Is it really a surprise I am doing another post that mentions food or eating? Shock horror- it’s back. But before we get to that-.. I had quite a good night last night. Even though I was left on my own I didn’t fall into a bingeing frenzy- I allowed myself a small portion (I can’t believe I actually felt satisfied off that tiny amount- the wonders of small ramekins tricking the eyes) and then went off to bed. Happy Dance! When the days are good they are really good..but when days are bad..well you know.
Haha cute baby fistpump! Love it. Fish lips baby.
I started my Saturday off with a fantastic body step class and did part of a body pump class before scuttling home to organise the house, pack food for work and get ready. I tell you blood tests are inconvenient- I had to alter moves both yesterday and today so to not irritate my arm. Now I reside at work and after being here for majority of yesterday and today, I will also be here tomorrow morning- things ya do for the $$$. But I am also conning the boy into coming with me for a ‘fun filled’ morning of dvds (Man vs Wild is my current obsession), squash and chit chats; oh and I said he could use the net whilst I did more study haha. But don’t despair I still have date night to look forward to and a sunday night on our own as we are house sitting again.
But on an entirely different note- does anyone else have the sudden urge to play laser tag or laserforce (whatever it’s called). You know the one where it’s dark and you run around shooting your laser gun at people and killing them! Love it!
Maybe I can con someone into it sometime ๐ But anyways back to the post- today I decided to sleep in a bit before heading to step at 8am. Which means I didn’t have time for brekky beforehand. Normally, it makes me a bit worried that I’ll get hungry (I guess it’s that irrational voice inside of me that hates the thought of being hungry and that will either turn into a food eating rampage or I’ll have to resort to eating something deemed ‘unhealthy’) but I decided I’d rather be hungry than puking my guts up on stage or jumping around with an uncomfortable full belly of oats (and the anxiousness quickly faded, yay for rational voices).
So this made me think about eating and exercise. A lot of people question whether or not they should eat before exercise or eat after. This is typically for morning exercisers because it usually interferes or occurs with breakfast/breakfast time. I’ve read countless articles and blog posts that usually discuss the pros and cons. But here is my basic lowdown on the situation in regards to morning workouts (remembering I am not a professional and this is just my opinion and personal point of view). I believe to start you need to consider:
- Are you hungry enough for breakfast/to eat?
- Do you have time to eat a proper breakfast (and to allow it to digest properly) or should you just eat a snack to tide you over?
- Do you require the energy or will you need it for your workout? (Is it high intensity or low impact)
- How long is your workout? (If your workout is long and you didn’t eat before, can you take a snack?)
So these questions basically allow yourself to connect with your body and assess what is the best thing for you to do in terms of your personal wellbeing and comfort. If you are interested in when to eat for performance reasons this may take a different approach. I’ve read in places that eating breakfast is beneficial because it starts the metabolism and gives you energy to work harder. I’ve also read that a large meal beforehand can make you sluggish and hinder performance. Because I am not a professional I wanted to provide you with some credible information taken from a highly rated source. So I’ve summarised some information provided by the Australian Sports Commission (article found here):
- Pre-workout meals are important but so to are the meals and foods eaten prior to and during.
- Food consumed before exercise is only useful during exercise if it has been fully absorbed and digested so allow meals to be eaten 3-4 hours before and a light snack 1-2 hours.
- Food eaten beforehand should provide carbohydrate and should be low in fat and moderate in fiber to aid digestion. (a list of food examples can be found on the article)
- If you exercise in the morning it is recommended that you have a light snack an hour beforehand. You should make up for the lack of carbs by eating some during your workout (if it is lengthy).
However, the same question can also be asked in terms of weightloss and fat burn (even though personally I don’t take this approach as I prefer to listen to my body nor am I concerned with weight loss at this point in my life). I’ve read here that it is better not to eat so you burn your fat stores but I’ve also read conflicting views. The same article above has provided some information on this topic also:
- Exercising in a fasted state (8 hours since last meal) results in a greater proportion of fat being used as energy during your workout.
- BUT, you may be able to exercise harder and longer if you have pre-workout fuel which would give you a more efficient workout and therefore burn more calories leading to weight loss.
I would like to add here that if you are hungry before your workout and purposely do not eat (so to burn more fat) you could be setting yourself up for failure, as you may overeat for the remainder of the day because your body feels it is being starved and needs to overcompensate.
There you have it- my 2 cents here and there and some more credible information. But basically, if you want to treat your body right and you want to ensure it works for you during your workout (the way you want it to), I would consider asking yourself those questions first listed and listen to what your body has to say. Each day may be different- you may be starved one morning and so rushed the next that you have no time to think about food (blasphemy!).
I hope this will help you make the healthiest choices for YOU and I hope your weekend is terrific! Here’s a little piccy for a laugh ๐
Do you eat before working out? When do you typically work out?
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