Dinner before working out

mrocks
mrocks Posts: 9 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I work a typical 8-5 job. I have 2 children at home one is 3 (my son) and another who is 8 months (my daughter). My drive is typically an hour so I get home by 6 everyone husband included is starved at that point, so as soon as I walk into the door I have to make dinner for my family. That's 6:00pm - 7:00pm dinner. Then 7:00-8:00 - clean up dinner and spend some time with my kids. 8:00-8:30 is typically the time I put Adriana down for bed. Whenever I'm done our bedtime routine I workout. Which can vary anytime from 8:30-9:30 depending on Logan, some days he just needs more mommy time. Which is fine by me.
Which leads me into my question. By the time I cook and eat a pretty good sized meal, would it be more beneficial for my weight loss to eat 1/2 my dinner before working out and the other 1/2 after? I've contemplated cooking a healthier meal for me and a meal my family would eat but that's a lot of work. And if I do that its usually a salad I'm eating for dinner. I need to lose about 40-50 pounds of lovely baby weight. Every fitness/weight loss magazine I read has a different opinion there seems to be no uniform answer on which is best for you to do when it comes to night working out and eating.
Any one have a good suggestion on what I should eat before and after working out? I do the Insanity workout program.
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Replies

  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    doesn't matter for weight loss. eat whenever you want. But you may get an upset stomach or something if working out intensely on a full stomach.
  • wordyroo
    wordyroo Posts: 98 Member
    It shouldn't make a difference to your weight loss when you eat. I'd only change things if you feel ill while working out or are ravenous afterward.

    Your life sounds just about like mine, only my kids are 4 and 2. :smile:
  • asyouseefit
    asyouseefit Posts: 1,265 Member
    If your husband is at home earlier than you, maybe he could make dinner so you workout when you get there?
  • rachpie90
    rachpie90 Posts: 9 Member
    Eat about an hour beforehand and something small. A banana, some oat cakes, a nice smoothie or protein shake (you can have these about half hour beforehand) and carry a snack for after too.

    Don't ever do what I did and eat loads of pasta before a long run! Oh my word. Never again.
  • smcrimmon84
    smcrimmon84 Posts: 135 Member
    I eat my entire dinner before working out 100% of the time. I work 8-5, get home around 545, and have a husband and 2 young kids who want dinner then. In a perfect world, I could go to the gym straight from work, work out, and then cook dinner but I cant make them (especially the kids) eat dinner at 7-730 pm when their bedtime is 8! So I cook dinner, finish up around 645 (depending on what dinner was and how long it took to prep/cook), my husband handles bad/bed and I go to the gym at 7 or I go after the kids are in bed. Works out fine!
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
    Sounds like you are working out a couple hours after you eat which isn't horrible. If you are eating enough it is making you feel sluggish or you want something to eat after your workout you may want to save some calories for something light after the workout, but I would think waiting until after the workout to eat anything would be a really long gap between meals.
  • mrocks
    mrocks Posts: 9 Member
    Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    I almost always work out right after dinner. It doesn't matter, unless it upsets your stomach or something.
  • wordyroo
    wordyroo Posts: 98 Member
    Maybe save enough calories for a yogurt or some fruit with peanut butter or some other quiet, quick snack?
  • acheben
    acheben Posts: 476 Member
    mrocks wrote: »
    Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.
    You could make a casserole or something over the weekend (or earlier in the week) that your husband can just throw into the oven before you get home.
  • MarmiteToes
    MarmiteToes Posts: 20 Member
    I'm always starving by the time I get home from work, so my first priority is to make dinner and eat. But that's it for the day, whether or not I work out I don't eat anything else. I work out 2-3 weeknights, always after dinner (usually at least an hour later), and never have any issues. I'm usually hungry when I go to bed but that's OK with me. You know your body best, so as long as you're staying within your calories you can eat whenever works for you.
  • beatyfamily1
    beatyfamily1 Posts: 257 Member
    How ever it makes you feel go with that. I eat dinner 4:30-5:00pm and workout at about 8:00pm because it makes me feel sluggish if I workout right after I eat.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    I'm also pretty hungry at that time. I work out in the early morning instead.
  • Debbs83
    Debbs83 Posts: 39 Member
    It doesn't matter when you eat, as long as you stick to you calorie goals. I work out from about 7:00 p.m. to 8:00. and eat dinner after. I go to sleep around 10:30. I have kept off 30 pounds off for the past 5 years and now just losing the 5 pounds I gained back over the holidays.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    doesnt matter.

