Early Morning Workouts - Eat before or not ??

vibez

Gents & ladies,

I train in the mornings, hit the gym for about 7:15 do about an hour and 10 or so of a work out, but lately i have had no energy.

So 2 questions here .....

1: should i eat something small before gym (peice fruit)

2: any natural energy boosters i could take to get me going, i have been taking siberian ginseng, not finding them any use at all.

Any help, tips or points appriciated!

itsallaboutheL

What does your workout consist of?

vibez

Mostly Cardio - Cross Trainer / treadmill 3 days per week

Weights 2 days per week: i do a circuit, Work back, chest, legs hitting major muscle groups. Im looking to reduce weight.

itsallaboutheL

vibez wrote: »

Mostly Cardio - Cross Trainer / treadmill 3 days per week

Weights 2 days per week: i do a circuit, Work back, chest, legs hitting major muscle groups. Im looking to reduce weight.

And what exactly is your reason for not eating?

ragg

I'd imagine he wants to maximise sleep time. You are probably better off eating something. Ideally you want protein and carbs, wholegrain toast and cottage cheese? not much preptime and you should be able to digest it quickly enough...

vibez

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

And what exactly is your reason for not eating?

Because i live about 30 mins drive from gym, so i leave house about 6:30/40 i crawl out of bed 6;25 I cant eat that early in the morning.

Basically im looking for something that will get me tru a good hard work out. If i should eat it has to be something VERY easy to prepare.

Anoth factor is, if i do eat before makes me feel bit sick

itsallaboutheL

vibez wrote: »

Because i live about 30 mins drive from gym, so i leave house about 6:30/40 i crawl out of bed 6;25 I cant eat that early in the morning.

Basically im looking for something that will get me tru a good hard work out. If i should eat it has to be something VERY easy to prepare.

Anoth factor is, if i do eat before makes me feel bit sick

Protein Shake and a Banana?

BossArky

Chicken nuggets.

Zamboni

BossArky wrote: »

Chicken nuggets.

Nuke in microwave for 30 seconsds, served with Reggae Reggae sauce.
Bolt styleee.

Khannie

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

Protein Shake and a Banana?

+1 on this. You should definitely eat something before going to the gym. Definitely. Carbs and protein ftw.

vibez

I never taken Protein shakes,

would you treat them as meal replacement ?

Recommend any ?

vibez

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/archive/index.php/t-71542.html

Khannie

vibez wrote: »

I never taken Protein shakes,

would you treat them as meal replacement ?

Recommend any ?

I wouldn't treat protein shakes as a meal replacement, but some do. I like to eat instead of drinking mostly. I'll take protein shakes for the following reasons:

1) Immediately after training I want to get amino acids into my bloodstream quickly and whey is good for this
2) If it's impractical to have food a shake is handy
3) If eating is going to balls me up, I'll have a shake
4) If my protein intake for the day is looking low, I'll bump it with a shake

I'd certainly take one if I were exercising early in the morning because eating then exercising hard = barf / cramps. Also you've been fasting for quite a while.

I use the unflavoured whey from bulkpowders.co.uk or myprotein.co.uk for the most part. I flavour it with either their flavouring stuff, or some cocoa and dextrose mostly.

vibez

Khannie wrote: »

I wouldn't treat protein shakes as a meal replacement, but some do. I like to eat instead of drinking mostly. I'll take protein shakes for the following reasons:

1) Immediately after training I want to get amino acids into my bloodstream quickly and whey is good for this
2) If it's impractical to have food a shake is handy
3) If eating is going to balls me up, I'll have a shake
4) If my protein intake for the day is looking low, I'll bump it with a shake
.

Nice one Khannie, as I mentioned Im trying to lose weight so I gym 4-5 days per week and i joined weight watchers which is working well i just feel my energy levels are letting me down.

I will defo look into the shakes before training.

Thanks mate

SuprSi

I always eat a bowl of microwaveable M&S banana/strawberry flavoured (all natural) porridge before my morning workouts. Two minutes to heat up, with milk - light enough to not make me feel full but substantial enough so that I don't feel hungry during the workout.

104494431

Just to add on to what Khannie is saying, if you like you could use a blender to mix the protein and the banana together, providing you with a banana flavoured shake but also reducing the whole lot into one container than you could drink all at once, or as you drive, or whatever.

Just a thought.

corkcomp

IMO there is no need to overthink things, an apple or banana in the car could be all you require to get the blood sugar up a bit ...

itsallaboutheL

I'm sorry but any one who thinks they're going to do a decent training session on an apple is only fooling themselves

Khannie

I agree......

