I wasnt sure to post this here or in the food thread... LOL

Ive started working out in the mornings. Should I eat breakfast before or after? Ive been just having my cup of black coffee and then eating when I get back, but Im new to exercise and not sure if that is hurting my calorie loss or not? Ive been doing the elliptical or a Zumba class

Plus, if you think I should eat first, what is a good pre exercise breakfast?

I've heard it's best to eat after the workout, as long as it doesn't effect your workout negatively to go on an empty stomach. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just what I heard. If you are going to eat something, it should be protein. So, if I really want something, I'll have a hardboiled egg or 10 almonds. Usually though, I have nothing until after...way after. I workout, have my coffee and then I eat lunch. I know that's not how you're "supposed" to do it, but it works for me so far.

Hey violet welldone! great idea, exercising in the morning, wish i cd do that lol

my dad always says there r 7 things u shdnt do after eating, one of them is exercising. bcoz that way, your body won't digest and metabolize the food you ate, it will save this energy and put it in your exercise, so the food you eat wd be stored in ur body. so i suggest if you're gonna exercise after eating, let that be at least 1 hour after you finish eating.

Good luck!

for me, i excercise late at night, bt morning exercise does sound great i think i'd like to try that smtime

I can't exercise with food in my stomach, BUT I also don't want to get light-headed. I often eat a couple of bites of something -- a few almonds, a small spoonful of PB, carrots, just something to give my blood sugar a little something to work with!

I cannot eat right after I wake up. For years I went to the gym at 5:30 a.m., so I went on an empty stomach. I did just fine. Now that I do not go to the gym, I still can't eat breakfast first thing in the morning. I have to wait at least 1 - 1 1/2 hours before I eat. Based on this and no negative effects from it, I think it's fine to work out on an empty stomach. Gauge yourself. If you feel less energized you might need to eat a little something. If you feel fine, then I would carry on as usual (i.e., no pre-workout food).

I usually eat before I do my workout. I wake up at 9am and have a breakfast at that time, hang out for an hour, let my body to wake up and then I feel like I want to work out. So that's like an hour after I eat.
I think the better way is to work out before you eat (even though I do the opposite lol). I used to exercise before I eat but it just went the other way for some reason. I think it's because I don't feel good exercising with empty stomach, so I eat a breakfast and then wait for an hour.
I'll take an advice from Jen516 and eat a couple of bites of something before working out.

I've tried to eat breakfast and then run - I felt seriously sick to my stomach. The only exception is when I do my interval training once a week, I'll have a small peanut butter sandwich about an hour before and then head out. But for the most part, I exercise in the morning on an empty stomach.

I used think I NEEDED to eat before doing anything in the morning - I'm hypoglycemic. But when I started exercising I learned I couldn't tolerate much - a cheese stick, hard boiled egg or plain Greek yogurt seemed like just enough. I've just started going to a trainer, and he encouraged me to try not eating before an am workout. He says if there's food in your stomach, your body will burn that first, so you burn off less fat. Since I'm still trying to lose, I've tried it the last few weeks. I still have a cup of coffee with creamer, and once I get past the initial hunger and get down to work with him, I'm fine. I am starving after, though. I actually pack a protein/fruit/veggie smoothie in a cooler and drink it in the car on the way home.

ETA - I've also been not eating before morning running and yoga classes - that feels fine, too.

Uhm, check his credentials please. It's not possible for your body to burn food that is in your stomach that makes no sense whatsoever. Your body does not work like that lol.

As you can see, depending on what you eat, when you eat it and what kind of exercise you do it is possible to either eat or not eat before exercise. It's all up to you and how your body feels. I don't like to eat a big meal before exercise because the body needs time to digest food, I don't want food flopping around in my tummy when I exercise. Besides, digestion requires a lot of blood to travel to your stomach to work on that digestion, and exercise requires a lot of circulation of blood throughout your body so digestion and heavy exercise don't really go hand in hand.

I do however feel best when I've gotten a little protein in me, I usually have some almonds or cashews and a glass of water before I head out for exercise. When I come back I like to chew down on something quick like a banana and then have a proper meal after my cool down and shower. But there are times that I go out to exercise after proper breakfast and in that case I wait about an hour before I do anything rigorous, again to allow my body to digest a little.

From a sports nutrition class, I have heard it is best to workout on an empty stomach, and then to eat protein right after. If you feel like you need to eat something beforehand, I would suggest a slice of toast with peanut butter to give you some carbs and protein...that has never upset my stomach while working out in the morning and I am usually sensitive to that kind of thing. I find dairy is most upsetting to my stomach before a workout, so I try to stay away from that early in the morning

There is some evidence that if you eat on an empty stomach, it forces the body to burn FAT instead of the food you just ate. But the difference is likely pretty nominal.

