I have always heard you shouldnt exercise for 2 hours after dinner. From what i understand, your body cant do both, digest and burn calories. But really, doesnt digestion take up to 13 hours from beginning to end? It doesnt seem like your stomach works any harder than your small intestine. Maybe i am just trying to justify it but that always seems to be when i get around to exercise. I usually end up exercising about an hour after dinner. That just seems to be when i have time to do it. So is it really *that* big a deal if i exercise shortly after eating? if so, what makes the stomach digestion so much more volitile than the intestine part?

And even so, isnt exercising after dinner better than no exericse?

I like how you reasoned that all out! You're right about the digestion thing too...it takes a long time for most of the foods most people eat to be fully digested and eliminated! I'd say as long as you feel okay and don't have a really heavy dinner that weighs you down and makes you feel sluggish, keep moving when you feel like it

I think the 2 hours is to give your stomach enough time to empty. I know that if I engage in strenuous exercise too soon after eating, I end up feeling like I'm going to vomit.... I don't need to wait a full two hours - more like 45 min to an hour.

I think it depends on how big of a meal you eat for dinner and how you feel. As a general rule, I like to exercise about an hour or two after I eat. This is enough time for my stomach to have emptied but not so much time that I am hungry again (I hate exercising when I'm hungry). If I exercise too soon after eating, I'll be crampy. I think you should just pay attention to your body on this one. If you feel energized, not sluggish or crampy, when you exercise after dinner, then, IMHO, it's fine to exercise then (of course, bear in mind that I'm an amateur, not a doctor, trainer, or other fitness expert).

It does seem like there are all these rules...don't exercise too soon after eating, don't wait too long after eating, don't get dehydrated, eat after you exercise, don't too much cardio, make sure you hit your target heart rate (whatever that is??), don't exercise too hard, etc. etc. I'm with you... I figure that even if I break all the rules, whatever I'm doing has got to be better than not exercising at all.

- Barbara

There are way too many rules I agree... I think if you are comfortable and are not cramping up by all means do go ahead and exercise , if you don't your workouts may go by the wayside and you aren't any further ahead...

I must have an iron stomach because I can eat my oatmeal and a 4 eggwhites omelette, immediately head out the door to the gym and workout, it takes me less than ten minutes to get to the gym, and I have no problem at all... I can also do the same if I go running... But that's just me...

It's like the rule of not swimming after eating. Some people can get cramps. I never have. So I don't follow the no swimming rule anymore than the no exercise rule. I do what I feel comfortable with.