For weight loss though, the question becomes more: Will you exercise X calories more off if you've eaten X calories before exercising.

e.g. If I hit the gym having had no breakfast (for arguments sake, I would never do that) and I run for 20 minutes before I'm a mess, let's say I've used up 250 calories.

Now, if I have a 200 calorie breakfast, will I work off more than 450 calories in the gym?

I'm partly being argumentative, but it's something I do consider (whether or not to carb up before training, especially in the run up to a fight...I know I'll work out harder, but how _much_ harder is the important thing in some cases).

But yeah, if it were me, I'd have a banana and a protein shake. Maybe blended together, but probably not, I like the sensation of chewing, especially when I'm on a calorie deficit.

itsallaboutheL

Khannie wrote: »

I agree......

For weight loss though, the question becomes more: Will you exercise X calories more off if you've eaten X calories before exercising.

e.g. If I hit the gym having had no breakfast (for arguments sake, I would never do that) and I run for 20 minutes before I'm a mess, let's say I've used up 250 calories.

Now, if I have a 200 calorie breakfast, will I work off more than 450 calories in the gym?

I'm partly being argumentative, but it's something I do consider (whether or not to carb up before training, especially in the run up to a fight...I know I'll work out harder, but how _much_ harder is the important thing in some cases).

But yeah, if it were me, I'd have a banana and a protein shake. Maybe blended together, but probably not, I like the sensation of chewing, especially when I'm on a calorie deficit.

I know what your saying but my take on it is...

I'd much rather be well fueled and go in and leave my guts on the floor of the gym for say 600 calories than go in on empty and fanny about for an hour for 550..... but i'm not well!!

BossArky

The best thing I have found is either an apple or banana combined with the following shake:

• scoop of whey
• scoop(s) of fine porridge oats
• water

I would prefer an orange but takes to long to peel when sleepy. Apple or banana can be eaten quickly when jogging.

Use fine porridge oats, not normal ones. The fine oats blend extremely well and you can neck the shake instead of having to chew it. Don't put in too many scoops or you'll have trouble drinking it.

A cup of water and creatine is not what you are looking for. If you have no energy creatine won't help.

I used to get up extra early and have a sit down breakfast of porridge, tea etc. Not worth it at 6am in the morning. Save yourself 10 or 15 mins and have the shake (oats, whey, water) with an apple or banana.

corkcomp

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

I'm sorry but any one who thinks they're going to do a decent training session on an apple is only fooling themselves

sweeping statement if ever I heard one, in my experience the last meal or two the night before can make or break an early am training session, apple or none! If the OP's goal is weight loss and he doesnt have much time a piece of fruit is ideal .. I hit the gym around 6.45 and my work intensity is better if ive eaten well the night before and had enough sleep. the last thing you want during a cardio session is protein shake / porridge floating around, especially if doing hiit or intervals ..

ilovelamp2000

I usually train early in the morning as well.

If I'm in a rush I'll normally have a protein shake and piece of fruit, as others have mentioned. But if I've got a couple of minutes I prefer to start with some chicken sausages. Easier to stomach than a chicken breast at that hour.

I'd normally have some porridge later on in the morning then.

Magic Eight Ball

Here's an interesting article I came across earlier today, seems relevant.

http://fitnessblackbook.com/low-body-fat-percentage/

rubadub

vibez wrote: »

Mostly Cardio - Cross Trainer / treadmill 3 days per week

Weights 2 days per week: i do a circuit, Work back, chest, legs hitting major muscle groups. Im looking to reduce weight.

vibez wrote: »

i joined weight watchers which is working well i just feel my energy levels are letting me down.

Depending on how overweight you are WW might not be the best plan to be on. All they focus on is weight, while most men want to lose FAT, it is not the same thing. If quite overweight it might be OK, but I lost a fair bit of weight and then took up weight training while still slightly overweight. The result was I lost fat but gained an equal weight of muscle at the same slow rate. I probably would have been turfed out of WW since I lost no weight for around a year or so! But I lost FAT and had people commenting on it quite a bit, many confused if I said I had actually lost none.

What weight exercises are you doing by the way? Hope you have deadlifts & squats in there, with free weights (not machines)

Khannie

itsallaboutheL wrote: »

I know what your saying but my take on it is...

