Wake up. Then breakfast or exercise??

Nukkers
Nukkers Posts: 139 Member
edited December 24 in Fitness and Exercise
I know that on The Biggest Loser they're always preaching to eat within 30 minutes of waking up to jump start your metabolism. But I like to get some exercise in before my little boy wakes up for the day. Would waking up, exercising, and then eating have the same effect? I'm not really big on breakfast so I usually just have a cup of green tea and a fiber plus bar anyway. Any thoughts??

Replies

  • SInder2
    SInder2 Posts: 24 Member
    I've always heard that if you will be lifting weights it is best to eat to help repair the muscles- think protein foods. However, if you are planning on doing cardio then it is best to eat afterwards to get the best fat burn. Not sure how true this is. I'm like you and would rather eat after a work out, just seems easier when I'm just waking up and head out the door.
  • lilpoindexter
    lilpoindexter Posts: 1,122 Member
    I wake up hella early to go the gym frequently...330 AM...I usually just put my workout clothes and shoes on, and hit the door. If I stopped to eat or prepare food, it would give me another excuse to not get myself in the gym. I feel hunger pangs on my way to the gym, but I forget about them and just concentrate on my stuff. When I have eaten, I feel like Im going to throw up and I'm uncomfortable...At the gym some days I lift weights, then I do Cardio. When I get home I drink a glass of orange juice, then get ready for work, and eat breakfast about 2 hours after i woke up. It seems to be working for me.
  • gxm17
    gxm17 Posts: 374
    I exercise before I eat breakfast pretty much five mornings a week. I prefer it and can't imagine working out after I just ate.
  • barbara4599
    barbara4599 Posts: 114 Member
    For me it is - Wake up, coffee, exercise, breakfast!
  • supplemama
    supplemama Posts: 1,956 Member
    I walk 2 miles each morning first thing before breakfast. Then I eat. I find that if I eat breakfast first, that turns into puttering around the house and doing this and doing that. Next thing I know the morning has flown by or if it's a work day it's time to go to work. So I knock out my morning walk first thing.
  • FITnFIRM4LIFE
    FITnFIRM4LIFE Posts: 818 Member
    Coffee, Breakfast 2 hours later workout. I think it depends on the person. I never eat to soon b4 exercising.
    Whatever works for you.
  • neverstray
    neverstray Posts: 3,845 Member
    It has no bearing at all. Do what ever you want. Biggest loser is silly. Just because they say something doesn't make it true.
  • i_miss_donuts
    i_miss_donuts Posts: 180 Member
    Wake up, coffee, bathroom, exercise, protein shake with milk & berries for breakfast. Bam!
  • deadbeatsummer
    deadbeatsummer Posts: 537 Member
    See I wouldn't be able to do any exercise without eating in the morning I get faint really easily.

    I eat breakfast after Im all dolled up and ready for the day - so an hour in.

    And i love breakfast - eggs, bacon, cereal, croissants, toast, mmmm
  • charanne52
    charanne52 Posts: 88 Member
    I've never been able to eat first thing in the morning. I always have my two cups of coffee then go for a 2.5 mile walk - then I eat breakfast. So far, this has been working for me.
  • calitravelingal
    calitravelingal Posts: 53
    If i'm gonna go to the gym in the morning I don't eat. I find that it makes me sick to my stomach. I've never been one for breakfast either. I have a cup of coffee and then head to the gym. If I know i'm gonna run or feel like if I don't have something I won't make it through the workout then I might have 1/2 a muscle milk or other protein shake. Not heavy on my stomach but provides a little something. You should however eat something high in protein after a workout. Protein helps repair muscle and my help reduce soreness.
  • PhilipByrne
    PhilipByrne Posts: 276 Member
    It has no bearing at all. Do what ever you want. Biggest loser is silly. Just because they say something doesn't make it true.

    Was just about to say this, I would be a little less polite about Biggest Loser though as it is nasty exploitative rubbish. Do whatever works for you.
  • mbrou28
    mbrou28 Posts: 132 Member
    I always eat a piece of fruit or toast before going to the gym and then eat my actual breakfast after that. One of the instructors in my Circuit Training class says every time she teaches that if we haven't eaten breakfast, we aren't burning fat. So I make sure to eat at least a little something. My favorite is a banana since it's so easy.
  • kitigonkukoo
    kitigonkukoo Posts: 218 Member
    I've been told by multiple trainers to eat SOMETHING before the gym in the morning... for me, that is literally a teaspoon of peanut butter, because I just hate eating that early... and if I eat a lot, I feel sick at the gym.

