Eating dinner before or after strength training?
priyac1987
Posts: 115 Member
Hi all,
I am starting a new job soon, and because of it, I have to shift the times of my workouts around and as I want to start seriously incorporating strength training, I am struggling on deciding when to put it into my schedule. My plan is to do half hour cardio in the morning, and I want to do my strength training in the evening but I don't know whether it is best to eat dinner say around 6.30pm and workout after or workout at 6.30pm and then eat dinner after?
Does it really matter? Should I be leaving a reasonable amount of time between training and eating (or visa versa) and if so, how much is classed as reasonable? 1 hour? 2 hours?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
TIA
I am starting a new job soon, and because of it, I have to shift the times of my workouts around and as I want to start seriously incorporating strength training, I am struggling on deciding when to put it into my schedule. My plan is to do half hour cardio in the morning, and I want to do my strength training in the evening but I don't know whether it is best to eat dinner say around 6.30pm and workout after or workout at 6.30pm and then eat dinner after?
Does it really matter? Should I be leaving a reasonable amount of time between training and eating (or visa versa) and if so, how much is classed as reasonable? 1 hour? 2 hours?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
TIA
0
Replies
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I tend to work out 6 or 6:30 for a couple hours then just eat dinner after, but I eat lunch at around 1pm. When you eat really doesn't matter to much as long as you aren't eating to much to make yourself feel ill while working out.0
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I tend to work out 6 or 6:30 for a couple hours then just eat dinner after, but I eat lunch at around 1pm. When you eat really doesn't matter to much as long as you aren't eating to much to make yourself feel ill while working out.
Agree with this.
If you're one to have an increased appetite after a good training session, I would maybe incorporate a small snack prior to your workout (dependent upon when you eat lunch and IF you're hungry) and then save dinner for your post workout nutrition.
Now, if you don't have much of an appetite post workout, it may be more feasible for you to eat dinner beforehand... which is fine. If it's a large meal I would give it enough time so you can avoid regurgitation or feeling sick to your stomach. The amount of time is tough to generalize, though. More of an individual, case by case basis.
Cheers, and happy training.0 -
It all comes down to personal preference. As others have said, some people feel ill or sluggish if they eat before a workout. I have the opposite problem that I feel like fainting without having supper before weight lifting where as cardio doesn't bother me with or without food. So it's essentially how your body feels.0
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Thanks @HutchA12 @sjohnson__1 and @vespiquenn .. Ideally I would prefer to eat before working out, as I never feel hungry after, and I don't really enjoy eating that late, so I think I will stick with that option and just leave around a 2 hour gap in between just to be on the safe side... that will see me training at around 8.30pm - 9.30pm, shower and then sleep! perfect!
Thanks for your help0 -
It doesn't really matter...
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I tend to eat dinner before then have a protein shake afterwards... but its totally up to your preference.0
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Having a full stomach bothers me when I exercise, especially movements that require bending over. Therefore, I would have a small snack at most before working out, then eat dinner after.0
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On the days that I train right after work I might have a protein shake to tide me over until I can eat. Personally I find I don't perform as well when I am hungry and it is a quick way to get some calories, protein and feel full until I am able to eat my dinner. That's what works for me anyway0
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Im not an expert but surely for weight training you need maximum blood flow to the muscles you're working, thats why you don't do arms and legs together, so if you've just eaten wouldn't your body be working hardest on digestion rather than working the muscles being trained. Secondly I do know that after training the body needs protein and even a little carbs, so you'd have to eat again after if you ate before.
Also from experience its best to just get it out the way as things come up and excuses creep in and you start to feel tired - but ultimately the important thing is you train so whatever makes that easiest for you. Me personally I have a snack that will fuel my training and then meal after but as that means Im eating late I avoid carbs0 -
priyac1987 wrote: »Hi all,
I am starting a new job soon, and because of it, I have to shift the times of my workouts around and as I want to start seriously incorporating strength training, I am struggling on deciding when to put it into my schedule. My plan is to do half hour cardio in the morning, and I want to do my strength training in the evening but I don't know whether it is best to eat dinner say around 6.30pm and workout after or workout at 6.30pm and then eat dinner after?
Does it really matter? Should I be leaving a reasonable amount of time between training and eating (or visa versa) and if so, how much is classed as reasonable? 1 hour? 2 hours?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
TIA
I always work out in a fasted state (when my insulin levels are at their lowest) because your body will use stored fat as energy for the workout. I do my cardio and strength in the morning or on alternate days so that I can get both of them in before I break my 16 hour fast. It has been working for me. I've only done IF and fasted workouts for about a week and a half and lost three inches from my waist so that's something. If you're working out to lose fat, I would work out fasted if you can. It's not easy at first. I felt crappy and weak when I first started but after a day or two I felt exactly the same during my workout.
If you're interested look up working out in a fasted state. There are lots of people for and against it, but the information is pretty solid as far as I'm concerned. You don't work out just when hungry or with an empty stomach, it has to be when your insulin is low, like after a long fast of 8-12 hours. (depending on what the last thing you ate was.)
As with all things, you know that you run a risk posting anything on the MFP forum that's contrary to popular opinion (popular opinion being that you need to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day and carb up or at least snack before a workout) because inevitably a bunch of people will come along and say you're wrong, so I just advise you to look it up for yourself and make the decision. There are credible sources out there. To me it works great. I do intermittent fasting (stop eating at 8 PM and don't eat again until about noon the next day) and then I have an 8 hour eating window each day which means I get to eat more calories during fewer meals. I prefer that to eating a bunch of two or three hundred calorie meals.0 -
priyac1987 wrote: »Hi all,
I am starting a new job soon, and because of it, I have to shift the times of my workouts around and as I want to start seriously incorporating strength training, I am struggling on deciding when to put it into my schedule. My plan is to do half hour cardio in the morning, and I want to do my strength training in the evening but I don't know whether it is best to eat dinner say around 6.30pm and workout after or workout at 6.30pm and then eat dinner after?
