight group. I go to the gym 1-2 hrs after I eat either breakfast or lunch.
  • mdouhan
    mdouhan Posts: 22 Member
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    Hey

    ok so based on the answers I need to eat up to 2 hours before the workout to avoid starvation and at the same time its ok not to eat because the body burns calories better since its in clensing mode.

    This causes me a little dilemma :)

    eating 2 hours before workout means 4 AM and this is not going to happen and and starving myself is also not an option.

    I will consult my doctor who is also a professional dietist for the chinese national team.

    I will let you know her verdict based on my capabilities and way of life.

    rgds

    M
  • imagymrat
    imagymrat Posts: 862 Member
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    I have never heard of eating a whole 2 hrs before you workout in the a.m i'd already be ready for my mid morning snack by that point lol, I eat, about 45 minutes before I go to the gym in the morning, it's oameal with some scrambled egg whites. I work out roughly 2.5 hours and then I have a glass of milk/protein powder and a granola bar within 30 minutes of completing my workout. If I didn't eat prior i'd pass out on the floor, there's no way I could have attained the muscle mass I have on an empty stomach i'd have been seriously lethargic.
  • sunnysashka
    sunnysashka Posts: 296
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    I have never heard of eating a whole 2 hrs before you workout in the a.m i'd already be ready for my mid morning snack by that point lol, I eat, about 45 minutes before I go to the gym in the morning, it's oameal with some scrambled egg whites. I work out roughly 2.5 hours and then I have a glass of milk/protein powder and a granola bar within 30 minutes of completing my workout. If I didn't eat prior i'd pass out on the floor, there's no way I could have attained the muscle mass I have on an empty stomach i'd have been seriously lethargic.

    Everyone is different. I stick to this rool all the time. Usually I work out in the evening anyway. When my baby is sleeping already. My dinner is at 6pm and I work out at 8pm. After that - just water and tea:wink:
  • anw82506
    anw82506 Posts: 5
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    I just know on the Biggest Loser (love that show) the doctor said that to burn fat you have to have a few calories in your system to jump start the process.

    So I would say eat something before your work out. I can't eat a big meal or anything cuz then I get sick. But eatting something helps!

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