Afterwork workout vs dinner

ishepelska
ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi all,
My first post here; I am nervous. :embarassed: :))))

My question is to all 9 to 5(6)ers who exercise after work. How do you plan your meals and snacks so that you don't start your workout super hungry?
I don't like it but I tend to plan my workouts around my meals :angry:, and it has happened on several occasions that I had to make a decision - eat and skip a workout or workout with nausea and low energy. If I need to run some errands after work, I come home hungry. Snacking, waiting up to 1hr, and working out after brings me too close to bedtime :ohwell:.
Anyone else has this problem? Solutions?
«1

Replies

  • kevinuc74
    kevinuc74 Posts: 35 Member
    This was the biggest reason I started to work out first thing in the morning. I'm not a morning person either, but I get up really early and go work out. It's then done and nothing can come up to prevent me from working out that day. Plus, I feel more awake and energized throughout the day. Do you think you can do it in the morning?

    As for when I have to go after work, I will have a small snack prior to going to work out. A lot of times I'll even use those Gatorade energy gels, which are only 100 calories but I feel like they do give me energy. Then I make sure I eat a later dinner. Or if I can't get to the gym until later, I'll just eat dinner a little earlier, work out later and if I am hungry have a little snack. For the most part, you can just burn a few extra calories if you need to and have a snack after your work out and you'll be fine.

    What time do you generally eat dinner vs work out? Again, if you can go in the morning first thing, do that.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    What kind of exercise are you doing? I can eat something and lift weights pretty much right afterward. If I want to run, though, I need to eat lighter and wait a bit. Can you eat a snack at your desk really quick before leaving work, run your errands, and then go home and workout and eat supper later?
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Eat a bigger lunch?
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Banana 1 hour before and make sure im hydrated. Loads of articles on this.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/robfranklin/eat-more-maca
  • Cathalain
    Cathalain Posts: 424 Member
    Hi all,
    My first post here; I am nervous. :embarassed: :))))

    My question is to all 9 to 5(6)ers who exercise after work. How do you plan your meals and snacks so that you don't start your workout super hungry?
    I don't like it but I tend to plan my workouts around my meals :angry:, and it has happened on several occasions that I had to make a decision - eat and skip a workout or workout with nausea and low energy. If I need to run some errands after work, I come home hungry. Snacking, waiting up to 1hr, and working out after brings me too close to bedtime :ohwell:.
    Anyone else has this problem? Solutions?

    It's easy for me because I quite literally can't eat before I work out - I feel sick and have low energy! You seem to have the opposite dilemma, though.

    I would maybe try a protein bar or a couple of sticks of light string cheese - it's enough to have something in your belly but not overly heavy - eat just before you leave work, and do what you need to do before working out.

    Also I'd maybe try letting a slow cooker do some work for you while you're out - fill it, set it, eat when you come home from working out. I also do heavy cooking and prep on Sundays (my one day off) so that I don't have to worry about it - I freeze individual portions, take it out when I come home, and nuke it up - 5 minutes and I'm set.

    Hopefully these are some ideas that may work for you!
  • kshadows
    kshadows Posts: 1,315 Member
    I go to the gym right after dinner. It sucks sometimes but I don't eat a HUGE normally anyways. It's what works for me, might not work for everyone.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    I think she needs carbs before for energy and protein after her workout for muscle repair.
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    What kind of exercise are you doing? I can eat something and lift weights pretty much right afterward. If I want to run, though, I need to eat lighter and wait a bit. Can you eat a snack at your desk really quick before leaving work, run your errands, and then go home and workout and eat supper later?

    I also find it easier on the days I work with weights. Reading all the tips on how one should wait at least an hour after a snack makes me worried.
  • mank32
    mank32 Posts: 1,323 Member
    This was the biggest reason I started to work out first thing in the morning.

    seconded. i'm a "fuel burning fast on an empty tank" kinda girl.
  • yopeeps025
    yopeeps025 Posts: 8,680 Member
    Pre workout meal comes around 2-230. Gym time is at 350.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    What kind of exercise are you doing? I can eat something and lift weights pretty much right afterward. If I want to run, though, I need to eat lighter and wait a bit. Can you eat a snack at your desk really quick before leaving work, run your errands, and then go home and workout and eat supper later?

    I also find it easier on the days I work with weights. Reading all the tips on how one should wait at least an hour after a snack makes me worried.