    They say to eat something, even something really small, as a signal to your body's metabolism that says "ok, we're awake now- start burning calories!" And this is fat calories. Eat your main breakfast after the gym, as a recovery meal.
  • Giantess
    Giantess Posts: 213 Member
    Yeah, keep doing what you're doing. Getting a routine going and sticking to it is way more important than eating breakfast at a certain time. I've even heard that skipping breakfast isn't all THAT much of a sin. People who do short term fasting do it all the time and can still get great results.
  • TheNewDodge
    TheNewDodge Posts: 607 Member
    Wake up
    Pee
    Go back to sleep
    Wake up
    Watch golf channel
    Coffee
    Pee
    Breakfast
    Work
    Exercise
  • BerryH
    BerryH Posts: 4,698 Member
    When you eat makes no difference to overall weight loss. However, if you get to the point where you make your workout harder or longer and find yourself struggling, you might want a small easily digestible snack before you go, like a banana.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    I know that on The Biggest Loser they're always preaching to eat within 30 minutes of waking up to jump start your metabolism. But I like to get some exercise in before my little boy wakes up for the day. Would waking up, exercising, and then eating have the same effect? I'm not really big on breakfast so I usually just have a cup of green tea and a fiber plus bar anyway. Any thoughts??
    Breakfast ISN'T required. It's more a personal thing. And the whole "jumpstarting your metabolism with breakfast" is a myth. There isn't any scientific evidence to support it.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Nikiki
    Nikiki Posts: 993
    I have blood sugar issues so I get faint if I don't eat before I workout, but I also feel pukey if I eat too much. If I workout in the morning I have coffee blended with coconut oil, flax oil, almond milk & half a scoop of protein powder and have an actual breakfast after I get back. If I go at night I wait till about an hour or two after I eat dinner then I have something small after I get home.

    My husband on the other hand can go for hours before eating in the morning, usually he wakes up, drinks coffee with a little sugar or jacked, a pre-workout supplement thats loaded with caffeine, and goes as soon as the energy kicks in.

    To each there own, I don't think there is any right or wrong way to do it unless you're hurting yourself!!
  • catch622
    catch622 Posts: 18
    I like to break up my breakfast, or morning. I endup eating a small breakfast and wait about 30 minutes before I run for about 3 miles. When I get back I usually have my protein shake.

    I usually goto the gym later in the day as well.
  • pundas
    pundas Posts: 165 Member
    I only eat breakfast before exercising if I have at least an hour and a half to digest. If I eat and then go straight into working out I get horrible cramps and can't workout to my fullest ability.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    I always eat a piece of fruit or toast before going to the gym and then eat my actual breakfast after that. One of the instructors in my Circuit Training class says every time she teaches that if we haven't eaten breakfast, we aren't burning fat. So I make sure to eat at least a little something. My favorite is a banana since it's so easy.
    Your instructor needs a refresher course in human physiology and metabolism if that's what she believes.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • GetFitE
    GetFitE Posts: 247 Member
    It depends on the day for me, but most days I eat breakfast and then go workout. My work schedule has me clocked in and ready to go at 7am, so I like to wake up slowly on my days off. Every now and then I get in the mood to workout first thing--so when I do, I eat something light- small protein shake or bar, nothing too heavy, then go workout and make breakfast after.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 49,029 Member
    I've been told by multiple trainers to eat SOMETHING before the gym in the morning... for me, that is literally a teaspoon of peanut butter, because I just hate eating that early... and if I eat a lot, I feel sick at the gym.

    They say to eat something, even something really small, as a signal to your body's metabolism that says "ok, we're awake now- start burning calories!" And this is fat calories. Eat your main breakfast after the gym, as a recovery meal.
    Your metabolism always burns. This is hearsay information that has been passed around from instructor to instructor (many with NO background study in nutrition, metabolism or human physiology) and is incorrect. Scientific study doesn't support the "eating to boost the metabolism" statement.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal/Group FitnessTrainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Whisperinghorse
    Whisperinghorse Posts: 202 Member
    Personally I now eat a banana when I get up at 530, do the horses, then excersise about 45 minutes after that.. Then a nice cuppa with some porridge!
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    I exercise and then eat. I have to get my workout in early (like you before the kids wake up and the hubby has to leave for work), so I workout and THEN eat a yogurt or something with protein. Then when I get to work I have my "breakfast".
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    Finally, I agree with Ninerbuff on something. :)

    and yeah, if I eat ANYTHING before hitting the gym in the morning, I get an awful stitch on my left side. So if I eat breakfast, I can't work out.
  • Living4Liz2012
    Living4Liz2012 Posts: 312
    To me I do both depending on how I feel when I wake up
    I try to eat though because I hate working out hungry...lol:)
  • girlonfire15
    girlonfire15 Posts: 77 Member
    On run days I run before I eat breakfast. On strength days I usually do my workouts in the afternoon, so I obviously eat first. I hate running on a full stomach so that's a no-brainer for me, and it's been working well.
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