Morning vs evening workouts

menchi
menchi Posts: 297 Member
edited September 25 in Fitness and Exercise
Today I tried working out in the morning instead of at the end of the day. It was a great start to my day and I had lots of energy, it doesn't help curb my hunger the way an evening workout does. Maybe my body is weird, but immediately after a workout, I'm not very hungry but I try to munch a small stack anyway. After about an hour, my stomach kicks into gear and with an evening workout, I'm just in time for dinner.

For a morning workout, I had breakfast, then gym an hour later, and then a 6inch sandwich from Subway for lunch. It was going great until mid afternoon when I just wanted to eat something, anything, but mostly something savory. This usually doesn't happen for me until bedtime when I have evening workouts. I drank 4 cups of water and took a nap in attempt to lessen the hunger, but only manage to postpone it and then caved in for a 250 Cal lean cuisine. I shudder to think what the rest of my afternoon/evening is going to be like today. I feel like I need to also do an evening workout today even though the morning workout was a normal sized one.

Does this happen to anyone else? I liked working out in the morning and loved the energy it gave me, but I can't be dealing with food cravings in the afternoon. How do you deal with them?

Replies

  • lala221
    lala221 Posts: 10 Member
    i wish i had time to go back to working out in the mornings i always seemed to have more engery the rest of the day... never those cravings like you though. however i always ate breakfast after i worked out? maybe that has something to do with it?
    anyways i work out in the evenings now just simply cause of time and my schedule..i cant imagine getting up at 430am just to work out before work, then get the boyfriend to work and the little brother out the door to school and myself. i feel like i have more time in the evening.. but when i get home from work i wanna eat everything and anything i can.
  • peanutrenee
    peanutrenee Posts: 179
    it kick starts ur metab. thats why ur hungry ur bodys hungry for food it needs energy, did u eat b4 the gym? if you didnt thats why u should always eat something small even if its a piece of fruit.
  • _LDM_
    _LDM_ Posts: 81
    Do you not have afternoon snacks?
  • Twanna69
    Twanna69 Posts: 8
    I walk 3 miles in the morning and 1.5 in the afternoon. I love the mornings better it seems like it wakes me up and I do have alot of energy throughout the day. The evening workout I have to force myself, I am normally wore out from work.
  • mumma2boyz
    mumma2boyz Posts: 109 Member
    It sounds like you're possibly not eating frequently enough. I have lost 14 pounds in 8 weeks by eating 6-7 times per day. I exercise all different times of day and find that I am never hungry. Ever. LOL Daily calories goal 1250 for me...and I eat half of my exercise calories back. :)
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    it kick starts ur metab. thats why ur hungry ur bodys hungry for food it needs energy, did u eat b4 the gym? if you didnt thats why u should always eat something small even if its a piece of fruit.

    I did have breakfast before my workout-- oatmeal, soft boiled egg and coffee.
    It sounds like you're possibly not eating frequently enough.

    I think you are right. I haven't been preparing snacks (nuts, fruits, veggies). Maybe that's even more important with morning workouts.
  • secostley
    secostley Posts: 409 Member
    I also went from late day to early morning workouts. I'm up at 4 a.m. and in the gym by 5:30 a.m. I eat before I go which is typically a bowl of oatmeal, a slice of toast with peanut butter, and 12 oz of water. I usually drink another 12 oz during the workout. When I get back, I have an EAS Protein shake. What I find is that after that, I have to eat every 2-3 hours. So. I get to work around 8:30 a.m. I eat a meal around 10:00 (350 calories), again around noon (usually a large meal: 500-700 calories); again at 3 p.m. (around 350 calories) and again around 6 p.m.

    I found that although I was hungrier with the morning workouts, they were much more effective in my weight loss efforts than my late day workouts.

    God Bless!


    Shawn
  • menchi
    menchi Posts: 297 Member
    Thanks for sharing Shawn! That's helpful to know with the details. I'm probably going to have a mix of morning and evening workouts just because of my work schedule. Now I know I need to plan ahead more on morning workout days. Thanks again!
  • Bootzey
    Bootzey Posts: 274 Member
    I do mornings. If I don't the likelihood of me working out drops exponentially. And I'm hungrier when I workout in the am like others. But that makes sense since I'm going into a calorie deficit. And I don't eat 1st. I know that's probably bad, but I get up at 4:25 am to workout. Eating would mean getting up earlier.
  • callipygianchronicle
    callipygianchronicle Posts: 811 Member
    I am starving within 30-minutes of working out. I rotate between morning and evening workouts because I work freelance from home. I also like the challenge to my body when the rest period isn’t exactly the same every day. For me, the key is having a meal ready to go when I am finished working out (if I am too hungry, I will eat anything I can find and my health goals go straight out the window). I also like having healthy go-to snacks around all the time (almonds, apples, berries, swiss cheese).
  • idream2bgwen
    idream2bgwen Posts: 424 Member
    Oh how I hear you on this. I also have to switch up my workout times because of work, school and kids. So on the days that I do morning I am almost ravenous the entire day. Nothing seems to help. Maybe I need to switch things up a bit eating wise. Thanks for all the suggestions, ideas, and hints everybody!!!
  • skeck
    skeck Posts: 46
    Thank you for posting this! I am in the same debacle. I alternate when I work out based on my schedule. I prefer mornings because it gives me more energy and keeps me less stressed throughout the day. But, it's hard for me to get up earlier and make sure I have breakfast and give it time to digest before I begin. I find myself snacking more throughout the day (small, low cal snacks or coffee).

    My evening workouts are usually more difficult for me to gain energy and I try to balance not having too heavy of food prior to a workout.

    It's an awful balancing act! I'm still trying to figure out how much I need to eat in the morning to prepare myself for enough energy to workout a couple of hours after.

    Best of luck!
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