I'd much rather be well fueled and go in and leave my guts on the floor of the gym for say 600 calories than go in on empty and fanny about for an hour for 550..... but i'm not well!!

I'd prefer that too.....if I didn't have a scales to step on in 6 weeks time. For me there's a tradeoff between maximum fitness attainable and weight.

Khannie

Trevor Coulahan wrote: »

Here's an interesting article I came across earlier today, seems relevant.

http://fitnessblackbook.com/low-body-fat-percentage/

That makes my brain crazy. Some of it makes sense, but some of it is pants on head stuff.

itsallaboutheL

Khannie wrote: »

That makes my brain crazy. Some of it makes sense, but some of it is pants on head stuff.

I'll be honest.. i read about 3 words. But he seems to be working off the assumtion that energy derived from fat stores and energy derived from being properly fueled are one in the same and will lead to the same intensity>.??

Or does he.. i dont care tbh!!:D

Mellor

At the start he is saying that the body won't burn the stored enery (fat) if other energy is readily available (food).

I was told this my a personnal trainer also, who recommended training on an empty stomach in the morning, or not eating a few hours before the gym.
I have no idea if this is true, but it does make sense, somewhat.


A quick google turns up this,
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/fitness/expertadvice/694812/eating-and-exercise
Which says to go for empty stomach training for fat loss

corkcomp

Mellor wrote: »

At the start he is saying that the body won't burn the stored enery (fat) if other energy is readily available (food).

I was told this my a personnal trainer also, who recommended training on an empty stomach in the morning, or not eating a few hours before the gym.
I have no idea if this is true, but it does make sense, somewhat.


A quick google turns up this,
http://health.ninemsn.com.au/fitness/expertadvice/694812/eating-and-exercise
Which says to go for empty stomach training for fat loss

I think the PT is probably right there, depending on goals and type of exercise of course .. many people trying to lose weight only do cardio 3 or 4 times a week in the gym and they only work at a low / moderate "fat burning"!!!! intensity, IMO these type of people would probably benefit by exercising on empty stomach .. anybody trying to lift the heaviest weight possible would probably be better off eating pre workout .. The article posted above by trevor makes sense

metamorphosis

I train early in the morning most days from mon - sat. I can train just grand on an empty stomach ... well there has to be a coffee in there. i can go run 10 miles on an empty stomach or go for a tempo run or do intervals on a bike. I don't care what the science says or what others think because this works perfectly for MY body. I tried eating light but just can't stomach food beforehand. The most i can take is liqud if even that. Once or twice i made a shake or had a glass of milk and it had affected my taining. BUT if you CAN handle something small in the morning or are HUNGRY - then i think you should eat something to get the body up and running. I'm never hungry first thing in the morning and i have never really noticed much of a difference in my training without food first thing in the morning compared to training sessions later in the day ... but that's just me.

Khannie

Training on an emtpy stomach may work for fat loss, but I can also see it ravaging your muscles. At the very least I'd consider some protein in the morning (before exercise in particular) an absolute necessity.

ragg

I've heard unfueled cardio can be good for conditioning on some sites and seen totally ripped to bits in other places.

I would imagine its a pretty grim experience either way

vibez

rubadub wrote: »

What weight exercises are you doing by the way? Hope you have deadlifts & squats in there, with free weights (not machines)

Howye Boss nice one for your comments. Tho give people better idea of where im coming from here goes:

at my heaviest i was 21.5 stone - oh yes a big boy

After 11 weeks on WW im now down to 20.5 I have been going regulary to gym now for past 5 weeks and every week im gettin better. However as i explained my energy levels are preventing me from doin a full 60 mins cardio or completeing my lifting circuit.

Now i dont want people to get wrong image, im a fat fu#K but im fairly fit and if you seen me you would probably believe i weigh what i do ! However

as you pointed out in the above WW is working well because its helping me control what i eat and amount of calories along with Sat Fat i eat which i find very helpful but biggest downfall is as you mentioned its done on the scales. I have alsways been big and have been in gym for good few years on and off and anything i have ever read always stated weight thraining is an integral part of fat loss.

To be honest i dont mind stayin at 20 stone but like you said id rather be made up of muscle and have good definition then to be pissing against wind on treadmill for rest of my life having not as much effect as weights.

I know WW works and has done for people hell of a lot heavier then me. But i want to maximise what im doing. Better eating and good hard work outs = weight / fat loss.

I am content with stayin put in WW and increasing what im doing in gym but i just feel at the moment energy is big factor. I have always been lead to believe protein shakes and the likes are not suited for fatso's !

