Before exercising in the morning, one question you might want to ask: should you eat before a morning workout or not.
In this post, you will know whether you should eat your breakfast before your morning workout or should you wait until you have done your morning workout.
Read on if you have questions like:
- Should I eat before or after a morning workout?
- Is it good to eat before morning workout?
- What can I eat before a morning workout?
Should I eat before morning workout?
Before a morning workout lasting for 15-20 minutes, you can drink just water and do your workouts. But for any workout longer than 30 minutes you should eat something like bananas or fruit smoothies. But if your main goal from your workout is fat loss then workout on an empty stomach for better results.
If you do bodyweight exercises daily for 30 minutes or less then you can workout on an empty stomach. But if doing so makes you feel less energetic during the workout then – you can eat something 10-15 minutes before the workout.
After you wake up in the morning you can have tea/coffee, one banana, 5-6 dates and raisins 10-15 minutes before the workout. Eat one or two items from the list and you are good to go for a workout of duration 30-40 minutes.
For workouts that are longer than 40 minutes and for gym or HIIT workouts – it’s recommended you eat something 30 minutes before the workout. Because those workouts require much more energy than doing bodyweight exercises.
When you are doing cardio or a slow bodyweight workout, you can eat something light or even workout on an empty stomach.
But for workouts that require much more effort like a gym workout – you should have 1-2 bananas, milk and fruit smoothies, one or two slices of bread with a tablespoon of jam, 6-7 dates etc.
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It’s not recommended to workout on an empty stomach for workouts that last for 40-60 minutes and longer or it’s a high-intensity workout where you need a good amount of energy for the workout.
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Should you eat breakfast before morning workout
Fasted workouts in the morning are known for burning most amount of fat. It’s because, after 8-10 hours of a fasted state, your body’s glycogen store gets depleted. So, to get the energy for the workout, your body breaks down fat to get the energy.
Thus for those of you trying to shed some extra body fat you might get better results if you do your workout first and then eat your breakfast.
For bodyweight workouts and even a workout with bodyweight exercises and small weightlifting with dumbbells lasting less than 30 minutes, you can workout without eating your breakfast.
Another reason you should skip your breakfast before the morning workout is when you eat a full breakfast – you have to wait for 30 minutes for the food to digest.
So, after you have eaten your breakfast, you have to wait for some time.
For those who like to complete their morning workout early in the morning and have less time in hand, you should exercise first and then eat your breakfast.
If you feel like eating something then instead of a full breakfast you can have a quick snack. You can eat these foods 10 minutes before your morning workout: one banana, 6-7 dates, raisins, a few handfuls of dry cereal, one-fourth cup of dried fruits etc.
Also for persons with health conditions like diabetes, it’s recommended that they should eat something before they workout and avoid exercising on an empty stomach.
Related: 12 Daily healthy habits for a yearlong healthy lifestyle.
Should I eat before morning workout to lose weight?
There are some benefits of working out on an empty stomach. Working out on an empty stomach can burn more fat in comparison to exercising after eating.
If your main goal from the workout is to burn fat, then you can workout in the morning before you eat your breakfast.
Also, to get rid of sleepiness – you can have tea or coffee in the morning.
What should I eat before morning workout?
If you are only exercising for less than 30 minutes in the morning – then it’s better to eat snacks instead of a full breakfast. Eat some light food such as – 5-6 dates, raisins, bananas etc.
If you want to eat a full breakfast, then you can’t exercise immediately. After eating breakfast you have to wait for at least 30-60 minutes.
Related: 10 Healthy lifestyle tips for busy people to stay fit.
Foods you can eat on the go
These are the foods you can eat on the go or better you eat them 5 minutes before your morning workout:
- Tea/coffee
- Bananas
- 2-3 Small fruits
- Dates
- Raisins
- One-fourth cup of dried fruits
Food you can eat 15 – 30 minutes before
After waking up, if you feel like you want to eat something before your workout. Or you are doing moderate amounts of high-intensity workouts that require you to eat something. These are the foods you should eat.
- 2 sliced bananas with peanut butter
- 1-2 slices of bread with a tablespoon of jam
- One serving of fruit and milk smoothie
- One granola bar
- Protein shakes with milk or water in small quantity
- 1-3 small fruits
- Scrambled egg with toast
- Tea/coffee with 6-7 dates
How much should I eat before morning workout?
Before a morning workout, you should eat – moderate amounts of food which translate to 30 grams of carbohydrates and – a minimum amount of protein.
If you are only doing bodyweight exercises, you can workout just by drinking your morning tea/coffee and a few dates and raisins. You can also eat one-fourth of a cup of dried fruits and water. After having these items wait for 5-7 minutes then you can do your morning workout.
Conclusion
After you wake up, your body’s glycogen level remains low. Thus before doing high-intensity workout or gym workout that lasts longer than 30-45 minutes you need to fuel up your body. After eating something you can do your workouts 20-30 minutes after, depending on the amount of food you have eaten.
However, if you are doing bodyweight exercises you can eat your breakfast after your morning workout. If you choose not to workout on an empty stomach, you can grab some light food on the go. You can have bananas, 6-7 dates, one-fourth cup of dried fruits, a few handfuls of dried cereals etc.
I hope reading this post answered all of your questions regarding – should you eat before morning workout?
If you have any questions or if I have missed anything in the article, then do let me know in the comments section.
Read next: Morning vs evening vs night exercise: which one performs best.
