eating....before or after?

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Linnea1972
Linnea1972 Posts: 183 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hello all and a big thank you for taking the time to read and answer this... my question is ..... is it better to eat before or after a workout? And if before how long should you wait until you excersize after eating??
My starting weight was 231 lbs in August, today I am down to 191, that's 42 lbs and 37.25 total inches..and have just started Jillian Michael's 30 day beginner shred....

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  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    I think for a lot it's a personal thing.

    I do both it just depends on if dinner is ready when I get home (husband works shifts so he sometimes has it ready)

    Last night I worked out then ate...tonight might do my lifting, eat then a walk if the rain clears off...other days I eat wait 30-45mins and workout.

    When I did 30DS it was a toss up again...
  • HirnKhan
    HirnKhan Posts: 8 Member
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    I usually eat an hour or so before working out
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Both.... Or after. (for heavy resistance training)

    If I train early I don't eat til after, when I train later I usually have something an hour-ish before as well as after. Protein and carbs, with limited fat.

    If I'm doing cardio, I'll either do it Fasted (for moderate steady state) or eat a while before for hiit.
  • Linnea1972
    Linnea1972 Posts: 183 Member
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    Ok egg, slice wheat toast and banana would be ok about 45 min before a workout? Trying to get in a habit of working out at 10:30 in the morning..
  • 1shauna1
    1shauna1 Posts: 993 Member
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    If I work out in the morning, I need to eat a little something. If it's in the evening, I find I'm usually okay from lunch or my afternoon snack. Just try a few different combos and see what works best for you. I know people who have to eat something pretty substantial about an hour before working out in order to have the energy. it's all a matter of preference!
  • jibeirish
    jibeirish Posts: 244 Member
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    both... usually i eat 1 hr - 11/2 hr before training made up of carbs and protein and then about an hr after training i'd have a protein shake
  • hbrittingham
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
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    It really depends for me. I generally will eat a breakfast bar an hour or so before I run if I am running in the morning. If I am running after work, I usually just have my normal lunch 4-5 hours before, but I might eat a banana mid afternoon, if I remember.
  • Linnea1972
    Linnea1972 Posts: 183 Member
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    Ok I Def need energy and I'm hungry about hr after I wake up. I ate my egg, banana and slice of toast with glass water and then worked out about 40 min after. I did ok. No cramps no sick, I feel good! Burn baby burn! Thanks everyone☺
  • _mr_b
    _mr_b Posts: 302 Member
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    Personal preference really, read up on it, try a few things out and see what works for you - you'll probably find it varies depending on what you're doing.

    The science behind fuelling your exercise is that you muscles have around 90 mins of glycogen in them, so exercising for short periods shouldn't need any specific fuelling requirements. Longer endurance exercise needs better fuelling to give your body the energy it needs (around 60g of carbs per hour) which is where you get into the realms of snacking pre-workout and then energy drinks, gels etc.

    eg, if I'm going out for a short ride (about an hour) I'll usually do it without eating more than a snack before hand (if that) and usually with zero cal electrolytes rather than an electrolyte & energy drink. Whereas tonight I'm going to be out for about 2 hrs so I need to fuel accordingly so I'll have a snack about 45 mins before and ensure my fluids have energy in. Rides over 3 hours and I'm looking at using gels and energy bars to get the fuelling right.
    In both cases I usually eat after so don't need to follow exercise with a protein shake, equally both are tailored to how I'm feeling at the time.

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