    if you can work out on a full stomach, go for it.

    i take my run usually an hour or 2 after dinner (depending on how much i ate lol). but my morning gym workout i cant have too much on my stomach or ill get sick.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    mrocks wrote: »
    Oh how I wish my husband would learn to cook. But sadly no if its not on the grill and 70 degrees out he will not cook for me. After I work out my stomach doesn't usually bother me, its just I'm hungry again! And eating typically will keep me up for some reason I can't sleep if my stomach is too full but, then I can't exactly turn on a blender to make a post workout shake since that would wake up Logan. Typical 3 year old cannot hear anything else but he hears something he associates with a treat he's there in a flash.

    Sure, you could save some of your dinner for after your workout. You could also have a quick quiet snack like oatmeal or refrigerator oats that you started ahead of time.
  • oolou
    oolou Posts: 765 Member
    If you are hungry after your workout and you don't have any calories saved for that time, then saving some of your dinner for eating then would seem to be the best solution.
  • mrocks
    mrocks Posts: 9 Member
    I don't really count my calories. I probably should do that. I eat 3x a day so I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories. I'm trying to break down my meals into smaller meals and more frequent, but I'm so busy at work to do it. Next is to figure out heather dinner options that aren't so heavy. Of course my husband is blessed with a metabolism that I envy. He can eat like a cow and still not gain a pound. I just don't know what is good eat after working out that's not a shake. And I already eat oatmeal or refrigerated oatmeal for breakfast every morning.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I eat supper before I go to the gym, and then have a post workout snack when I get home. As long as my macros are right, it doesn't matter to me when I eat. The problem I have is burping up supper however, especially doing core exercises.
  • nadler64
    nadler64 Posts: 124 Member
    edited February 2016
    Editing to expand, on second thought/reading:

    Doesn't matter when you eat; do what works for you. Weight loss is CICO, period. I do recommend that you weigh, measure, and count calories. " I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories." That's a dangerous assumption. Try counting for a couple of days what you actually eat. I know I was in for a shock when I did it, and I thought I ate pretty healthy.

    But anyway, all these schedule complications are why I get up at 5:00 am and work out then. Have been doing it since before my kids were born (and they're now 21 and 15). Can you get up earlier and work out first thing?
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    If it doesn't make you feel sick during your workout, go for it.
    mrocks wrote: »
    I don't really count my calories. I probably should do that. I eat 3x a day so I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories. I'm trying to break down my meals into smaller meals and more frequent, but I'm so busy at work to do it. Next is to figure out heather dinner options that aren't so heavy. Of course my husband is blessed with a metabolism that I envy. He can eat like a cow and still not gain a pound. I just don't know what is good eat after working out that's not a shake. And I already eat oatmeal or refrigerated oatmeal for breakfast every morning.

    And why would you assume that? What is eating "healthy" anyway? Weight loss is calories in vs. calories out. If you eat 2500 calories per day of cheeseburgers and donuts and gain weight, you'll also gain weight eating 2500 calories of whatever you deem "healthy." Logging your intake is the only way to know what your intake is. Not counting is your choice, but don't be surprised when you stop losing and have no clue what you're doing wrong because you have no record of what you've been eating.

    You don't need to eat smaller more frequent meals unless you want to. For weight loss purposes, meal timing/frequency doesn't matter.
  • nadler64
    nadler64 Posts: 124 Member
    Lyndsey and I had the same thought. :)
  • I_Will_End_You
    I_Will_End_You Posts: 4,397 Member
    mrocks wrote: »
    I don't really count my calories. I probably should do that. I eat 3x a day so I figure if I'm eating healthy than I can't be consuming that many calories. I'm trying to break down my meals into smaller meals and more frequent, but I'm so busy at work to do it. Next is to figure out heather dinner options that aren't so heavy. Of course my husband is blessed with a metabolism that I envy. He can eat like a cow and still not gain a pound. I just don't know what is good eat after working out that's not a shake. And I already eat oatmeal or refrigerated oatmeal for breakfast every morning.


