I was always taught that you need to eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking, to get your metabolism going. Hubby was in the military and thinks it's best to workout before breakfast. What do you all do? Ive never been an overeater, my weight gain was caused from bread and beer, and the fact that I had a horrible eating schedule. I would wake up around 9 am, eat a sandwich around 2 or 3 pm, then eat a big dinner around around 7pm.
Now that I am on the beach, I am spacing everything out about 2 hrs. B - 9 am, S - 11 am, L - 1 pm, S - 3 pm, D - around 5:30. Sorry for all the info, just trying to convey what I am doing so everyone knows.
Anyway I am doing 20 minutes of the interval walking/total body workout that is listed in the book everyday. Would it be more beneficial for me to do it first thing in the morning, or is anytime ok? TIA for any suggestions
I've heard that too, about eating soon to jump start your metabolism. But I have found that what works for me now is to put off breakfast and drink a lot of tea first. I get up pretty early and get a lot of computer stuff done before I eat a few hours later. I work out after I've digested a bit.
If I don't have time to workout late morning, I will sometimes do it before breakfast. But I find I get hungry and it makes it hard to finish. I'm working out longer though, so you should be fine, I'd think.
As for time of day, I think it is all whichever is best for you. Any time will burn the same amount of calories. I used to find if I didn't work out early I wouldn't get it done. But I'm pretty consistent now and that's not a problem. I do like routine and find that works best for me.
That is something that is so completely individual. You may find that for you, exercising first works better and feels better. Or, you may find that exercising first makes you feel like you're exercising through mud.
Or, you could be like me where you can't eat much for breakfast (a low carb protein shake does wonders), but I need SOMETHING in my stomach, and then I eat an hour or two after working out a bigger meal.
Basically, it's whatever works for you. Listen to your body - are you a person hungrier in teh morning? or hungrier at night? and so on... and then plan your meals that way - not so much by what a book says. You know your body better than anyone and everybody's body is different.
I always liked eating before going to the gym. I found that if I eat before hand I felt like I was getting more out of it because I wasn't running on empty. Plus I get really mean when I'm hungry so my eating before helps everyone i come into contact with. haha But i wouldn't suggest eating a lot of food, it might make you feel sick...
I work out before breakfast. However, I am diabetic and If my blood sugar is below 85, I eat a tbs of peanut butter or 1/2 a low carb protein shake. Sometimes, even a single piece of toast. If I eat too much, I have a hard time pushing myself.
After working out, it is so nice to enjoy breakfast and then start my day. but, I agree with others. You need to discover what works for your body.
When I first started SBD, my blood sugar was all over the place. I don't know that I could have exercised before eating and I didn't ever try.
Now, 2+ years in I find my BS so stable and I decided I'd switch it around. I do just fine and really haven't noticed that it affects my weight loss one way or the other.
I've been working out before breakfast for maximum fat burning... from what I understand, if you have food in your belly, your body will burn it first and then go to your fat storage. If you haven't eaten, then your body goes directly to fat storage for energy.
I have been working out before breakfast (but after coffee!) simply for scheduling reasons and it's worked out fine for me. I like to get it over with early in the day and enjoy the rush of feel good chemicals to get me started (am getting ready to do it right now actually). I've heard too that working out before eating burns more fat, I think from Bob Greene of Oprah fame. I hope others chime in on this with some real data because I'd like to know.
When I lost a lot of weight (80 lbs) years ago, I always worked out before I ate breakfast. I read that it causes the body to use stored fat. HOWEVER, if it's going to be a long workout (more than 30 mins), you really need to eat at least a yogurt or 1 scrambled egg or you'll find yourself hitting the wall at about 40 mins. That was my experience.
I've tried it both ways, but found that my workouts were much more productive if I ate at least a little something before. My go-to breakfast is a green smoothie with lots of liquid so it is easily processed by my body. My days where I do distance running, I also include some form of carb.
I agree that it is an individual thing. For me, if I waited until after I finished working out, I wouldn't be eating breakfast until 10:30 or so...and going that long without food just isn't going to work for me.
As you can tell, it is really up to each individual. I do not eat before working out because I wake up at 4:40 a.m. and immediately do my workout. After my workout, I have around 6 oz each of V8 and Coconut milk and then get ready for work. I eat breakfast at work around 7:30 a.m.
When I used to work out in the mornings (doesn't work with my schedule anymore) I would eat two breakfasts. Before working out I would have a small piece of toast with pb and a cup of fat free milk. After I finished working out and showered, etc. I would have a scrambled egg or two with soem veggie or strawberries. It worked really well for me. Since I had 1.5 hr workouts, I needed to eat beforehand to get through it, and I was definitely hungry when I was done.
Thanks everyone for chiming in! Right now I am working out in the afternoon, and the weight is coming off in phase one. Maybe when I transition to phase 2 if I dont seem to be dropping the fat, then I might try switching it to first thing in the morning before I eat to see if that makes a difference.
Great thread! I work out first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. My workouts are pretty short, though, so it isn't too long before I do get my breakfast in (low-carb breakfast shake most days). For me, working out in the morning makes me feel energized all day. If I work out in the afternoon or evening, I don't really get that benefit. Plus, I find that I have to do it first thing or it becomes waaaay too easy to not do it at all!
Exercise - before or after breakfast?
