How To Fuel a Morning Workout

You’ve done it. You made the resolution to wake up earlier and get a workout in before you head off to school or work. Your alarm is set, your clothes are ready to go, but what about food? Are you supposed to eat before you work out? And if so, what are some healthy options?

Putting professional athletes and bodybuilders aside, we often make exercise nutrition far more complicated than it needs to be.

To Eat or Not To Eat

Recent research has shown that not eating before a morning workout burns more fat, which sounds pretty enticing to many of us. However, there’s also research that doesn’t show any significant difference in weight loss or fat loss over time between individuals who exercise on an empty stomach versus those that have a small snack or shake prior to hitting the gym. The question of whether or not to eat before working out in the morning really comes down to four key factors: the type of exercise, the duration of exercise, the intensity of the activity, and personal preference.

Let’s talk about that last one first. There tend to be two main camps of people: those that can’t imagine having the energy to even put on shoes without eating something first, and those who feel nauseous at just the thought of eating first thing in the morning. If you feel light-headed or too groggy to exercise without something in your stomach, then regardless of what exercise you’ll be doing, you should eat something (what that something is, we’ll get to soon!). And on the flip side, if you know your stomach will be upset the whole spin class regardless of what you eat, then wait until after exercise to chow down. Again, unless you’re a professional athlete or are planning to engage in long-duration endurance exercise, such as a seven-mile run, you should be fine waiting to eat.

That brings us to the other three factors: activity type, duration, and intensity. Generally speaking, most of us have enough energy stored from the day before to complete a moderate-intensity workout lasting less than 45 minutes. However, if the plan is to do some serious weight lifting, take a 60-min spin class, or go out for a long run, our bodies will likely perform better with some fuel in the form of carbohydrates (and sometimes protein).

Pre-Workout

For strength training, your body will need a balanced meal of protein and carbs in order to provide energy and support protein synthesis. However, for cardio workouts, you’ll want to focus mainly on carbs for energy, avoid high-fat and high-sugar foods, and have a moderate amount of lean protein. Regardless of which type of activity you’ll be doing, the key is picking both nutritious and easily digestible options. So while there are some ideas listed below, it’s important to try a variety of different foods and combinations to see what your stomach tolerates best.

Examples of pre-cardio foods (ideally 60-90 minutes before exercise):

• Slice of whole grain toast with a tablespoon of natural almond or peanut butter, for longer or more intense exercise, you may also want to add ½ a banana sliced on top
• Protein shake with a small banana or cup of fruit
• Low-sugar cereal or granola with low-fat or soy milk (keep the sugar less than 6 grams/serving and the calories less than 200 calories/serving)
• Small apple or banana with 1 tablespoon of almond or peanut butter

Examples of pre-resistance exercise foods (ideally 60 minutes before workout):

• Handful of nuts and a piece of fruit
• Protein shake with a small piece of fruit
• Plain Greek yogurt with a handful of berries
• Glass of milk or soy milk
• Hardboiled egg and fruit
• Granola bar containing at least 5 grams of protein and less than 12 grams of sugar (examples: Fruit and Nut Larabar, low sugar Kind Bar, Square Organics Bar, Health Warrior Protein Bar)

Post-Workout

Regardless of whether you eat before your workout, it’s important to properly fuel your body after exercising in order to replenish glycogen stores, prevent further muscle breakdown and promote muscle growth, and support overall recovery. So while we may want to “reward” ourselves with fatty, high-sugar foods, it’s important to remember that what you eat after exercise is key for seeing progress in your health efforts.

So what to eat? After a bout of strength training, research shows improvements in muscle repair and growth with an intake of 20-40 grams of protein immediately after exercise (note, the exact amount will vary based on age, gender, existing muscle mass, and intensity of weight lifting). But it’s not all about the protein – you’ll also want to include a serving of carbohydrates to replenish energy stores.

Examples of post-strength-training meals:

• Oatmeal with nut butter and berries or ½ banana
• Homemade breakfast burrito with 1-2 eggs, part-skim mozzarella, salsa, ¼ cup black beans, and a whole wheat tortilla
• Savory breakfast bowl with quinoa or brown rice, an egg, and sautéed or roasted vegetables
• Homemade protein smoothie with protein powder or Greek yogurt, fruit, and milk/milk alternative. Bonus nutrition points if you add in a handful of greens, such as spinach.

After cardio, you have about a 20-30 minute window where your body will utilize nutrients most efficiently, so take advantage of this by having something small with protein and carbohydrates. It’s a classic, but research supports drinking 8 oz of chocolate milk within minutes of finishing a bout of cardiovascular exercise. Note if you don’t drink cow’s milk, you’ll want to choose soy over almond milk, as almond milk won’t give you the protein needed for recovery. Not a milk fan? The key is getting a 3:1 ratio of carbohydrate to protein, so you can also grab a Greek yogurt and fruit or a banana or apple with a tablespoon of nut butter.

After that initial snack, you’ll want to ingest something with electrolytes, protein, and more complex carbohydrates about an hour later.

Examples of post-cardio fuel:

• Smoothie containing a protein source (nut butter, Greek yogurt, or a quality protein powder), electrolytes (banana or coconut water), and carbohydrates (fruit and milk/milk alternative)
• Slice of whole grain bread, eggs, and half a banana
• Greek yogurt and fruit
• Oatmeal or quinoa with berries and nuts or nut butter
• Egg skillet with an egg, roasted sweet potatoes, and sautéed veggies