exercise in the morning?

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If I eat my breakfast, then go for my spin class at 9.30am, burn 400 calories, then go home and enter my exercise into my diary, then I go and eat my lunch and dinner, surely the exercise doesn't really count for the ENTIRE day as I'm not burning off my lunch and dinner at all? Yet MFP still says I have exercise calories to eat back, but if i've done the exercise before I eat....?
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  • kaylemartin
    kaylemartin Posts: 235 Member
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    Bump
  • perrytyra
    perrytyra Posts: 357 Member
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    Yes, it does count for the whole day. Eat those calories. I wouldn't neccesarily worry about eating them all, but if you can, you will still lose.
  • lilybug13
    lilybug13 Posts: 154
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    If you exercise before you eat anything for the day, you are still burning off something... If you work out on an empty stomach you are in a negative, so if you don't eat it back for the day your body will be put into starvation mode...
  • anacsitham5
    anacsitham5 Posts: 814 Member
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.
  • jamieleo30
    jamieleo30 Posts: 5
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    I alaways do a run first thing in the morning before breakfast , its a good way to wake your body up. And also you feel hungry but wont eat as muchas you would have drank a lot of water to replace the water you have lost from sweating. but im silly though as i never eat breakfast. which i should do really.
  • JesaGrace
    JesaGrace Posts: 799 Member
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.

    I've had a trainer tell me that too....
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
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    It does count for the entire day! You've got to eat those calories back!
  • maillekelly
    maillekelly Posts: 132
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.

    How will I have any energy to spin if I don't eat breakfast?
  • Minnie_Moo
    Minnie_Moo Posts: 239 Member
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    I saw on Doctor Oz's show that he stressed that you weigh yourself first thing as soon as you get up,and use the bathroom as you will weigh your lightest in the morning.

    He also said that the best time to exercise is 5 minutes after you get up and weigh yourself as you are burning calories from all different parts of your body and you are burning fat immediately. If you eat breakfast (or lunch, etc.) first and then exercise, you have to burn through what food you have eaten before you can burn fat.

    Now that being said.......I had posted the above in another thread awhile back and someone posted after me (pasted below) and said that was not correct :noway:

    Who knows now ?? :huh:

    [/quote]

    The first bit's right, the second bit isn't.

    The whole part of this website is to encourage people to realise that it's not about when you add or remove calories from your body, but it's about the net spend over a period of time. If you do 300kcals of exercise, it makes no difference if you do this first thing in the morning or last thing at night. You're right you're more likely to burn fat directly after a fast (you don't eat when you sleep) but this will limit your performance levels, and reduce your endurance. Athlete's will always train any time between meals, ensuring their blood sugar is high enough when they start exercising, and that they refuel after.

    Someone interested in weightloss should worry less about immediate refuelling, but as I said initially, it is net calorie loss over a period of months which makes a difference, not making sure you're burning fat at the time of exercise.
    [/quote]
  • peytjalmom
    peytjalmom Posts: 76
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    Sure exercise in morning burns calories before your meals TODAY, but it is burning calories after you meals YESTERDAY. We eat every day and exercise everyday. Exercise is always going to be before or after some meal we've eaten. The best time to exercise is when you will do it consistently,
  • natskedat
    natskedat Posts: 570 Member
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.

    Not necessarily true. The fuel your body uses is determined by your heart rate. If you keep your heart rate between 55-70% of your maximum heart rate (220-your age), your body will use fat as it's main source of fuel. If your heart rate jumps to 71-85% of your max, you're burning carbohydrates. If you don't have any carbohydrates, it will burn muscle. Not good.

    If you do work out in the morning, your best bet is some toast with peanut butter, a banana, or even 1/2 of a Clif bar. Your liver is depleted of glycogen in the morning, so you've got to give your body a little energy to get your muscles working.
  • Gerkenstein
    Gerkenstein Posts: 315 Member
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    I would never recommend working out on an empty stomach. You need something to help get you going to give your energy a bit of a boost (piece of bread, banana, yogurt, something). I would recommend reading this article, he knows what he's talking about (and, no I don't know who he is, just that he is right on the money in what he's saying): http://www.south-florida-personal-trainer.com/preworkoutnutrition.html

    That said, morning workouts are great because it jump-starts your metabolism which will run at an elevated level for longer after your workout than if you did it right before bedtime. Plus they give you a great sense of accomplishment and help you start your day on the right track! It also frees up your day and you don't have to stress about unexpected events/plans getting in the way of your workout.

    I love working out in the morning, unfortunately I don't always get up early enough to do it.
  • Wimpey
    Wimpey Posts: 64 Member
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.

    I've had a trainer tell me that too....

    Well not all trainers are smart cookies!

    It is a fad... shame!

    Any good sport nutrition book will address that!

    You cannot burn fat without burning glycogen.
    The body can be trained to burn more effectivelly, so spare some glycogen and tap in to the fat (well it is a bit more complext than that and I am not scientist)
    A moderate aerobic exercise will spare your glycogen stores and allow to exercise for longer hence burn more fat.

    But don't take my world for it, the internet and nutrition books explain all this quite well.
  • shannonpatton
    shannonpatton Posts: 299 Member
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    I always get at least 2O min of cardio in before I eat. Everyones body is different.
  • fteale
    fteale Posts: 5,310 Member
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    Of course it counts for the day!

    I can't eat before exercising. I always run on an empty stomach.
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    A trainer once told me to exercise first thing as you burn off your fat stores opposed to the food you've just eaten. I don't know if that's true or not. You need to eat your exercise calories regardless.

    CORRECT!!!
  • sarah307
    sarah307 Posts: 1,363 Member
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    well, basically... exercise is exercise - you are moving your body at any time of the day and burning off calories at all times.
  • kingurgio
    kingurgio Posts: 8
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    I find that I am most likely to get my exercise in if I do it before the kids are up. So I get up early and I have something like a banana or yogurt, just to give me the fuel to get through the workout and then I have breakfast after.
  • mike20603
    mike20603 Posts: 32 Member
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    I'd love to have some professional, clinical reason for working out early in the morning before breakfast/coffee/work...but the fact is, that's the only time of the day I have to myself.

    With a job, wife, kids, pets, house, dishes, laundry, dinner, homework, blackberry, and this (awesome) time-eating website...there's no other time slot that works for me.

    It works for me, YMMV. (your milage may vary)
  • ash1352
    ash1352 Posts: 9
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    I majored in Exercise Science in college, so I have the knowledge of what is right; doesn't mean I always do it, lol.
    Exercising in the morning without eating beforehand is the best form of burning the fat stored in your body while you sleep at night. That exercise helps you burn more calories through the day while you are sedetary and while eating. You must eat to fuel your body; otherwise, your body goes into a shock mood and your body will store the fat, even if you are working out, just to survive. Continue to train in the morning, try not to eat beforehand if it is really early, i.e. 5-7 AM. Once you are done, eat a larger breakfast, high with protein.

    Let me know if you have any more questions. This doesn't work for everyone, because everyone's body is different. You have to find what works best for you.