Beginner at running!

It’s a lot of trial and error. Most folks cannot stomach eating before a run because it can cause digestional distress (not fun when you’re a few miles from home). Some eat a light snack a hour or two before running like a banana. Personally, my go to is breakfast turkey sausages before a morning run, but I cannot run without eating or I get faint. So it’s a lot of testing to see what works for you.

After a run, I’m never hungry, but will typically force something down like a protein shake in case I don’t regain much of my appetite back.

destinytaylor112715 wrote: »

Does someone want to give me some advice on when and what I should eat before and after a run?

Personally I'm comfortable running without anything more than a coffee for short runs of up to 10 miles. That does take adaptation so it'll take time to build up what you can cope with.

If I'm going longer I'll have porridge and/ or a banana.

I'd suggest that, as a new runner, you probably don't need to bother about specific eating patterns as long as you're generally eating enough. Avoid a deep deficit.

I'm a diabetic, not on any meds but metformin. Testing my blood glucose levels shows that I need about 10 to 15g of carbs before a thirty minute run to stay in comfortable levels - otherwise I'm dropping into the high 60's and low 70's which isn't really dangerous but doesn't feel good. My glucose also continues to drop faster than usual after running for about twenty-four hours. So I eat something before like a small glass of milk and half a banana, or an orange, and I eat a fun pack of smarties (5g of mostly straight dextrose) after running and before driving home.

There's not much point to eating fat or protein just before running, they aren't metabolized fast enough to affect you and they do slow down digestion and sit on your stomach.

Basically if you are a healthy person, your liver should learn to keep up with your glucose needs, but if you aren't used to it, a few extra carbs before running will make things easier. It's not true that running fasted is necessary to lose weight.

Some people always run fasted. Some like a small carb-heavy snack. Most experienced runners will tell you not to eat a large meal immediately before you run; it might make you feel sick during your workout. I usually have a banana before I run and then my regular breakfast afterward.

Coffee or just plain water for 4 miles or less. I eat breakfast afterwards

Another diabetic (type 2, metformin only) who has been running about a year. I eat a small meal about an hour before running - my go-to is an egg on toast with a small juice. Otherwise, my blood sugars crash hard. I will try to get a small snack - an apple or a low sugar granola bar - within an hour of stopping depending on how hard I have run. For half marathons, I eat my go-to before and I use gel packs during to make sure I don't have a blood sugar crash before the end (and afterward the half, I eat pretty much whatever I want!)

I run late morning or afternoon, usually, so after breakfast or lunch. If it's a short run, I can eat lightly an hour before my run. If it's a long run, I'll wait two hours or so. If I'm hungry or feeling low on energy, I'll have a banana or glass of juice just before the run. After a short run, I don't usually eat anything extra. I'll just wait until my next meal. After a hard run, I'll eat fruit or a sandwich, unless it's near dinnertime. Then I'll just drink some Gatorade or juice.