Which is Correct? Exercise before Breakfast or Breakfast before Exercise

@bonz289 (107)
Philippines
August 11, 2010 4:41pm CST
I love to cook, and of course, that means I also love to eat. Because I'm a stay-at-home mom, I don't have much to do, besides the household chores, to burn my calories I'm taking... In short, I'm gaining weight! I am wanting to start my early morning exercise regimen but I can not start because of this two simple question... Which is the correct way to do this... Exercise first then eat breakfast or Breakfast first then do the exercise (after a few minutes rest, of course)?
4 people like this
20 responses
@max1950 (2306)
• United States
11 Aug 10
i asked the same question to a nurse once and she told me to eat a light breakfast and exercise 30 minutes after eating, that doesnt mean you can eat a stack of pancakes then exercise and expect to burn enough calories off to make a difference.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
11 Aug 10
haha... you're right. so, light breakfast and exercise after 30 mins... noted! thanks for sharing!
@max1950 (2306)
• United States
11 Aug 10
sort of like taking vitamins, if you take them upon arising in the morning and then drink a few cups of coffee of any liquid, within an hour their down the drain, but if you eat first then take them and they mix with food they will spread out and do their job. so let the goodies get into your system for stamina and then get to exercising.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
thanks for the tip! happy mylotting!
@ench815 (465)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
I was always told to eat like a king during breakfast then eat like a pauper at dinner. The explanation was after breakfast, you tend to easily burn the calories for whatever you have to do during the day. After dinner, you usually have less to do and during sleep which is rest mode, you burn less. I also enrolled myself to a gym when I was younger together with my aunt. My aunt was on a weight loss program and the instructor told her that after eating, a person's metabolism is faster in aid for food digestion. So he suggest that after her afternoon snack, she could rest for 15 minutes then do her usual workout. I am not a nutritionist or a health specialist. I am just sharing my experience.
@ench815 (465)
• Philippines
14 Aug 10
well, you can try eating dinner earlier, too. my mom used to eat before 6pm and she lost a few pounds. =) if that still won't work, i guess, you have to choose low calorie food so you can consume more. :)
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
that was a nice share, ench815, unfortunately i tend to eat lot at dinner time too, especially if i cooked a very yummy meal... lols. i can't stop eating, that's why i want to burn fats. btw, thanks for the tip! happy mylotting!
• United States
12 Aug 10
Bonz- I am not a dietician or a physician, but when working on my Wii Fit Plus one of the fitness tips was to try to eat a banana before working out. It stated that simple sugar gives you enough to burn while working out, along with providing your muscles with potassium after the workout. One of the problems though with trying to lose weight is most of us make the mistake and start “not eating”. You want to eat the proper number of calories, as well as a balanced meal including your proteins and carbs. People seem to be under the assumption that all carbs must be thrown out when eating healthy, but the fact is our body needs complex carbs to function. These include whole grains, and vegetables. I have slowed down my metabolism because of all the years of fad diets, so do not do what I did. Don’t stop eating. I am now eating six small meals per day, and I have protein at every sitting. I also take a multi-vitamin, which is necessary when working out all of the time. The second piece of advice I can offer is to make sure you are measuring yourself once a week, but don’t jump on that scale daily! Take an actual waist measurement as this will show you if you are losing inches. Muscle weighs more than fat so you’ll put on weight as you gain muscle, but you will lose inches. And your weight fluctuates two pounds either way every day, so if you are going to weigh daily (or whenever you decide to take your weight) do it in the same clothes (or in the same way) at the same time of day. This will give you an accurate record. Namaste- Anora
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
14 Aug 10
that was a great advice! thanks for sharing!
@devijay78 (1573)
• India
12 Aug 10
I always exercise before breakfast. You will find it hard to exercise after breakfast. You can drink something before you exercise. But see to it that your stomach is not full.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
thanks devijay78! happy mylotting!
• India
12 Aug 10
exercise should be done atleast 1 hour before breakfast...otherwise you may suffer from disturbed metabolic activities
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
ohh... what do you mean by disturbed metabolic activities?
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
don't exercise after eating it might cause appendicitis....
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
yes, that's the usual problem, but of course, if you're going to rest for a couple of hours it may not lead to appendicitis... am i correct? thanks for sharing, sweetmary86!
@chiyosan (30184)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
I think it is correct to have an exercise and then eat your breakfast. it would be better if you drink too, exercise and then eat afterwards. when you eat and then you exercise, you might even throw up so better that you don't go around running with the stomach full.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
i think if i eat first then exercise, i'll rest for about 30 mins after i eat, then exercise. anyway, thanks for sharing!
@goldeneagle (6745)
• United States
11 Aug 10
I have heard mixed opinions on this issue. When I used to work out all the time, I always ate after I got done exercising, so that the nutrients I burned while exercising would be replenished. You can research this question by going to menshealth.com. They have a pretty good section that gives exercise and nutrition advice, and I am sure you can find some answers there, even though you are a woman, because they have a wide variety of information for men and women...
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
i'll check it out, thanks for sharing! happy mylotting!
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
12 Aug 10
I have heard that if you exercise on an empty stomach you burn more calories that way. I am not sure if it is true or not, and couldn't tell you where I have heard it from but I do remember hearing about that not too long ago. It sounds pretty interesting and I can see where exercising on an empty stomach would help burn off calories from the night before, but I am not sure how safe it is to do this without having eaten, I suppose it would depend on how hungry one is and if they are prone to nearly faint if they don't eat before doing strenous activity.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
wow, that's a good information, oreocookie3! this is a good read. thanks for sharing! and thanks for sharing, too, somecowgirl! happy mylotting to the both of you!
