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Breakfast yes or no?
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foreverslim1111 wrote: »foreverslim1111 wrote: »I have a question re breakfast. Is it best to eat breakfast before a morning workout or eat after. I have heard a theory that is you fast before a workout that you are forcing your body to burn body fat as its fuel for the workout. But if you eat breakfast first - then your body converts that food for energy rather than body fat. Does anybody know if there have been any studies? I would love to know the answer to this as I do morning workouts about 3 days a week and would gladly not eat before hand if I knew that it would enhance fat burning. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge with me on this.
Most research points to it being all about personal preference. You won't burn extra fat doing fasted cardio. Any increase in fasted burning fat over carbohydrate leads to the body increasing daily preference to burn carbs later to even it out.
Thus it becomes about what gives greatest output which seems to be individualized.
Thank you for this. I think I will continue to not eat before my AM workouts. Just feels right for me.
I usually have something small before a workout for the energy, but too big and it's coming back up. Best to do whatever works for you. From my understanding the difference is fairly minute.0 -
karmelpopcorn wrote: »...more recent research[/url] on skipping breakfast that makes it sound a little more like fasting...
What are your thoughts?
When I get up in the morning and have breakfast, I've already been fasting all night. No need to prolong the fast. It's called "break-fast" for a reason. I already sleep 10 hours a night. That's a long enough fast for me, personally. Also, if I skip breakfast I tend to feel really crappy and then I end up overeating later in the day.
But I think it's a preference thing. Some people can't function well on an empty stomach (like me) and others do better when they put off eating first thing in the morning. Either is fine. IMO, it's the overall calories that matter, not the timing. To each her own...Just do what works for you!
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The idea is that you're already "fasting" for 6-8 hrs while you sleep so you should eat something so that you're body doesn't hold on to fat as starvation mode. And that you're less likely to reach for a donut in the office if you have a couple of eggs in your stomach. There is also something like fasted cardio where you're working out on an empty stomach to plunge into a deficit but if you lift on empty you'll burn muscle.
A) starvation mode is a misconception, b) the effect that is the foundation of the popular myth of 'starvation mode' requires days of not eating, not a few hours.
Personally, if I eat breakfast, I get hungry again fairly quickly, but I can comfortably go to 11 or so before having my first meal, leaving the rest of the day to have the rest of my calories.0 -
The idea is that you're already "fasting" for 6-8 hrs while you sleep so you should eat something so that you're body doesn't hold on to fat as starvation mode. And that you're less likely to reach for a donut in the office if you have a couple of eggs in your stomach. There is also something like fasted cardio where you're working out on an empty stomach to plunge into a deficit but if you lift on empty you'll burn muscle.
This isn't correct. Starvation mode doesn't happen in the context you are describing it.
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I don't eat breakfast, never have. I also don't eat 3 days a week. I don't find I'm any hungrier or eat worse at all for not having it. I only eat when I am actually HUNGRY and not at a set time of day0
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thorsmom01 wrote: »The idea is that you're already "fasting" for 6-8 hrs while you sleep so you should eat something so that you're body doesn't hold on to fat as starvation mode. And that you're less likely to reach for a donut in the office if you have a couple of eggs in your stomach. There is also something like fasted cardio where you're working out on an empty stomach to plunge into a deficit but if you lift on empty you'll burn muscle.
This isn't correct. Starvation mode doesn't happen in the context you are describing it.
+1 Sham smasher
But if you're going to have breakfast, there's no reason it can't be in bed. No superstition there.0 -
pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »I don't eat breakfast, never have. I also don't eat 3 days a week. I don't find I'm any hungrier or eat worse at all for not having it. I only eat when I am actually HUNGRY and not at a set time of day
Do you mind me asking - what does a typical 'food' day look like for you? You must eat a lot during the times you
allow yourself to eat?0 -
pinkraynedropjacki wrote: »I don't eat breakfast, never have. I also don't eat 3 days a week. I don't find I'm any hungrier or eat worse at all for not having it. I only eat when I am actually HUNGRY and not at a set time of day
Do you mind me asking - what does a typical 'food' day look like for you? You must eat a lot during the times you
allow yourself to eat?
I have coffee and milk in the morning: 90 cals
dinner is usually 900 cals
Snack is popcorn and a protein bar: 500
My dinners are carefully thought out by macros. Since I have to meet or get close to targets it involves calorie dense items like meat, cheese, and carbs like beans, vegetables and my snacks later 1400-1600 calories a day is nothing
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I need protein and carbs to start the day so my brain will feel sharper. Breakfast makes me feel smarter. If I skip breakfast, I end up with a headache and it's much harder for me to focus, write, and make good decisions. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat it. Just me. 0
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peppermintpudgy wrote: »I need protein and carbs to start the day so my brain will feel sharper. Breakfast makes me feel smarter. If I skip breakfast, I end up with a headache and it's much harder for me to focus, write, and make good decisions. Sometimes I have to force myself to eat it. Just me.
You might feel like Einstein if you reduce the carbs!0 -
The idea is that you're already "fasting" for 6-8 hrs while you sleep so you should eat something so that you're body doesn't hold on to fat as starvation mode. And that you're less likely to reach for a donut in the office if you have a couple of eggs in your stomach. There is also something like fasted cardio where you're working out on an empty stomach to plunge into a deficit but if you lift on empty you'll burn muscle.
Starvation mode isn't a thing. There is adaptive thermogensis which is more like a weeks long adaptation. Even adaptive thermogensis won't cause your body to hold onto fat, it just means you'll burn slightly less than one would predict.
