Question for those who do early morning workouts

I don't eat before I work out in the morning smply because I don't feel hungry. I'm usually up and ready to go and, besides, for me jumping around with anything other than water in my stomach would make me throw up. :-/

I find it hard to eat something before I work out at 6am. But sometimes, I do realize that I SHOULD and I will eat a small portion of oatmeal. But for the most part, I don't eat before my morning workout because I'm just not hungry...

i notice if i eat before i work out i get sick

I'm on the C25K plan. I bring water, but I'm not interested in food beforehand. I get up, put on my running outfit (which can scare dogs and small children) and go for it.

After I get done, I drink more water, take a shower, get dressed, and then a while later I eat when I'm hungry or before I go to the office.

I'm not too worried about needing food just yet. I've only just started running.

I always eat a piece of fruit or a fruit smoothie before working out.

I don't eat before workouts in the morning. I usually follow them with a good high protein breakfast. It's too early at 5am for me to eat seems to work for me.

It depends on the length of the workout. If I am only working out for an hour or a little more, I won't eat before. If I am planning a longer workout, I will occasionally eat before (like on weekends if it is later or I have more time), but usually I will just use a gel or sports drink during the workout. I really like the products from Hammer Nutrition - I use their gel, sports drink and recovery drink. It's always important to eat soon after the workout especially if you don't eat before/during.

For reference, I train for endurance cycling, so a longer workout can be several hours in length.

I am struggling with this too. I usually have a good filling breakfast, but have to just eat a bowl of cold cereal before I go to the gym now. I can then have some yogurt or something after my workout, and that's when I take my vitamins.

I used to run a lot in the mornings, and would never eat before I ran. I would get an upset stomach if I ate before I ran. Since I've had some stomach problems I want to have a little something in there before I work out or I get too acidy.

I read the material you mentioned. Looks interesting, but since I used to run on an empty stomach and lose weight I am a bit more skeptical. For weight lifting I can definitely see eating before making sense.

I eat only because I run long distance and I need the fuel to keep me going. That means that I have to get up extra early so I can digest a little before I start my run so I don't get cramps. I don't think it's bad to do a workout on an empty stomach. There is one school of thought that says you burn more fat since your body has nothing else to "eat". I think it is essential to eat directly after your workout, though, so your efforts aren't wasted.

A friend of mine, who is a trainer, said that its personal preference but if you do eat before working out, it should be something lite and easy for the body to absorb - like fruit, or OJ, or yogurt. And then after have a protein shake or scrambled egg whites or an egg white omlette.

I usually have a half cup of yogurt or a banana before I leave the house to go workout, then eat a meal when I get home.

I do not eat before an early morning workout. Water is enough for me:bigsmile: I usually eat right after my workout.

I dont think fasted workouts are 'bad' for you. It really depends on what you're doing. For example, when I lift weights first thing in the morning, I eat breakfast first. Simply because at that time I am trying to gain muscle and I need fuel to push myself to lift heavy weights. However, recently I've been doing Insanity, and I make sure NOT to eat first. Because my goal with Insanity is to shed fat. The only hitch is that with very intense workouts, and mostly for lean people, your body has a tendency to burn muscle instead of fat. To counteract this, there are a couple things you can do. First, give your body a reason to hold on to muscle. Lift some heavy weights a couple times a week. Second, you can supplement with BCAA's. If I need a bit of a boost before my am insanity, I will chug a glass of water with two scoops of BCAAs. They are Branched-chain amino acids, and it will help trick you body into not burning up your muscle. That is my extremely-dumbed down understanding of it, but if you do some reading on T Nation or body buliding.com, you'll find more info.

Someone told me once: Eat for what you're about to do.

No, I don't eat before a workout. If I'm really tired and thinking about "not" working out I might drink a cup of coffee to give myself a jolt. I like protein shakes after a workout.

It is recommended to eat something before an early morning workout to kickstart your metabolism. This way your body avoids the starvation mode which holds onto fat.