Exercise! - Eating before and after work out

I usually get up around 545 in the morning come home from the boyfriends house and do my 4 mile WATP dvd and then get ready for work but I'm curious as to if I should be eating before I exercise? I really dont have that much time as it it since I get home around 6am, finish exercising at 7 and have to be to work by 8. If I should be eating before I exercise what should it be? Is it going to just ruin everthing if I dont eat before hand? I eat breakfast every morning afterwards and I'm not starving or feeling weak during exercise currently.

Thanks!

the only thing i may be worried about is that your body may not be working to its full potential when you do the workouts without food...since your body has been without food for up to 9hours (roughly)it needs food to get going. the only thing is, you don't want to eat too much before you workout so ya don't throw up. Ill have to look into this a bit more and get back to you as to what foods to suggest. I'm thinking maybe some yogurt with some granola while your on your way home????

If you feel okay doing what you're doing, you're fine.

The diet I'm doing says it's better to work out on an empty stomach, and have your meal after. But I'm sure the effectiveness of this could be different for everyone. I don't eat before I work out cause I feel sick if I do, so I eat after. If you feel okay doing it the way you are now, I agree with Maria, keep doing that!

Lately if i eat right before a workout I get a stitch..pain in the side while working out..and its hurts like bloody ****! I ate a granola bar about 30 mins before a class at the gym and even that hurt. I now try to eat an hour or more before i workout..In your case you cannot so I'd just stick to eating after..however that said.........If you begin to feel dizzy eat something teeny before.

Last winter I went out shovelling snow without eating, two Saturday mornings in a row..and on both mornings (the second one was the scariest) I must have over exerted myself or my blood sugar went down...When I came in I became really dizzy and nauseous so I just stumbled to my room and collapsed on my bed..called out to my sis to get me some water and a banana.

After that Saturday I didn't go out until I ate before..so just be careful!

Dont worry about it. It's more important to fuel after than before.

I read if you work out in the morning- it's better to work out first THEN eat. Burns the fat from your body since you body has no energy stores lined up.

Your body wakes up in starvation mode. depending on the type of workout you are doing in the morning, you will NOT be working out to your maximum and not be productive in your fat loss. Eating is a very important part of your weight loss journey. Try a few different things..and eat them as early as possible in the morning to prevent any possible cramps.

I run at 5 in the morning on an empty stomach and have been quite productive with my fat loss. :) I don't eat before my 5 am runs. If I did, my choices would be to get up at 4 am so it would have time to digest or eat immediately before the run, in which case I would feel sick. I think it is pretty individual. Do what works for you.

I like to eat after I work out because if I eat anything before I feel sick. I think that if what your doing is working for you to keep at it.

Thanks for all the advice. Maybe Ill try to find something easy and light I can snack on in the car. Fruit or cheese just a little something to get me going before the work out. I don't ever feel sick when I'm working out or afterwards, I drink water through out the work out and contine that through the day. My b/f says protein before and after, but he's trying to bulk up/body build and I'm trying to lose so I'm not sure if it'd be the same combo for me as it is him...

eat something small before and the larger breakfast after

work out first THEN eat. Burns the fat from your body since you body has no energy stores lined up.

Generally we have enough glycogen in our muscles for around 2 hours of hard exercise and that's what we burn. Our bodies can't efficiently burn fat as fuel. (And all of this kind of relates to the fat-burning-exercise myth.)

Your body wakes up in starvation mode.

Seriously? I'm really wondering if this is true! I've never heard of that... I didn't think 9-10 hours, depending on when you stop eating and how much sleep you get, is going to put you into starvation mode. I always thought days worth of bad nutrition would. I'm not trying to be mean or say you're wrong, I honestly don't know ( I probably still have a lot to learn about dieting haha). Does the body really wake up starving?

I usually eat after my workout...it seems if i eat first i just burn that energy and im hungry again very soon after my work out and i dont want that!

I run every morning at 5:30 and definitely on an empty stomach. I have had 0 problems doing this. I have a super quick shower (5minutes) afterwards and then I eat a very good breakfast. The few times I have eaten and then tried cardio, it just doesn't work out for me. I feel sluggish and slow and unmotivated. If I had to eat something before the workout, I would probably choose 10-15 raw almonds.

I think it is really important to do what works best for you. You will hear differing opinions about different topics. In the end, if your system is working than keep it up!

BTW--everything I have read indicates going into "starvation mode" takes much, much longer than just a night's sleep.

I get up at 5 and run about 5:20 (or do yoga). I often go on an empty stomach, or I have a small easy to eat fruit (1/2 banana, small orange, some grapes) or maybe 1/2c of a green fruit/veggie drink. I can't really say I see a difference on days I do eat something vs when I don't. There might be a difference, but it would take some careful evaluating to tell :) But I feel good about at least putting a little something into my system - but there's no way I could eat more and not get sick or uncomfortable.

Dont worry about it. It's more important to fuel after than before.I agree, especially in an early morning routine and you aren't working out for several hours on an empty stomach, it's only an hour. I never ate when I worked out that early, just no time anyways...