Does it really matter? Should I be leaving a reasonable amount of time between training and eating (or visa versa) and if so, how much is classed as reasonable? 1 hour? 2 hours?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
TIA
I always work out in a fasted state (when my insulin levels are at their lowest) because your body will use stored fat as energy for the workout. I do my cardio and strength in the morning or on alternate days so that I can get both of them in before I break my 16 hour fast. It has been working for me. I've only done IF and fasted workouts for about a week and a half and lost three inches from my waist so that's something. If you're working out to lose fat, I would work out fasted if you can. It's not easy at first. I felt crappy and weak when I first started but after a day or two I felt exactly the same during my workout.
If you're interested look up working out in a fasted state. There are lots of people for and against it, but the information is pretty solid as far as I'm concerned. You don't work out just when hungry or with an empty stomach, it has to be when your insulin is low, like after a long fast of 8-12 hours. (depending on what the last thing you ate was.)
As with all things, you know that you run a risk posting anything on the MFP forum that's contrary to popular opinion (popular opinion being that you need to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day and carb up or at least snack before a workout) because inevitably a bunch of people will come along and say you're wrong, so I just advise you to look it up for yourself and make the decision. There are credible sources out there. To me it works great. I do intermittent fasting (stop eating at 8 PM and don't eat again until about noon the next day) and then I have an 8 hour eating window each day which means I get to eat more calories during fewer meals. I prefer that to eating a bunch of two or three hundred calorie meals.
Hi Adah,
Thank you for your response. I already do my cardio in a fasted state (first thing in the morning) and have read into intermittent fasting many times along with doing 5:2 mixed with a bit of 16:8 myself. Unfortunately, I cannot get my strength training in with my cardio in the mornings, and would rather do cardio fasted than strength training which is why I have chosen to move my strength training to the evenings after work.
Everyone else,
Thank you for your feedback, its great to see what other people do! I think what I may do is try a week of each and just see which feels better for me and then continue on with that!0 -
priyac1987 wrote: »Hi all,
I am starting a new job soon, and because of it, I have to shift the times of my workouts around and as I want to start seriously incorporating strength training, I am struggling on deciding when to put it into my schedule. My plan is to do half hour cardio in the morning, and I want to do my strength training in the evening but I don't know whether it is best to eat dinner say around 6.30pm and workout after or workout at 6.30pm and then eat dinner after?
Does it really matter? Should I be leaving a reasonable amount of time between training and eating (or visa versa) and if so, how much is classed as reasonable? 1 hour? 2 hours?
Any advice would be much appreciated.
TIA
I always work out in a fasted state (when my insulin levels are at their lowest) because your body will use stored fat as energy for the workout. I do my cardio and strength in the morning or on alternate days so that I can get both of them in before I break my 16 hour fast. It has been working for me. I've only done IF and fasted workouts for about a week and a half and lost three inches from my waist so that's something. If you're working out to lose fat, I would work out fasted if you can. It's not easy at first. I felt crappy and weak when I first started but after a day or two I felt exactly the same during my workout.
If you're interested look up working out in a fasted state. There are lots of people for and against it, but the information is pretty solid as far as I'm concerned. You don't work out just when hungry or with an empty stomach, it has to be when your insulin is low, like after a long fast of 8-12 hours. (depending on what the last thing you ate was.)
As with all things, you know that you run a risk posting anything on the MFP forum that's contrary to popular opinion (popular opinion being that you need to eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day and carb up or at least snack before a workout) because inevitably a bunch of people will come along and say you're wrong, so I just advise you to look it up for yourself and make the decision. There are credible sources out there. To me it works great. I do intermittent fasting (stop eating at 8 PM and don't eat again until about noon the next day) and then I have an 8 hour eating window each day which means I get to eat more calories during fewer meals. I prefer that to eating a bunch of two or three hundred calorie meals.
That is NOT popular belief on MFP. In mainstream media maybe. Meal timing and frequency doesn't have an impact on weight loss, total calories do. And even if you burn more fat during a fasted workout, it will be replenished post workout. So the effects of fasted exercise has been overblown by the IF community.
Having said that, IF is a very effective tool for some people to control calories. But with all things equal, it doesn't matter if you eat 2000 calories from 1 meal or 6 meals, weight loss will be the same.
Personally, fasted exercise doesn't work for me. Tried cardio, HIIT and weight training... all of which I struggled. And did 16:8 for about 6 months. Just didn't work out in terms of my lifestyle.0 -
Eat when you want. I train at 6:00 or 6:30 and have a snack around 5:30. Dinner is at 8. Followed by first dessert and second dessert lol. Most of my calories are consumed between 7:30 and 10:30.0
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I have a little snack an hour or so before the gym like a protein yoghurt or some fruit. I used to exercise after not eating for a few hours and I used to get fatigued really easily, since I have started having a snack beforehand I have had a lot more energy and have been getting so much more out of my exercise. I then eat dinner after the gym. I know people who don't like eating before the gym because it makes them feel sick, so I guess each to their own really.0
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You can do HIIT in the morning combining strenght and cardio. You just need 30 minutes in the morning (every day). There are so much options, so you're done with your traing for that day.0
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