Going to the gym hungry?
 

I always hear about not working out too soon after eating, but what about not eating till after working out?

Often times I go to the gym hungry, come home and shower then grab food.

It's certainly personal preference, but your body does need fuel to perform well. I always eat something prior to going to the gym, and then something when I get home. I used to go to the gym hungry, but found I didn't have as much stamina as I wanted. Once I started eating something before a workout, I was able to workout longer and harder.

I used to eat before going to the gym (a decent amount for lunchtime), and then after my workout I'd be hungry again and then would have to eat a second lunch or feel like I'm starving. I then thought to myself, 'well, that's silly.' So now, I don't eat until after I work out. I only have 1/2 hour to spare for gym time, so I would end up working out the same amount either way. That's been working out fine for me.

I like to eat before and eat after... I get weak if I don't eat beforehand and don't perform well at all...

I agree that it's definitely a personal preference. It would also depend on what kind of exercise you're doing. You would probably want to eat something before doing something really intense. (Ie: an hour of Spinning.)

Hmm, I did an hour of spinning this morning at 6 am on an empty stomach. If I had eaten before class, I would have tossed my cookies halfway through. :barf:

I agree with everyone that it's personal and whatever works the best for you. :) I do cardio at 5:45 am, so never eat beforehand. I try and plan my lifting for about 1.5 - 2 hours after I've eaten, both to prevent the queasies and so that I can eat a meal as soon as I get home from the gym. I'm always STARVING! ( we need a 'gnaw your arm off' smilie :lol: )

I can eat and exercise at the same time ;) It's a talent:) The only thing I can't do is lift heavy weight on an empty stomach. That's a recipe for disaster and scars for me.

Do what works for you- just don't land in a heap on the gym floor from doing an intense workout with no gas in your tank if that's how YOUR body reacts.

Mel

It's interesting--I have to wait an hour after eating before I work out or I'll cramp up. So if I get up really early in the morning to work out, I do it on an empty stomach (really empty, since I won't have eaten all night) because I don't want to have to get up an hour early to eat and then wait an hour to work out. I'm always fine when I do this; I have plenty of stamina and don't feel weak or hungry, etc.

I do sometimes worry that I'm not burning fat when I workout like this because I don't have any fuel in my body (but I'm not worried enough to lose an hour of sleep so that I can eat beforehand). One of the many confusing things I think I read somewhere is that if you workout without eating, your body may end up burning muscle rather than fat. But I could be totally confused on this. It seems like there are so many rules about exercising that I can't remember them all.

Any other time of the day, I have to have eaten within 1 to 2 hours before I work out or I will be totally starving during my workout, I'll feel weak, and it will be a struggle to finish. I time my meals and snacks very carefully to make sure I have eaten enough but not too much before I work out. Then I usually have a snack when I finish my workout. On the weekends, I usually time my workout to start midway between breakfast and lunch and then I can just eat lunch when I finish.

But since I can workout fine early in the morning without food, who knows...maybe this idea that I need food to work out is all in my head.

- Barbara

Barbara, I'm like that too when I workout in the wee hours of the morning I do not need to eat at all before the gym, I just need my coffee though :coffee:

Wow.. so many different ideas. @_@ I ask because I use to eat right before I went to the gym and I would feel full and it seemed to make it harder to work out, even if all I had was a snack. Then I would eat an hour before the gym and I would come home starving.

I guess I just have to time it a bit more ^_^

What I've been able to do is go to the gym about 4 hours after eating lunch, but eat a banana no more than 45 minutes before working out. Maybe I just eat very filling or large lunches, I'm not sure. I would be famished by the time I got home from the gym. One time I went to the gym after eating breakfast or something, and ohhhh that did not feel good. I felt so heavy and expanded just because I was trying to move fast.

I have found bananas to be filling. I consider them "power foods". They are nutritious, have fibre, potassium (good except for certain medical conditions), are sweet (well that always helps :lol:) and they're not crispy but mushy - somehow that makes me feel more full or like I'm eating more than "just an apple".

I would suggest experimenting a little bit to find out what works for you and YOUR body! ;)

I can't eat right before a workout, has to be at least an hour in advance or I feel like I would toss it. lol. My husband I think could eat right before and be just fine. Men. :rolleyes: lolllllllllllllll.

I agree I think its a personal preference............;)

I have breakfast around 8am, and then head off to the gym. It's a brisk walk there, but it's probably about a half hour before I start doing anything high intensity. I find that if it's over an hour from the last time I ate 'til I work out, I have much less energy. Then again, I eat mini-meals.

There was a time when I hadn't eaten for three hours, and I was doing high intensity cardio and nearly passed out. The goal is to avoid that, generally! Whatever works for you, though. :)