Resistance training on an empty stomach is fine. Several experts suggested that for prolonged, 1+ hours worth of lifting while fasted, the person have protein / amino acids in a window around the workout. The requirements are rather small - half a scoop of whey is probably enough.0 -
The idea is that you're already "fasting" for 6-8 hrs while you sleep so you should eat something so that you're body doesn't hold on to fat as starvation mode. And that you're less likely to reach for a donut in the office if you have a couple of eggs in your stomach. There is also something like fasted cardio where you're working out on an empty stomach to plunge into a deficit but if you lift on empty you'll burn muscle.
Starvation mode isn't a thing. There is adaptive thermogensis which is more like a weeks long adaptation. Even adaptive thermogensis won't cause your body to hold onto fat, it just means you'll burn slightly less than one would predict.
Resistance training on an empty stomach is fine. Several experts suggested that for prolonged, 1+ hours worth of lifting while fasted, the person have protein / amino acids in a window around the workout. The requirements are rather small - half a scoop of whey is probably enough.
This sounds like the info I was looking for. My (body weight) workouts are typically at 8 AM and last about an hour. Occasionally I'm hungry before hand so I grab a light greek yogart. Good to know that I'm doing it right with protein before hand.0 -
peppermintpudgy wrote: »
You might feel like Einstein if you reduce the carbs!
Yep. Protein first for sure. I try always to have hard-boiled eggs, protein bars, and protein shakes available for quick morning protein.0 -
peppermintpudgy wrote: »peppermintpudgy wrote: »
You might feel like Einstein if you reduce the carbs!
Yep. Protein first for sure. I try always to have hard-boiled eggs, protein bars, and protein shakes available for quick morning protein.
Don't rule out a nice blast of fresh half-and-half (not the fat-free stuff!) in your morning coffee. Yummy!
And watch the carbs in the bars and shakes... some of those sugar bombs can leave you drooling on your desk by mid-morning!0 -
L O V E breakfast. I eat virtually the same thing every morn, 1/2 cup of oatmeal and 2 cups of coffee. I wouldn't think of skipping it. I think it is just a good way to start your day.0
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foreverslim1111 wrote: »I have a question re breakfast. Is it best to eat breakfast before a morning workout or eat after. I have heard a theory that is you fast before a workout that you are forcing your body to burn body fat as its fuel for the workout. But if you eat breakfast first - then your body converts that food for energy rather than body fat. Does anybody know if there have been any studies? I would love to know the answer to this as I do morning workouts about 3 days a week and would gladly not eat before hand if I knew that it would enhance fat burning. Thanks in advance for sharing your knowledge with me on this.
Well, the thing is ... your body is constantly going to glycogen or running through the process of converting fat, then replenishing it a little later to the extent that it can .. you can even be storing fat at times while eating in a general deficit - there's tons of in and out that mostly depend on "what's my current blood sugar, and what are my current energy requirements" ... the fact of the matter is, while decisions like this may be important for performance athletes or competitive bodybuilders and their ilk, for a normal person losing weight it doesn't matter at all.
If you're generally eating at a deficit over time, then over time, you will generally lose weight.
ETA: so like, y'know ... if you half-*kitten* your workout on an empty stomach, but kill it if you had something to eat before it .. EAT, ffs. and vice-versa, naturally.0 -
I had heard of a study saying that being a morning person or a night owl was linked to genetics. I was wonder if that applied to an appetite for breakfast as well. This is what I found after a brief google search.
"What determines our desire to wake with the sun or, conversely, burn the midnight oil, is influenced by the same system that regulates the cycling of many bodily functions. Our internal biological clock resides in the brain and regulates the timing of functions such as appetite, hormone release, and metabolism. Of all the cycles controlled by the circadian system, perhaps the most obvious is the sleep-wake cycle—when we go to sleep and when we wake up."
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/variations/individual-variation-genetics
I'm not a morning person and I also do not care for breakfast. Is that correlation true for other folks?
I wonder how they explain people that can do either easily. I can flip from morning person (and annoyingly enough always wide wake 5-10 min before my alarm goes off) to night owl. Just need a couple of days to make the change.
I usually skip breakfast for a slightly early big lunch. When I have breakfast, it's generally a big one and I skip lunch. Hate having breakfast because I'm always hungrier when I have it - not because I hate breakfast.0 -
Need sufficient calories to prepare for early morning workouts.0
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I had heard of a study saying that being a morning person or a night owl was linked to genetics. I was wonder if that applied to an appetite for breakfast as well. This is what I found after a brief google search.
"What determines our desire to wake with the sun or, conversely, burn the midnight oil, is influenced by the same system that regulates the cycling of many bodily functions. Our internal biological clock resides in the brain and regulates the timing of functions such as appetite, hormone release, and metabolism. Of all the cycles controlled by the circadian system, perhaps the most obvious is the sleep-wake cycle—when we go to sleep and when we wake up."
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/science/variations/individual-variation-genetics
I'm not a morning person and I also do not care for breakfast. Is that correlation true for other folks?
I wonder how they explain people that can do either easily. I can flip from morning person (and annoyingly enough always wide wake 5-10 min before my alarm goes off) to night owl. Just need a couple of days to make the change.
I usually skip breakfast for a slightly early big lunch. When I have breakfast, it's generally a big one and I skip lunch. Hate having breakfast because I'm always hungrier when I have it - not because I hate breakfast.
I can't flip from morning to not, but I can flip from breakfast eater to not. I'm overwhelmingly habit-based when it comes to food. (Breakfast doesn't make me hungrier and I enjoy it, so I eat it, but it's easy for me to skip it. It arguably would be a good way to save calories for me, except I tend to get a good bit of nutrition at breakfast and find it easier to eat 3 meals.)0
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