Do I need to refuel or not?

It depends mostly on how you feel. Some people prefer to wait a little while after working out to eat, and some prefer to eat soon after. I personally eat soon after I finish a workout because I've found that I feel hungrier later in the day if I wait.

There are a lot of myths about meal timing/protein intake after working out. They are generally not applicable to the vast majority of the population. Just make sure you're getting adequate calories and protein throughout your day, and if you find that eating on a certain schedule makes you feel better, then do what works for your body.

Let how you feel be your guide. For most of us who are not elite athletes, nutrient timing is pretty irrelevant, theoretically speaking. (Good nutrition overall is important for best performance and health, but when you get particular nutrients is a pretty minor factor in physiological terms.)

Personally - i.e., this may not be true for others - I need to eat a little bit (protein & carbs especially) before morning workouts, because I don't perform well if I work out fasted (unless something easy like walking). When I was doing back to back spin & kettlebell classes, I found I had more energy for the 2nd class, and recovered better overall, if I had just a tiny carb-y snack in between (one of those 60-calorie unsweetened applesauce pouches was perfect). I do better with slightly more carbs before on-water rowing than I need before spin class. And I need water during and after . . . but I know from talking to friends that I'm especially water-sensitive.

I'm soooo not saying you should follow this specific model. What I'm trying to illustrate is that I experimented, and figured out what helped me get the most out of the exercise, and feel best for the rest of the day (and throughout the recovery period, whatever that is). That's what I'm recommending: Experiment, and figure out you.

Assuming you're otherwise eating a balanced diet you probably have enough stored glycogen to see you through 90 minutes of moderate exercise. Water is probably fine while you're working out and base your eating on how you feel afterward (personally I'll run, ride or row on coffee and water, if I'm hitting the 2 hr mark for my rides or 90 min for my runs I'll have a banana first and energy dink on the go, but that's more for making sure I'm ok with the sports drink before triathlon season starts)

aperis2615 wrote: »

TavistockToad wrote: »

aperis2615 wrote: »

My typical workouts are 30-35 mins of running at a 7:30-7:40 pace and 10-20 mins of body weight exercises. Do I need to refuel after this or is something like water or a coffee okay?

Do you feel hungry when you're finished? If not then just eat at your next mealtime

Sometimes it’s hit or miss. I don’t typically feel hungry after exercise but I’ll be super tired or feel like it’s hard to finding my workout depending on the day. I don’t really want to mix that up with the concept of being hungry, but like a lot of people said on here I probably just have to experiment.

This may indicate undereating overall, rather than a problem with meal timing. An overly aggressive deficit can lead to not having enough energy to fuel your workouts. What are your stats—height, current weight, goal weight (if applicable), calorie intake?