If it works for you to eat, eat. If not, eat afterwards. I never eat before working out because it sits like lead in my stomach. Plus exercise tends to suppress my appetite and I eat less afterwards. Win-win.

Simply not true...

For the burning off the food you ate rather than fat, Riddy, I think what the trainer meant was when you eat, you basically get a source of sugar into the blood stream ( I'm stating this very simply.) When you do that, your body uses that as the immediate source of energy before switching to back up sources, fat or the sugar storage in the liver. So it kind of does work like that, but its not like what you eat instantly becomes fat to burn...wannabeskinny...if you give a diabetic (or anyone for that matter, but usually its diabetics we are thinking of with this) something to eat, and check their blood sugar, it starts to show a rise pretty quickly...I would assume that's what the trainer was likely talking about, since this a pretty common thought/concern among "the fitness" crowd from what I've heard over the years.

I have read very conflicting evidence over whether this really matters, and I think the conclusion at this time is like CherryPie said, nominal.

So its really about what helps you. For me I ran for a long time on an empty stomach and my runs were crumby. After some reading on runner's forums, I started eating just a half banana when I got up, easy on my stomach, and quick sugar and carb...think of what spikes a diabetics blood sugar, fast source of energy. I read many different small snacks runners prefer before a run: nuts, toast with PB, greek yogurt....Anyway, I noticed a HUGE difference in my runs, I almost didn't believe it myself. I could run faster and longer. I don't drink anything though, after 2 (almost 3 kids) I can't drink before a run, I just make sure to hydrate after. I save my protein for after I workout for muscle repair. Really before my run (well i'm on break, pregnant!) I am looking for a fast boost of energy, carbs and sugar...like the idea of carb loading, which can be done before a marathon..

Whatever works for you, but if you are not eating, try a few mornings of something very small and see if you noticed a difference in your workouts or if you just feel sick while working out... again, whatever works for you is what works.

Glamourgirl, yes, I think you said it more like the trainer did than I did. And he wasn't pushing it on me, just suggesting it. I've been stuck at this weight since July, so I'm very open to suggestions. I haven't found anything that makes a big difference in performance, but delaying breakfast does help me control my total intake for the day.

Riddy, you stated it just fine for anyone that knows about all that lovely stuff. I'd like to say its because I'm a nurse, but I think its more from spending nearly 15 years reading reading reading about diet and nutrition!

I spent probably until my mid 20s doing fad diets and reading "surface" ideas about fitness. During nursing school I had classes on nutrition and learned a lot of info on what really happens in the body when we eat and exercise. Of course a lot of this was in relation to disease processes but it helped give me the foundation to learn and understand more on my own.

I've since tried to become more knowledgable on what we eat and exactly how it is used or stored within the body. Its amazing how many conflicting ideas are out there. There's always people with different opinions and contradicting studies, and its really just an area that needs a lot more research.

The conclusion I have come to from my reading and understanding, is basically carbs (like say brown rice) are fuel for the body. I used to know this a lot better, the different types of sugars and how they are broken down by the body. I forget the details now, and I suppose I should refresh myself!
Anyway, I basically treat refined sugar and fruit sugar like I treat alcohol. A treat that I have on occasion. I've tried taking all sugar out of my diet and while I feel great I can't maintain it because its everywhere and I just simply don't feel like having such a strict diet.
I keep my carbs lower. Around no more than 2-3 serving a day, and really 2 of them are at breakfast. Maybe one at lunch and none for dinner. My endocrinologist agrees with this idea, carbs are fuel, and unless you run at night, you don't need fuel to sit on the couch and watch tv in the evening.

When I am running (come on baby!! I want to get back) I have a half of banana for that quick sugar/carb source for fuel. If a half a banana costs me about 50 cals, that is more than worth it for a 5 mile run that I now have the energy to run hard because of that banana.
But when I get back, I always make sure my breakfast is mostly protien, eggs, turkey sausage occasionally , really I do eggs mostly because I don't like any other morning protien. But if you want turkey or chicken for breakfast go head! lol

Aside from the banana, everything I eat is always paired with a protien to keep me full longer.


But even with all that, the way I finally lost the weight was not with eating right, it was the right exercise. My whole life I stayed around 160-170 lbs...what finally got me down to like 140lbs was running. I did the gym for years. And nothing burned through calories in the least time like running outside. I know that's not always an option, and I know for me after this baby I will spend many month inside on my treadmill before venturing outside in the spring of 2014!! lol...however last year when I took my running to real road and trails, I actually lost weight so fast I had to increase my intake because, 1. I was starving ALL. THE. TIME. and 2. I didn't want to lose it too fast. Yeah, I never thought that would be an issue.

So anyway, if you are stuck and you can, take your workout outside. You can really feel how much harder it is to run outside than on a treadmill! Good luck!