@jerikjames (1041)
• Philippines
11 Aug 10
I know some would say that it's breakfast before you exercise. Actually, it's the other way around. You should exercise first before eating your breakfast. Why? There are two reasons, first is because you should be burning first some of the fats that overnight sleeping deposits before eating anything else. The second and most important thing is that when you're digesting what you ate and doing a rigorous exercise, both needing oxygen, your blood will go to the respective muscles which need oxygen the most. Since exercise is the more aerobic than the two, blood will concentrate on the muscles you're using for exercise leaving your digestive system lacking oxygen. Because of this, you will experience a pain in your stomach area, more often on the side of your tummy which is called a stitch.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
this is a good information. thanks for the tip! happy mylotting!
• United States
12 Aug 10
I think its personal preference I work out much better at the start of the morning before eating a full meal i do however drink about 8 ounces of water and eat something small like a string cheese (which is also going to give me energy) because after all my body did just come off of a minifast, no water or food for about 8 hrs. So its all about what you feel comfortable with I don't like the weight of food in my stomach while working out so before I eat a full meal is always best
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
13 Aug 10
yes, water is also essential in our diet. thanks for your share.
• India
12 Aug 10
i feel like that exercise should be integral part of our routine. first we should perform exercise before having breakfast
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
yes, we need to exercise as much as we need to eat... if we are conscious on our health, exercise should be one of our priorities. thanks for sharing!
• United States
12 Aug 10
Going to go with eating breakfast and than exercising. I've read or heard that you should eat within the first 30 minutes or so of waking up when possible, as it would give your metabolism a jumpstart. But, then again...I've heard that after working out, (which can also get your metabolism going)you can still burn some calories because your metabolism is going. I personally would have breakfast though, wait some time, obivously you don't want to exercise on a full stomach, and than exercise a bit.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
i agree, dlaurora1955. thanks for sharing!
• United States
12 Aug 10
It really depends upon the person. Some people cannot exercise without any food to fuel it, some cannot stand to exercise with a lot of food in the stomach, and others cannot even eat a bite without feeling nauseous during their workout. It is best to do whatever makes your body feel best. I, personally, have Hypoglycemia and eat something small with some carbs and protein (half a banana with almond butter for example) before working out.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
yeah, i think, i agree... it may depends upon the person. thanks for the share! happy mylotting!
@sach143_u (859)
• India
11 Aug 10
Very simple every one knows very well that after breakfast or after taking its highly difficult to do exercise. So you should do exercise first then you go and have your breakfast then you will also healthy and you will eat well and it won't make you strain by working also.
@bonz289 (107)
• Philippines
11 Aug 10
But what if I do the exercise first then eat a heavy breakfast(i eat heavy breakfast), wouldn't it be useless if I eat heavy after the exercise?
@Steinway (307)
• United States
12 Aug 10
I would say exercise before breakfast. At least that is what I was always taught to do. Or at least what I was taught when I was in the military. And that is the regiment I still do if I go out for walks.
@aaronfyzeon (1920)
• Philippines
12 Aug 10
I don't want to say which one is correct because I am rally not sure too if what I do is the right way as well. What I am doing is that I do exercise first before I take my breakfast. I must burn the calories that I had for the intake that I got from dinner just before I have my breakfast to start a whole day energy. And the calories will then be burned for the day activities that I will be having.
@06MLam (620)
12 Aug 10
My advice to you is to eat something before you do your exercise. This can provide you some energy after the long time which you have nothing in and can help to support your morning activities. Therefore, it is always important to have breakfast before you start working that day. However, do not get yourself too full before doing exercise, especially if you are going to swim after your breakfast, as it will make you feel uncomfortable with the full feeling. Another reason for you to have your breakfast before doing exercise is that your body can take up much more energy from the food you have eaten after doing exercise as your body is burning the calories within your body and would usually obtain some more energy to replace the lost. Therefore, eating after doing exercise is usually not advised as it is very to gain weight because of this reason. Hope these can help you!
• Philippines
16 Aug 10
Hi, I am also a stay-at-home mom and I believe that a little exercise or stretching in the morning before eating breakfast is good because it allows our body including our internal organs at good condition. I would like to share my article about practical healthy habits http://www.esupermommyjem.blogspot.com/2010/05/practical-healthy-habits.html which I normally do, I hope it helps.
@lolo58 (54)
• United States
12 Aug 10
Good Morning! Very interesting conversation going here about breakfast and exercise. I have been an exerciser for many years and depending on the time of year it's either first thing in the morning or in the afternoon. Both arguments are correct - take some time and do a search - in a nut shell, it goes like this.. Breakfast is exactly that " breaking the fast". The dinner we ate last night is gone and there are no nutrients left - If we exercise prior to breakfast our energy is down, blood sugar is down and we won't exercise as long as we would if had a little something in our tummies. To be effective in our workouts we need something to get our metabolism going. Something light!! Maybe a slice of peanut butter toast (PB is not our enemy)or Greek yogurt - better consistancy more protein. Anything to add a little movement in our sleepy bodies. After the workout, have a better breakfast but just be careful of the intake. Remember the rule of thumb: 5 - 6 small meals a day...