Do You Eat Before Your Early Morning Workout?
I am getting some really good questions from my readers and its giving me more reader’s interest topics to post about! Keep the questions coming! Email me at womensdietandfitness@gmail.com.
“I’m interested in your opinion on nutrition when working out in the early morning – I’m not normally a morning person, but I want to change to a before-work routine, as I usually can’t be bothered going to the gym after a long day at the office! I tend to feel faint if I don’t eat shortly before a workout, but I’ve heard it’s beneficial to work out first thing on an empty stomach – I’m afraid I’d pass out if I did that!
What would you recommend?”
Many thanks,
Tara (Australia)
First off Tara, great decision to move your workouts to early morning so that no matter what, you are fitting them in to your day…and the best part is you will feel so much better all day and not have to worry about it anymore!
Second, I definitely recommend eating before your workout. You have to look at the overall picture and realize that your body hasn’t had food in about 10-14 hours! That is a very long time for our bodies to go without food, as it tends to slow down our metabolism. You will also need the nutrients to give you energy to be able to get in a good, hard workout! There are many different opinions about what you should eat before your workout, but my suggestion is a protein shake. A protein shake will provide for quick absorption–much quicker than eating some eggs. On the mornings that I plan to get up and workout right away, I will do my protein shake with water and ice. But on mornings when I have a couple hours before my workout, I will do some yogurt with cottage cheese, a little bit of flavored protein powder and some fruit. I then allow for about an hour before my workout, as I am not able to workout as well with food sitting in my stomach.
While some people can and do perform their workouts on an empty stomach, it’s not something I would recommend. You need to fuel your body to burn calories and if you have no fuel, you will only be burning muscle.
So what’s your opinion? Do you like to eat before your early morning workout? If so, what is YOUR choice of nutrition?
Angie Schumacher is a Certified Fitness Professional who trains clients in her home and is a Women's Boot Camp Instructor in Colorado. She is the author of The Fat Blasting Boot Camp Program and has offered a one stop website to help you with all of your health and fitness needs. Please visit www.BuildingABetterU.com to find exactly what you are looking for!
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Definitely need something to eat before a morning workout! I eat a couple tablespoons of peanut butter. It provides energy and satisfies my hunger but its a small enough amount of food that it doesn’t feel uncomfortable in my stomach.
Sagans last blog post..Welcome all!
I can do yoga on an empty stomach, but for running I need at least a piece of fruit and some water to get me going.
Fit Bottomed Girlss last blog post..FitLinks: Week of Dec. 29, 2008
I have a glass of 1% milk before my workout – because I too workout almost immediately after I wake up. I’ve heard that chocolate milk is a great pre or post workout snack, but since I’m off sugar I can’t do that! I have also heard that milk does a better job than water at hydrating your body – thoughts?
Angie you are correct. Your body has fasted for 10-14 hours so if you want to workout out and give it your 110% effort then you need fuel. Your body is depleted come morning and is unable to workout as hard as it could if it had a few calories in it before the workout.
Jayson
Jayson Hunters last blog post..Scintillating six pack abs
@Jayson Hunter~ Thanks for stopping by! I’m glad you agree!!
@Amber~wow..milk huh? I don’t think I could do that..too much ….thickness? for me?!I have never heard that milk does a better job of hydrating your body, but I will definitely look into it!
@FBG~Yea, its been a long time since I have done yoga, but I do know I would never be able to have a full tummy doing it!
@Sagan~ I would have never thought of Peanut butter! Yumm!!
I have done many fasted workouts as well as non-fasted. To be honest I can tell no difference regarding energy levels. My body composition never changed for better or for worse. Then again you might not really count my early morning workouts as being truly fasted considering I eat 100+ grams of protein, 100+ grams of carbs and a decent amount of fat before I hit the sack. However as of late, when I train in the morning I’ve been having a small piece of fruit and some whey.
JCs last blog post..Greek-Like Physique
Hi Angie,
I don’t ever eat before a morning workout. The puke/burping factor is the main reason why I don’t eat before I do anything in the morning. This is an article I always refer people to on the scientific reasons why I don’t eat and it’s working for me. http://www.hammernutrition.com/za/HNT?PAGE=ARTICLE&ARTICLE.ID=9126&OMI=&AMI=&RETURN_URL=%2Fza%2FHNT%3FPAGE%3DTRAININGTIPS%26OMI%3D%26AMI%3D&RETURN_TEXT=Performance%20Tips
Rachel/Fit Moms last blog post..The Importance of a Plan
Rachel: I completely agree with you in your reasoning to not eat before your morning workout. Your muscles will be full of glycogen from the day before, so you definitely have plenty of fuel for the morning workouts.
JCs last blog post..The Ketogenic Diet: Part 1 Running on Ketones
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