is breakfast important before early morning exercise?

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tndejong
tndejong Posts: 463
in Food and Nutrition
i have had so many different answers when it comes to this. i am not a breakfast person. im a coffee and go gal. i like to go to the gym early in the mornings. is breakfast important before i hit the gym?

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  • tehzephyrsong
    tehzephyrsong Posts: 435 Member
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    Do you feel ill when you exercise without eating first? No? Then keep doing what you're doing. I haven't tried strength training without having eaten, but I know if I haven't eaten more recently than a few hours before doing my cardio, I start to feel sick and sometimes almost faint. It isn't fun. So I eat before working out, no matter when during the day that is.
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    I do strength training every morning (there by 5am). I tried eating (banana/fruit & toast, something light-ish) before because I was getting hungry during my workout, but it was giving me an upset stomach about halfway through. I then switched to only a protein shake before that does the trick for me. I also use C4 pre-workout for a little boost.

    Whatever feels right for you, there isn't a concrete answer.
  • caribougal
    caribougal Posts: 865 Member
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    I agree with the above poster. But I'm the opposite. I tend to feel pukey if I eat anything before working out, and since I work out at 6am, there's no way I'm going to eat 2-3 hours before that. I guess maybe it would be OK if I was doing sustained cardio like running, but I do boot camp / crossfit. Food + burpees = not fun.

    I can't drink coffee before working out or I really get acid reflux during plyo stuff, so I drink hot tea. Gives a little caffeine boost, the warm drink feeling, but doesn't haunt me during the workout.
  • autumnpath
    autumnpath Posts: 72 Member
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    I can't eat before a very early morning workout...otherwise I see the food come back up. Happened to me at the track a couple of times....not fun...and embarrassing too!
  • tndejong
    tndejong Posts: 463
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    i am just not hungry and it doesn't seem to affect how i feel working out. i have done both cardio and weight training and i don't feel faint. i usually am hungry after. i carry protein bars with me just in case. but i really don't see that point of making myself eat if im not ready to. but i have seen people argue that if you have food in your system its fuel to better your workouts. but if i force myself to eat, then i do tend to feel icky once i start doing something.
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    i am just not hungry and it doesn't seem to affect how i feel working out. i have done both cardio and weight training and i don't feel faint. i usually am hungry after. i carry protein bars with me just in case. but i really don't see that point of making myself eat if im not ready to. but i have seen people argue that if you have food in your system its fuel to better your workouts. but if i force myself to eat, then i do tend to feel icky once i start doing something.

    I would base this decision on performance and preference. In your case it seems pretty loud and clear that you prefer to skip breakfast. So that's what you should do, assuming its not interfering with your ability to hit your end of day nutritional targets.
  • contentedmummy
    contentedmummy Posts: 12 Member
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    I've read experts from both schools of thought. Training after eating something in the morning could give you added energy. But also training before eating first thing forces your body to tap into those fat reserves. I think this all depends on your size, shape and how overweight you are. I agree with the people above posting, go by how you are feeling in yourself. Personally I can't eat first thing and generally train after dropping kids off at nursery around 9am.
  • ilija139
    ilija139 Posts: 15
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    Please check this http://www.leangains.com/2012/06/why-does-breakfast-make-me-hungry.html
    and the whole blog http://www.leangains.com/ i.e. the intermittent fasting is something that suits you well and will help you a lot.
  • VorJoshigan
    VorJoshigan Posts: 1,106 Member
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    Not if you don't want to.

    I like how nerd fitness put it (probably stealing it from somebody else). You don't make muscles in the gym. You make muscles in the kitchen and in bed (hey o!). As long as you get your proper nutrition after you workout & the night before, eating right beforehand is superfluous.
  • alexbusnello
    alexbusnello Posts: 1,010 Member
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    I can't work properly without breakfast....
  • jfrankic
    jfrankic Posts: 747 Member
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    Please check this http://www.leangains.com/2012/06/why-does-breakfast-make-me-hungry.html
    and the whole blog http://www.leangains.com/ i.e. the intermittent fasting is something that suits you well and will help you a lot.

    For sure check out IF if you aren't a breakfast person. I prefer to work out fasted. I hit the gym at 10am today on an empty stomach and had awesome lifts, my last meal was at 7pm last night. There's no rule that you MUST eat breakfast, must NOT eat breakfast, eat before you work out or work out fasted. Find what works for you. Intermittent fasting and lifting fasted just work for me. But make sure you are eating ENOUGH if you are working out alot.
  • stellafgus
    stellafgus Posts: 29 Member
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    I have to eat something light before I work out if not I get the shakes real bad. Usually it will be oatmeal or grits with an egg (that’s the southern girl in me, grits) or a smoothie homemade with fruit and yogurt. And then when I finish my workout strength and cardio at the gym, I have a snack piece of fruit or protein bar and that will hold me until lunch.
  • devrinator
    devrinator Posts: 79 Member
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    I read an article once that said the breakfast hype was actually wrong. Some study showed that when people added breakfast, the amount of calories they ate for breakfast added to their overall calorie intake--so they gained some weight.

    With that said, I really believe obesity is a symptom of metabolic issues involving some levels of insulin and leptin resistance. I wonder if eating smaller meals throughout the day is better for us, not to stave off hunger, but to re-regulate our metabolisms.

    I think some people who experience obesity into their adulthood have had some bad youthful eating habits that culminated in bad eating habits all at once---no breakfasts, small or no lunches, and big dinners and bad snacks...

    I would imagine that can be bad for our systems.

    It might be better to eat something small before working out so as to keep your body from targeting muscle (if that's how it all works, I don't know).
  • BonaFideUK
    BonaFideUK Posts: 313 Member
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    Its entirely dependent on the person. No, its not absolutely necessary to eat before going to the gym in the morning. Go yourself and see how well you do. I know plenty of people who go to the gym fasted.

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