Eating before the gym

[Robmarriott]

Made a bit of an error yesterday, got up and went straight to the gym, did 2 hours of various things an hour of which was high heart rate cardio.

Went to the shop on the way home to buy some stuff for lunch, had a shower when I got in and then drank a sugary milkshake.

Then BAM, I suddenly started having severe sweats and feeling shaky and had to go and lay down in a dark room, fell asleep and woke up at about 3:30pm with no appetite but fine other than that.

So I guess I need to eat before I go to the gym. Normally I’m fine because I’ve eaten throughout the day but this was not a pleasant experience so I’d like to not repeat it.

The problem is I normally skip breakfast anyway and if I eat too close to running/exercise I feel lethargic and it’s awful.

What do you lot do?

[mcelliott]

No the problem was the sugary drink that spiked your blood sugar levels I suspect, Saturdays are easily my most productive gyms sessions, and by that I mean heaviest sets most reps and better recovery, smack bang in the middle of a 24hr fast

[Robmarriott]

Thought the milkshake might have been the case, which is why I mentioned it.

I’ll go in the evenings for now, leave the morning sessions for a while!

[HTP99]

I do all of my hourly bootcamp sessions on a relatively empty stomach, yesterday morning I had a banana before hand and breakfast when I got back, my evening sessions are done after work, with the last thing eaten prior, being my lunch and then dinner when I get back, same routine when I was a gym goer back in the day.

My daughter is the opposite, she will eat a main meal before her gym sessions.

[CubanPete]

Super noodles are great for when you need to eat in a short gap.

[TheThing]

I always train fasted first thing in the morning. Have done for years. Any food before a session makes me sluggish and feel sick.

[AdamC28]

TheThing said:

I always train fasted first thing in the morning. Have done for years. Any food before a session makes me sluggish and feel sick.

I've always been the same, much prefer training before breakfast.

[lightningbolt]

Have you thought about just eating a banana before your workout?

I struggle because i can feel sick if i eat too close to working out or if i have an empty stomach.

A banana normally does the trick. theyre easy to digest and rich in carbs and potassium.

[captain.scarlet]

The advice I was given by one instructor that eating before a workout may not even achieve anything depending on how soon before your workout you eat: you'd need to eat a couple of hours beforehand at least if you want that food to have been meaningfully absorbed (if at all) into your bloodstream.

Otherwise the feeling you can get is lethargy, bloating and nausea from having overloaded on food and drink (especially if the wrong type of food and drink) - your body will be wanting to focus it's efforts on digestion but instead you're forcing it into exercise mode at the same time.

However, I can't remember a time I've ever had a 'pre-workout' meal or anything specifically for the workout. I usually go having not eaten, or if I have then it was probably because I was hungry and didn't want to risk being distracted by the thought of food.

It has always worked for me. Personally I prefer working out or jogging with less inside me before then having something to eat. Avoiding eating after 7pm and going to bed with an empty stomach feeling does me a lot of good and helps me sleep better.

[biggbn]

captain.scarlet said:

The advice I was given by one instructor that eating before a workout may not even achieve anything depending on how soon before your workout you eat: you'd need to eat a couple of hours beforehand at least if you want that food to have been meaningfully absorbed (if at all) into your bloodstream.

Otherwise the feeling you can get is lethargy, bloating and nausea from having overloaded on food and drink (especially if the wrong type of food and drink) - your body will be wanting to focus it's efforts on digestion but instead you're forcing it into exercise mode at the same time.

However, I can't remember a time I've ever had a 'pre-workout' meal or anything specifically for the workout. I usually go having not eaten, or if I have then it was probably because I was hungry and didn't want to risk being distracted by the thought of food.

It has always worked for me. Personally I prefer working out or jogging with less inside me before then having something to eat. Avoiding eating after 7pm and going to bed with an empty stomach feeling does me a lot of good and helps me sleep better.

Pretty much how I feel. Have always trained 'empty ' then had a meal shortly after. If I eat before training it just makes me feel undermotivated and a bit nauseous

[hotchy]

I normally train in the gym empty, and meal after. Only because its relaxing time after that. It doesn't effect me either way though as I can run and play basketball for 2 hours+ straight after dinner.

[popeyewhite]

captain.scarlet said:

The advice I was given by one instructor that eating before a workout may not even achieve anything depending on how soon before your workout you eat: you'd need to eat a couple of hours beforehand at least if you want that food to have been meaningfully absorbed (if at all) into your bloodstream.

A banana taken on an empty stomach will be absorbed in about 30 minutes.

The danger of letting blood sugar drop too low is when you replenish later the sudden spike may make you very lethargic. Will also happen if you have insulin problems (insufficiency/inefficiency).

Know what works for you and what doesn't. OP should perhaps either not train empty or have a much smaller post-workout meal/snack.