I typically do my work for Couch to 5k in the morning before work because that is when I have the most energy and I feel great through out the rest of the day. Most of the time, I get out of bed, get dressed, eat a bowl of cereal, let it sit for about 10 minutes and then I hit the pavement and I usually feel pretty good.
I was watching reruns of the Dr. Oz show where he was talking about the best times to wake up, eat, workout, etc, throughout a day. His advice was to wake up, do your morning stuff, and then workout without eating before. I found this so odd because I had always thought I would want food in my belly to have energy to get through the running. Well, Tuesday morning I hit the pavement without eating anything before. I don't really go any further than 2.5 miles when I workout so I was pretty sure I would make it through. I actually felt pretty good while I was running. I didn't feel like I had any less energy than when I do eat.
Most of what I have been reading up on this says that whether to eat or not to eat really depends on the person and the work out. So my question to you is, do you eat before you work out in the morning or not?
I find it harder to run after eating. I usually wait at least an hour after eating to run. Or I run before a meal.
ReplyDeleteI generally eat something before I head to the gym in the morning. A few hard boiled egg whites, or oatmeal, or a bagel thin with pb. If I don't eat then I do my usual 1.5 to 3 hours in the gym I would hit the proverbial wall and be miserable. There were a few times when I came close to passing out during the end of my workouts because I was just that far gone, those are usually the 3 hour workouts.
ReplyDeleteI think the *last* thing I read said eating before a workout keeps your body burning less of the lean muscle mass, but I think every week they change their minds on this. If you can give yourself a little fuel before your start I figure it gives your body something to start burning and you will go from there :)
My latest doc said for shorter workouts (less than an hour) there is no need to eat before hand, but longer stuff it would be beneficial to have something for your body to burn.