    If you eat light, you don't have to wait too long. I mean, I will eat a banana and then go running 20 minutes later. If I eat a chicken breast and a banana, I'll wait 90 minutes. It's different for different people so don't let what you read scare you. It's not like when we were kids and our moms made us wait two hours before swimming or else we'd drown ;) Experiment to see what is best for you.
  • kea9f
    kea9f Posts: 27 Member
    I have a big problem with this too, because I work until 6 and then have to commute over an hour home. The worst is when I have to work late - if I get home at 8 or 830, its too late to eat dinner or work out, much less both. I started eating dinner at work, right before I'm supposed to leave (so about 530), and that works really well for me when I don't have to work late. Unfortunately, I work late so often I've had switch to the pre-dawn gym club. Try eating dinner at work though - it might help!
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    Banana 1 hour before and make sure im hydrated. Loads of articles on this.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/robfranklin/eat-more-maca

    My problem isn't what to eat, but the fact that it has to be "1 hour before". When I go home straight from work...those days are perfect :)
    I read that some of you don't actually wait so long before the workout. What's the perfect "wait time" for you?
  • SueInAz
    SueInAz Posts: 6,592 Member
    Two or three mornings before work each week I run 3 or 4 miles, because it's too hot to run after work most of the year. I don't eat before I run. A couple of afternoons each week I lift weights after work, usually between 3:30 and 4:30pm. I don't eat right before those workouts, either, but I've usually had a small snack a few hours before. My snacks are something like string cheese, cheese and crackers or beef jerky. Right after lifting I usually have a protein shake which holds me until dinner at 6:15pm.
  • mrsmitchell0510
    mrsmitchell0510 Posts: 83 Member
    I workout right after work most days, so I will have an apple and a tablespoon of peanut butter about 30 minutes or so before I leave work. That helps keep me satisfied until I get home to fix dinner. After my run, I am usually pretty hungry and try to put dinner together quickly or have some of it already prepared (like in a slow cooker). Meal prepping and making sure to always carry snacks with me to work have helped immensely!
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    I have a big problem with this too, because I work until 6 and then have to commute over an hour home. The worst is when I have to work late - if I get home at 8 or 830, its too late to eat dinner or work out, much less both. I started eating dinner at work, right before I'm supposed to leave (so about 530), and that works really well for me when I don't have to work late. Unfortunately, I work late so often I've had switch to the pre-dawn gym club. Try eating dinner at work though - it might help!

    Ah, that reminded me of my routine about two years ago. I used to spend 1.5 hours on public transport to get home from work. But I didn't workout back then.
    Eating dinner at work at least on cardio days is an idea.
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    If you eat light, you don't have to wait too long. I mean, I will eat a banana and then go running 20 minutes later. If I eat a chicken breast and a banana, I'll wait 90 minutes. It's different for different people so don't let what you read scare you. It's not like when we were kids and our moms made us wait two hours before swimming or else we'd drown ;) Experiment to see what is best for you.

    Thanks. That's encouraging :)
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    Thanks for your replies.
    I guess I'll have a snack before leaving work and suck it up if I feel somewhat hungry. As well as stop worrying if my workout falls within an hour of a small snack.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    Why does your snack have to be 1 hour before your workout? Is it something that you have learned from experience, or is it a rule that you read somewhere?

    I'm a long-distance cyclist (though not so much in the last month, due to demands at work), so I have to eat during my workouts, and I will often start out with an easily digestible snack. For a long ride (4-8 hours), I'm not going all-out, so it's possible to digest and ride at the same time. Most of the references I've read on endurance sports indicate that the typical athlete can digest 200-300 calories of carbohydrates per hour.

    If you haven't tried eating and immediately working out, give it a shot. Have some easily digestible carbs (sports drink or a banana) and then start. See what happens. Keep notes in your workout log. You'll figure out what's best for you.
  • Antigone
    Antigone Posts: 70 Member
    Banana 1 hour before and make sure im hydrated. Loads of articles on this.

    http://www.buzzfeed.com/robfranklin/eat-more-maca

    This is what I do. I workout after work and I'd be STARVING so I started eating a banana on my 45 minute commut home then a Gu gel when I got home. Start workout about 15 minutes after that. I have much better energy and endurance now.
  • hoyalawya2003
    hoyalawya2003 Posts: 631 Member
    I usually do a greek yogurt before I leave work; coincidentally my commute is an hour, but I agree with pp's that you don't have to wait that long if it is a light snack.
  • burtonvdp
    burtonvdp Posts: 19 Member
    My trainer had to move my calories around so that roughly 3/4 are gone before dinner. I found this worked out well because I now can go before or after dinner and not have to worry about being starving or too full when I work out. I have been mixing up my times during the week because of family life and I find no hunger difference between the 2. My last snack is around 3:30 to 4:00 pm and the earliest I work out is 5:30 (start) and the latest is 10:00.