Anyways hope that give yiz better idea of where im at.

heres a snap shot of work out:

Monday - cardio - cross training and treadmill 45 mins
Tue - Same
Wed - Same
Thur - Same
Friday - weights:Bench press (30k), Incline flys (15k each hand), Lat pull down (45-50k), Seated cable pull (45-50k), Leg press (130k),DB shoulder press (15kg each hand), Upright rows (30k) , some floor excercise.

12 - 15 reps of each x 3

I was thinking of changing monday to weight day but i am bit worried when comes to weighing in WW on a thursday it will look like i have put on weight. Catch 22. What im thinking of doing is taking measurments sticking with WW and will track progress that way.

So any tips on above please share...also on shakes can ye recommend any that will do some one like me ?

Thanks in advance!

billyhead

Khannie wrote: »

Training on an emtpy stomach may work for fat loss, but I can also see it ravaging your muscles. At the very least I'd consider some protein in the morning (before exercise in particular) an absolute necessity.

True,

I could never train on an empty stomach. If I was doing weights early monring, I would have a protein shake with 2 scoops of protein and blended with oats and milk. Yo aint going to lift feck all on an empty stomach. I tried it before

dh2007

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I eat a boiled egg and have a small glass of skimmed milk before going to the gym in the morning. Do you think this a good breakfast to have? Would I be better switching to a protein shake?

I normally do about 50 minutes of cardio (bike, jog on treadmill and then HIIT). I only lift weights a few times a week. So far I've been fine with my egg and milk so is there any real need to change anything?

Khannie

dh2007 wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I eat a boiled egg and have a small glass of skimmed milk before going to the gym in the morning. Do you think this a good breakfast to have? Would I be better switching to a protein shake?

I'd say that's grand. Probably 10-15g of protein in that at a guess. I'm a big fan of food instead of shakes. When you're trying to lose weight, there's something very satisfying about eating instead of drinking your calories.

Esse85

dh2007 wrote: »

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I eat a boiled egg and have a small glass of skimmed milk before going to the gym in the morning. Do you think this a good breakfast to have? Would I be better switching to a protein shake?

I normally do about 50 minutes of cardio (bike, jog on treadmill and then HIIT). I only lift weights a few times a week. So far I've been fine with my egg and milk so is there any real need to change anything?

Id actually get some carbs in there, like weetabix or some wholegrain toast.

shooterMac

If it's weight you are trying to lose, then eating nothing before a workout definately burns fat. This is because you have nothing left in the tank after sleep. This imo is the best time to burn it.
I'm in a similar situation and have dropped a stone in 4 weeks from that rule.

Maybe its the intensity of the workout. Try to elevate your heart-rate in stages and slow down your heart will continue to beat fast for a bit.
You do not have to keep intensity doing cardio! Get your heart rate up then slow down, rinse and repeat.

I would question your weakness. Is it possible that you are over training? Especially with the weights. I was lifting prertty heavy weights and found I was actually finding each session harder. I realized I was over training. take a 2 weeik break from weights and try again everyone is different when it comes to recovery time. Also strength training will not build muscle on a reduced calory diet but 2 days a week is usually fine.

Also don't go for heavy resistance doing cardio for for fast and light. The point is to elevate heart-rate not push muscles.

I'm afraid a certain amount of weakness is to be expected when your calories in is not equal to your calories out but it's the only way to reduce weight.

You can buy frozen fruit in aldi, lidil, m&s, tesco. Buy a few nice mixtures, put em in a blender with water and 1 spoon of peanut butter (or not).
Fill a jub in the fridge (lasts 3 days) and have a delicious filling no guild drink.
But of course dont do this before training.

Air popped Popcorn is a great filler.

Keep it up and look forward to hitting your target weight..then you can focus more on strength training and also eat more!!!

I applaud your efforts! Good on you!

vibez

shooterMac wrote: »

If it's weight you are trying to lose, then eating nothing before a workout definately burns fat. This is because you have nothing left in the tank after sleep. This imo is the best time to burn it.
I'm in a similar situation and have dropped a stone in 4 weeks from that rule.

Maybe its the intensity of the workout. Try to elevate your heart-rate in stages and slow down your heart will continue to beat fast for a bit.
You do not have to keep intensity doing cardio! Get your heart rate up then slow down, rinse and repeat.

