Eat Before or After Exercise (lifting, build, fast, burn)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by scarlett7

Hello everyone!

I wanted to know what is the best practice? Do you have breakfast before or after you workout?

Sometimes I skip breakfast and hit the gym but after a while I feel drained. On the other hand, if I eat and then I go to the GYM, I feel heavy.

Thanks!

Whatever works for you is the best practice.

Try eating a very small breakfast prior to workout, then a bigger one afterwards.

That's what I do for running, but in my case I'm rising earlier than most people.

[chiluvr1228]

I eat a light breakfast: organic cereal with lots of fresh berries but I have to wait a minimum of 90 minutes to work out otherwise I get nauseated.

[Old Gringo]

I always work out before breakfast.

[Nov3]

I eat while working out. Yup a banana
..then some nuts....all simple foods that my body energizes from. The liquids to hydrate .

I tend to do small meals thru out the day..meaning grazing foods. A scrambled or hard boiled egg.

Later some spinach bean mix.

Point is ...energize as your body needs.

[ukrkoz]

Every time liquid or food is placed in digestive tract, nervous system switches from other activities to food digestion. So does blood supply, as it has to follow nutrients, digested, at various speed and in various DT compartments, to capture them them and carry to various organs.
Simple physiology. Check any book on it before arguing with this.
What do you want during exercise?
Good blood (oxygen) flow to muscles exercised.
Nutrients ALREADY have to be stored in muscles, as muscles do not consume nutrients "on the go". they utilize nutrients, stored in muscles from the previous day digestion and that supply lasts only about 20 minutes, or can be depleted much faster, depending on exercise intensity.
Now, if you can add 2 and 2, you will understand that any food consumption right before exercise produces no benefit to energy level in muscles and distracts organism from proper muscle function.
Any "dope" you use in form of energy drinks or such, giving you instant rush and fake sense of energy, will cost you later in decreased energy and general organs damage.
Now, you exercised. Entire body is geared towards muscles action. It takes TIME to reset systems back to normal operation.

Eating right after exercise is overloading GI tract with food, that is not processed timely and simply plugs it.

Safe approach is no solids at least 30-40 min before exercise and at least same time after. Remember, you store energy during night, not during day.

Don't read exercise gurus. Read physiology books. No one ever canceled normal laws of physiology just because he or she is some sort of pomoter for something related to exercise.

[JONOV]

Black coffee and a banana or protein bar. More than that makes me sick. Less than that I can do if it's not super heavy.

[MarshaBrady1968]

I have done this research for years- nothing formal I mean, just asking my class participants. I teach all kinds of group exercise classes, as well as mind body classes. The rule of thumb for yoga and other mind body classes is "empty stomach". Other cardio and weight training classes seem to be different.
I also teach at all different times of day, so I ask in each time slot about food consumption, empty vs full stomach, etc.
Here are my findings:

5-6 am classes: almost 100% empty stomachs, though occasionally someone will say they "have to have something on their stomach before they come- just a couple of bites of something or they get nauseus"
9-10 am classes: about 50/50
5-7 pm classes: about 50/50

In my family, all of us work out. Me and one of my daughters feel awful on anything but an empty stomach. The other daughter and my husband both eat before they go to the gym because they say they will feel drained and like they cannot work out as hard if they don't eat.

Further, I have actually been known to go into a mild anaphylactic shock when I do certain workouts with food in my stomach

[Navyshow]

I eat 4-5 eggs scrambled an hour and a half before training and 4 eggs or protein drink several hours after (have to drive to work and get tasks started so there is a delay). I have 2 breakfasts. A before and an after. Weight training or running.
I cannot do any form of fasted anything before exercise.

[jaynaydee]

When I was working out in the morning, I worked out first then ate afterwards. About an hour later when I arrived at work.

I would eat oatmeal, a banana and a handful of nuts.

[McBain II]

Originally Posted by ukrkoz

Every time liquid or food is placed in digestive tract, nervous system switches from other activities to food digestion. So does blood supply, as it has to follow nutrients, digested, at various speed and in various DT compartments, to capture them them and carry to various organs.
Simple physiology. Check any book on it before arguing with this.
What do you want during exercise?
Good blood (oxygen) flow to muscles exercised.
Nutrients ALREADY have to be stored in muscles, as muscles do not consume nutrients "on the go". they utilize nutrients, stored in muscles from the previous day digestion and that supply lasts only about 20 minutes, or can be depleted much faster, depending on exercise intensity.
Now, if you can add 2 and 2, you will understand that any food consumption right before exercise produces no benefit to energy level in muscles and distracts organism from proper muscle function.
Any "dope" you use in form of energy drinks or such, giving you instant rush and fake sense of energy, will cost you later in decreased energy and general organs damage.
Now, you exercised. Entire body is geared towards muscles action. It takes TIME to reset systems back to normal operation.

Eating right after exercise is overloading GI tract with food, that is not processed timely and simply plugs it.

Safe approach is no solids at least 30-40 min before exercise and at least same time after. Remember, you store energy during night, not during day.

Don't read exercise gurus. Read physiology books. No one ever canceled normal laws of physiology just because he or she is some sort of pomoter for something related to exercise.

Congrats. You got literally everything wrong.