Eating BEFORE workouts

Pre-workout food choices depend on whether you plan on doing strength training or cardio.

Strength training -- to build lean muscle, your body needs a readily available supply of protein for tissue repair. The more intense your workout is, the more protein you need. You'll want roughly 25% protein vs 75% carb from your pre-workout meal/snack, and it's generally best to consume this 30-60 minutes prior to workout.
Good examples:
- egg white omelette with toast and soy milk
- protein powder smoothie with fruit (eg. mango) and flax seed
- greek yoghurt with banana, walnuts, honey

Cardo training -- carbs are metabolised into glucose (aka. energy!!) very quickly, and will help you power through these workouts. Like strength training, it should be consumed 30-60 minutes prior. While you'll want your snack to constitute 75%-100%, I'd recommend a bit of protein and fiber so your supply of energy is delivered a little more steadily.
Good examples:
- skim milk oatmeal with raisins, walnuts and honey
- greek yoghurt parfait with muesli and banana
- banana, honey, soy milk smoothie

Hopefully this helps. But don't forget about your post-workout snack options as well. Hope this helps.

I usually work out very early in the a.m. - around 5:30. I don't eat before hand due to this. I think it's up to what you are comfortable with. You don't HAVE to eat pre-workout, but you can certainly play around with some of the suggestions on this thread. Good luck!