    This is not true. It may work, it may not....it all depends on the calorie content of your "healthy foods". You should try logging your food for a week or so and see where you stand as far as your intake goes. Foods like salmon, avocados, nuts, nut butters, some yogurts, etc... are considered "healthy" by many, but also high calorie.
  • _lyndseybrooke_
    _lyndseybrooke_ Posts: 2,561 Member
    edited February 2016
    nadler64 wrote: »
    Lyndsey and I had the same thought. :)

    You beat me to it! I get up really early (4am) to work out as well. Working out after a long day at the office? No thanks.
  • Bbeliever215
    Bbeliever215 Posts: 234 Member
    It doesn't matter regarding weightloss but as others mentioned it may slow you down or cause stomach issues. I personally cannot have a full stomach while working out for both reasons. May I suggest meal prep on a Sunday like freezer meals that way your hubby can microwave it or use a cockpit while you hit the gym, that way everyone is happy.
  • thatshistorical
    thatshistorical Posts: 93 Member
    I refuse to believe that your husband is incapable of preparing a meal. What would happen if you weren't there? Would the children starve? Would he starve?! No. Teach him to make some healthy meats (since he can grill) that he can prepare. Make TONS of rice on Sunday night and eat it all week. Baking a sweet potato or two isn't rocket science.

    My partner is not the best cook but she LEARNED. She can't grill, and sets off the smoke detector when she makes turkey bacon, but she cooks at least two evening meals for us each week.

    Emphasize how important it is that you have time to work out--its for your health. He should step up to the plate and give it a try.
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    I work out about 25 minute after I eat dinner, which is usually about 7pm or so. My stomach does not bother me at all and after I workout I am never hungry, it's normally the opposite, I feel full after working out.
  • mrocks
    mrocks Posts: 9 Member
    I've never had trouble losing weight before, even after giving birth to Logan, I breastfed him and the weight fell off I started working out and everything went back. Then I had my daughter who I also breast fed but the weight is sticking to me like glue. Started working out now that she's weaning off being feed so often, and eating baby food. How do you know what you type into the fitnesspal food logger that is how many calories you've truly eaten? I put it my food that I've eaten this week but when I cook I eye ball everything, its about a cup or a tablespoon or a teaspoon etc.
    I eat the same thing day in and day out. Breakfast is plain steal cut oatmeal, lunch is a spinach salad with egg or grilled chicken with balsamic dressing, and dinner is usually some pot luck I throw together. I try to eat at least 1 piece of fruit a day.
    I cook everything for my son. Logan knows that a green container means his vegetables, his yellow is his fruit and then a blue container for lunch. Breakfast is on my husband to feed our son which Logan isn't a morning eater so its usually cereal or a hard boiled egg which I have already left done in the fridge and he can just heat it up for him and serve.
    As for getting up in the morning earlier like (4am) is hard when I'm still breast feeing my daughter. Who has two night time feedings. So she goes down around 7:30-8:00, then she'll get up around midnight and then again around 4-5 am for another feeding. I'm sure once she is not being breastfeed, then I probably could workout in the morning before work. Until then I am not wasting another minute being up before I have too, and if she misses a feeding in the middle of the night even better.

    This is not true. It may work, it may not....it all depends on the calorie content of your "healthy foods". You should try logging your food for a week or so and see where you stand as far as your intake goes. Foods like salmon, avocados, nuts, nut butters, some yogurts, etc... are considered "healthy" by many, but also high calorie.
    [/quote]

    as for your food suggestions, I do not do fish unless its tuna, shrimp or crab. I am trying expand how to properly prepare fish. Avocados, nuts, nut butters and yogurts I don't eat. I've been going on pinterest and finding different foods to eat. We don't eat rice or bread but my family does eat a lot of pasta, and Mexican food. But being highly allergic to onions I do not get to enjoy those dinners.
  • Jbell0213
    Jbell0213 Posts: 189 Member
    I prefer to eat before and then workout. I usually wait about an hour as if I try to workout too soon I get stomach cramps.
  • mrocks
    mrocks Posts: 9 Member
    I do usually wait after dinner since my kids aren't asleep yet. It doesn't bother my stomach to workout after eating. It seems like everywhere I read there is no one answer some say you burn more fat by eating before but then others say you do by working out on an empty stomach.

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