Weight-Loss Breakfast and morning workouts

Weight-Loss

somesaymisty

New member
I get up at 5:30 AM and go to the gym for my workout. I don't eat breakfast before I go. It seems to make me feel ill when I'm working out. Is this a bad thing though? I don't seem to be lacking in energy once I start warming up my muscles. I just want to make sure I'm not being counter-productive by not eating first. I eat around 8 AM once I'm at work. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear what other people think and/or do!
 
no actually that's one of the best times to workout .. in the morning when your stomach's empty.
 
somesaymisty said:
I get up at 5:30 AM and go to the gym for my workout. I don't eat breakfast before I go. It seems to make me feel ill when I'm working out. Is this a bad thing though? I don't seem to be lacking in energy once I start warming up my muscles. I just want to make sure I'm not being counter-productive by not eating first. I eat around 8 AM once I'm at work. Any thoughts? I'd love to hear what other people think and/or do!

I have always heard if you eat some high protein meal before a workout, it suits you better because your muscles have more "energy" to grow... I'll try to find a decent article on it for ya.

(I'm sure almost everyone will have a differing opinion, so take them all with a grain of salt, including mine :) )
 
hey, i heard that working out in the morning, without eating first, will use stored fat because there is nothing else available. That energy has to come from somewhere! but if you are feeling sick smething like light yogurt would help. good luck!
 
Thanks for the ideas! I think eating before my workout would make me feel sick! I'm just not hungry when I get up. I feel like I have plenty of energy once I get going, but I might try to eat something light one morning just to see if it makes any difference.
 
No no no! Your blood sugar is low and that is NOT a good thing! Occasional, short and low intensity cardio on an empty stomach is ok only if it does not make you sick. It's actually critically important to have your muscles full of glycogen before either strength training or intense cardio. You could actually pass out. It can be dangerous.

Also, as for burning fat...you will be burning some, but you will also be burning your muscle mass. That means an overall lowered metabolism, and decreased the liekliehood that you will have a firm looking body.

Cardio on an empty stomacn can be benficial under the right circumstances and only for some people, but is something that we must be very careful doing. It frustrates me as a fitness professional to see people give out advice that could potantially be dangerous. :(

Sarah
 
SarahPT said:
Cardio on an empty stomacn can be benficial under the right circumstances and only for some people, but is something that we must be very careful doing. It frustrates me as a fitness professional to see people give out advice that could potantially be dangerous. :(

Sarah

Ok, so what does that mean for me? I want to get the most out of my workout. Is it ok that I don't eat because I don't feel weak or have a lack of energy? I feel fine. I have energy. I never feel sick or light-headed after a workout. Does that mean I'm ok or should I eat regardless? And if I should eat, how much is enough? I can't exercise on a full stomache. That makes me feel sick and sluggish while working out.
 
You know what, I read your post wrong and thought you said you DID feel sick. My bad!
Before I can answer your, what do you do for a workout in the morning? Short and not too intense cardio is fine. Longer, or intense cardio would not be a good idea, and strength training would not be a good idea.

Here's a little research on the subject for you:
The Claim: You Burn More Fat by Exercising on an Empty Stomach
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Published: April 4, 2006
THE FACTS For most people who exercise in the morning, there is no getting around the question: Eat and run? Or run and eat later?

Fitness experts will say that eating first provides fuel for a proper workout. But according to one common belief, exercising on an empty stomach forces the body to tap into its reserves, burning off calories stored as fat and providing a more efficient workout. So who is right?

According to researchers, there is no simple answer. One study that examined the claim directly in 1995 found that a group of people did burn more calories from fat on days when they exercised on an empty stomach than on days when they had a small breakfast first. But the researchers found that the difference was negligible, and other studies have shown that fewer calories are burned in the long run because the workouts are shorter.

A study published in 1999 in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise had a group of people ride an exercise bike on two mornings: on one day after a small breakfast, and the other after eating nothing. The researchers found that when the subjects ate nothing, they became fatigued faster and stopped exercising about 30 minutes earlier.

Dr. David Prince, an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, said that when you exercise on an empty tank, your body burns through stored carbohydrates first, then protein, before it finally moves on to fat. In the meantime, he said, "you lower your blood sugar, causing ravenous hunger that in most people would lead them to eat much more than they would otherwise."

His recommendation? A small piece of fruit, "just enough to give you energy for a more intense workout."



Keep in mind that he was talking about cardio only. Here's something else to be careful of:

"After a night of sleep, your spinal discs are filled with fluid, which makes them more likely to rupture if they're put under pressure first thing in the morning. Other joints and connective tissues could be more vulnerable in the morning because it takes longer to warm up and get the body's natural protective mechanisms working.
The best reason to exercise first thing in the morning, with or without food in your stomach, is if that's the most convenient time for you. Just do yourself a favor and warm up carefully, and don't do anything that would put your back at risk within an hour of waking. And if you're most concerned about fat loss, what you eat and do the rest of the day matters much more than whether you eat or don't eat before your workout."

Hope that helps with clarity.
 
Thanks SarahPT! That was very useful info. I do all of my workouts (cardio and strength) in the mornings because that's the most convenient time for me. However, I am limited on time so I usually only workout for an hour a day. I alternate lifting and cardio days. I also use interval training on the cardio days. I guess I could stand to eat something small before I go. It wouldn't hurt! I also go hiking on the weekends alot, which is why I don't worry too much about shorter cardio workouts. I always eat breakfast before a hike. Anyway, thank you for posting. It's definately given me some things to think about.
 
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