Excercising Before or after you eat.

Lots of conflicts out there...
This information is taken out of the ACT person trainer's manual ... lots of info, but from a trustworthy source...

Not only is it important for a client to eat small frequent meals throughout the day that contain the correct proportion of carbohydrates, protein and fats, it is also important to determine what a client will eat before, during and after the workout. Although the timing and type of nutrition to suggest to a client has been determined by science, all people are different and this regimen may take experimentation to determine what works for Every hour of endurance exercise requires approximately 100 300 carbohydrate calories or about 0.5-0.8 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight.

The recovery diet is an often overlooked but extremely important component of the client’s performance on days following training. The priorities are carbohydrate and fluid replacement. After exercise, a client should begin to immediately replace fluid loss by drinking water possibly sports drinks if severely dehydrated) and by eating food with high water content. After stopping the activity, the first Major intake of food should be approximately no less than 15 minutes and no more than 2 hours. It should consist of about 300 calories of carbohydrate-rich foods such as bananas. It is also recommended that protein, such as that provided by lean Meats and low-fat milk, be a part of the recovery meal. Protein helps shuttle blood glucose to muscles to replenish glycogen stores and is needed for cell and tissue repair following a workout.

Although eating before a workout or competition can cause stomach discomfort and diarrhea, it is important that a client eat before participating in physical activity to maintain constant blood sugar levels and prevent early fatigue. Following a few guidelines can help eliminate any possible discomfort. First, a client should be consuming a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet daily. This will help ensure that there are adequate energy stores (in the form of glycogen) in the muscles and liver.

A client should avoid meals high in fat and protein immediately prior to activity. If the planned activity will be shorter than an hour, eating foods such as breads and pasta should be sufficient. However, if the activity will last longer than an hour, foods with lower glycemic indexes, such as bananas and oatmeal, are recommended because they provide sustained energy.

For short workouts (less than 30 minutes), it is usually unnecessary for a client to eat during the activity. However, for light to moderate intensity exercise, most people can tolerate small amounts of plain food and this may increase their performance.

For activities lasting longer than 60 minutes, maintaining a sufficient fluid and carbohydrate supply becomes a challenge. For fluids, a client’s sweat loss should match their fluid intake. To determine if fluids are being adequately replenished, weigh the client before, during and after long, vigorous workouts. Ingesting enough carbohydrates is also important to maintain blood sugar levels and ensure endurance for long workouts.

The answer depends on the intensity of your workout. Low intensity burns from your fat stores, and as the intensity increases, more is burned from your glycerin stores (carbs) to the point where no fat is burned, rather all carbs. This may make some think that low intensity is the way to go. The answer is: sometimes. You see, if your workouts are high-intensity, then eat beforehand. The workout will consume the energy in your food source, and energy to carry out your lower intensity daily activities (laundry, errands, etc) will come from your fat stores. If you want to perform a low-intensity workout, then you do not have to eat beforehand (but you still need to eat at some point).

The answer depends on the intensity of your workout. Low intensity burns from your fat stores, and as the intensity increases, more is burned from your glycerin stores (carbs) to the point where no fat is burned, rather all carbs. This may make some think that low intensity is the way to go. The answer is: sometimes. You see, if your workouts are high-intensity, then eat beforehand. The workout will consume the energy in your food source, and energy to carry out your lower intensity daily activities (laundry, errands, etc) will come from your fat stores. If you want to perform a low-intensity workout, then you do not have to eat beforehand (but you still need to eat at some point).

Agree!

I don't think it matters....i just can't think of it any other way than if you workout and burn 400 calories...its the same either way in my head. Work out first and and burn 400 calories, then eat = the food u just ate is replacing those calories burned, and the other way, eat first then work out and burn 400 calories= burning 400 calories of food you just ate. just my thoughts :P i would think it just depends on which way makes you feel better.