Exercising with food in your system will give you more endurance and energy to keep you going strong throughout your entire workout. Without any fuel, the body slows down and cannot achieve its peak performance levels.  Is it best to workout on an empty or a full stomach? As far as calories are concerned, they don’t care when you eat.  You will burn the same number of calories whether you have eaten before your workout or after. 

The way the body works is this; approximately 100 calories are burned per hour when at rest or asleep. If your last meal of the day was at 6pm and you wake up at 6am, your body has been running on no additional fuel for 12 hours.  That’s a possible 1200 calories you have used up.  At this point you are out of calories for energy and you have depleted the carbohydrates stored in the liver needed to burn fat.  Without carbohydrates, the body is out of energy.  There is no fuel source in the body and so must turn to the glycogen in muscles which means breakdown of muscle and slowing of metabolism.  The body cannot even use the fat stores because there is no way to convert it into fuel.  If you start the day low on carbohydrates and without the ability to convert fat into glucose, your body will go into a state of ketosis or starvation mode. 

Once your body is in starvation mode, it will no longer experience hunger because it is in a state of emergency and saving its energy for survival.  You may confuse this state for your body not being in need of fuel but that would be wrong.  Another problem with not eating prior to a workout is that once the body has rested it will again realize it is “starving” and you will probably binge eat. 

To avoid starvation, muscle depletion, lack of energy and binge eating, you need a healthy meal schedule before you get started.  The best method for a healthy meal plan is to tailor your nutritional needs to your energetic output needs.  If you are going to participate in an intense morning drill, eat an easy to digest breakfast about an hour prior to starting.  If your workouts are later in the day, be sure to eat a good lunch so that you are fueled up for the afternoon. 

In addition, your body will absorb the highest concentration of the nutrients you take in if you eat within an hour of the workout ending.  The best combination of foods during this “golden hour” is a protein, carbohydrate blend with the emphasis on the protein.  The reason this period is so valuable is because the metabolism is up and the body is actively seeking to replenish what it lost through the exercise.

Before your workout some good foods to enjoy are quick absorbing carbs with a high glycemic index such as juice, fruit, bread or pasta.  Post intense exercise is best fed by, as previously stated, a combination of protein and carbohydrates.  Good examples of this are a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, fruit and yogurt, a bagel with cream cheese or perhaps a handful of nuts.

The answer then to the question whether it is best to eat before or after a workout is, “yes”.  You do need to eat before a workout and after. 

By Christina Leon, Staff Writer