    Snack is either some cottage cheese, yogurt, Nut bar, or strait almonds.
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    Why does your snack have to be 1 hour before your workout? Is it something that you have learned from experience, or is it a rule that you read somewhere?

    That seems to be an agreement on most fitness resources I read. I sometimes do HIIT, so eating too close to workout doesn't seem like a good idea.
    If you haven't tried eating and immediately working out, give it a shot. Have some easily digestible carbs (sports drink or a banana) and then start. See what happens. Keep notes in your workout log. You'll figure out what's best for you.

    Thanks. :smile:
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    I usually do a greek yogurt before I leave work; coincidentally my commute is an hour, but I agree with pp's that you don't have to wait that long if it is a light snack.

    One thing that I found I can't eat before exercise is yogurt.....
  • ishepelska
    ishepelska Posts: 59 Member
    My trainer had to move my calories around so that roughly 3/4 are gone before dinner. I found this worked out well because I now can go before or after dinner and not have to worry about being starving or too full when I work out. I have been mixing up my times during the week because of family life and I find no hunger difference between the 2. My last snack is around 3:30 to 4:00 pm and the earliest I work out is 5:30 (start) and the latest is 10:00.

    Snack is either some cottage cheese, yogurt, Nut bar, or strait almonds.

    I wonder, when do you go to bed when you start your workout at 10? Right after?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I usually have an apple and some almonds in the car on the way to the gym and i eat dinner afterwards...I'm not sure where you're getting this whole wait an hour thing...I could see that after a big meal, but an apple and a handful of almonds has always been fine for me.
  • Elsie_Brownraisin
    Elsie_Brownraisin Posts: 786 Member
    I eat little and often at work, last snack at around 2.30-3pm and then go the gym at 5.30. I then eat over half my daily calories in one meal or one meal and a snack in the evening. I know this is not how a lot of people would do this though!

    If I run or swim, being too full makes me need the loo and if I'm swimming outside there's nowhere to poop. Well, there's everywhere, I guess. But it's not socially acceptable.
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    Hi all,
    My first post here; I am nervous. :embarassed: :))))

    My question is to all 9 to 5(6)ers who exercise after work. How do you plan your meals and snacks so that you don't start your workout super hungry?
    I don't like it but I tend to plan my workouts around my meals :angry:, and it has happened on several occasions that I had to make a decision - eat and skip a workout or workout with nausea and low energy. If I need to run some errands after work, I come home hungry. Snacking, waiting up to 1hr, and working out after brings me too close to bedtime :ohwell:.
    Anyone else has this problem? Solutions?

    Unless you divorce youself from the notion that you need to eat at least 1 hour before you workout, you'll always have a problem. There are no hard and fast rules of when you should exactly eat pre or post workout, regardless of the "fitness resources" you've read. Experiment for yourself. Meal timing for athletic performance is personal preference.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    work fasted.
  • dym123
    dym123 Posts: 1,670 Member
    I work from 7:30ish to 4:30ish with an hour for lunch. I eat a snack about 2-3 hours before I workout, usually a protein bar, that with some water keeps me pretty satiated for the rest of the afternoon. I prefer to workout on an empty stomach. I get home, let the dogs out and change into my workout clothes (btw, I workout at home), I workout for about an hour or so, depending on they day, I may take the dogs for a walk, take a shower and because I pre-plan my meals, I'm usually eating dinner around 7 pm. Regarding errands, depending on what it is, I can do most of my small errands on my lunch, including some light grocery shopping. It helps that I live only 2 miles from my office. I also have a very flexible schedule and a lot of vaca time, so I am able to work through lunch and leave early or just take a quarter day if I have something to do after work and still want to squeeze in a workout.

    ETA: I read this sometime ago, not sure if its true, though sounds pretty ridiculous, but it basically stated that you can not gain weight if you eat within an hour after you workout. Of course there was science behind it, could just be some that bro science I hear so much about, but hey, if it convinces you not to wait an hour to eat, then sure it can be true.

Categories