I would question your weakness. Is it possible that you are over training? Especially with the weights. I was lifting prertty heavy weights and found I was actually finding each session harder. I realized I was over training. take a 2 weeik break from weights and try again everyone is different when it comes to recovery time. Also strength training will not build muscle on a reduced calory diet but 2 days a week is usually fine.

Also don't go for heavy resistance doing cardio for for fast and light. The point is to elevate heart-rate not push muscles.

I'm afraid a certain amount of weakness is to be expected when your calories in is not equal to your calories out but it's the only way to reduce weight.

You can buy frozen fruit in aldi, lidil, m&s, tesco. Buy a few nice mixtures, put em in a blender with water and 1 spoon of peanut butter (or not).
Fill a jub in the fridge (lasts 3 days) and have a delicious filling no guild drink.
But of course dont do this before training.

Air popped Popcorn is a great filler.

Keep it up and look forward to hitting your target weight..then you can focus more on strength training and also eat more!!!

I applaud your efforts! Good on you!

Thanks mate some great tips there nice one

shooterMac

Happy to help!!!

Khannie

shooterMac wrote: »

If it's weight you are trying to lose, then eating nothing before a workout definately burns fat.

It also burns muscle. I would /strongly/ suggest having some protein in the morning before working out. /strongly/.

corkcomp

Khannie wrote: »

It also burns muscle. I would /strongly/ suggest having some protein in the morning before working out. /strongly/.

I dont think I have ever burnt muscle by working out before breakfast and I could often run for an hour before I eat, at that rate I would have hardly any muscle left! What you eat the day + especially the night before will determine this to a large degree. it is also very unlikely that most people will be waking up in a catabolic state

shooterMac

It's a known fact that the best time and way to reduce fat is to do it after sleep and on an empty stomach. As for building muscle, I agree that it needs fuel to build.

The only way around this is cardio in the morning. Weights sometime after dinner/tea.


This is how I work it atm. I'm not expecting to build much muscle, but I have moved up through the weights to 20kg dumbells (started at 15kg so that's good for me) without any fuss.

As I said beware of over training. 2 times a week is plenty. This will improve your strength while not over taxing the muscles too much.

I'm 5'9 and just under 13 stone atm. I started at 14.5. I took up raquetball, soccar and cycle to work(just 3 miles). I'm trying to get my head around an evening jog but haven't found the willpower for that at the moment.
The 1st stone falls off pretty fast, then you have to resign yourself to losing 2-3 pounds a week.


The weekends are the worst for me, I don't do much and after a week of work I'm always feeling indulgent. So I may pile on a pound or 2 on a bad weekend (i do have good weekends too ^ ^).

Well keep it up and more power to you!

Yellowblackbird

Blood is diverted away from your muscels to your digestive system as it swings into operation - so maybe some of the protein in your blood will help build up your stomach muscels.

Khannie

shooterMac wrote: »

It's a known fact that the best time and way to reduce fat is to do it after sleep and on an empty stomach

It is? I must have missed that somewhere. Can you provide me with a link to some kind of study that proves this known fact?

I believe that all other things being equal the timing of your exercise will have zero impact on fat reduction. To be clear on all other things being equal: Equal amount of exercise, equal body composition, calorie intake, rest between exercise sessions, etc.

drdeadlift

bsn true mass does the job for me

Roper

If I had a big eraser, I'd erase the term "It's a known fact that..." as a prefix to anything in the English language. Most known facts are not known at all, just overheard.

You should eat something. This whole 500 calories burned on an empty stomach or 600 burned full thing is bullsh1t. It conveniently forgets that you're going to eat breakfast anyway right afterwards.

There is no solid evidence to suggest that not eating before exercise burns calories any faster.

metamorphosis

after thinking for soo long that i was doing great training sessions 1st thing in the morning straight outa bed ... i was wrong. yday morning ate something small(nuts, seeds, dried fruit) and boy i think i did have more fuel left in the tank. gonna experiment with a shake with oats milk and orange whey in the morning and see how it goes

Esse85

ULstudent wrote: »

after thinking for soo long that i was doing great training sessions 1st thing in the morning straight outa bed ... i was wrong. yday morning ate something small(nuts, seeds, dried fruit) and boy i think i did have more fuel left in the tank. gonna experiment with a shake with oats milk and orange whey in the morning and see how it goes

Jesus you have a lot to learn

Khannie

Esse85 wrote: »

Jesus you have a lot to learn

As do you. If you want to offer some constructive criticism, by all means fire ahead otherwise you can keep that kind of useless **** stirring remark to yourself please.