Welcome to Ask Healthy Living -- in which you submit your most burning health questions and we do our best to ask the experts and get back to you. Have a question? Get in touch here and you could appear on Healthy Living!
"Ask Healthy Living" is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice. Please consult a qualified health care professional for personalized medical advice.
Honestly, when working out first thing in the morning, do I really need to eat before? Especially if I'm just doing a quick 30-minute run or elliptical?
-- Alicia, 26, Shreveport, Louisiana
With all of the marketing of sports drinks, bars, gels and powders, this is an excellent question to ask. There's certainly no harm in eating -- and it might help you meet your fitness goals by giving you more energy during the actual run or elliptical workout.
"It's a contradiction, but you really do need the calories to perform well," Barbara Lewin, R.D., L.D., a sports nutritionist who works with professional and Olympic athletes, said in an earlier interview about sports drink alternatives. "The calories are what's enabling you to work out at your best. If you're not well-fueled, you're not going to work out as hard."
And certainly, if you're planning an endurance training session, you must eat. According to Andrea Hacker Thompson, M.S., R.D., of the American College of Sports Medicine, endurance athletes should eat even when they aren't hungry. She wrote:
A race car never starts a race without new tires and a full tank of gas, so an endurance athlete should not start a workout without fueling. Eating before a workout guarantees that the body starts with a full tank of glycogen.
But even for those of us who aren't trying to run an ultramarathon, if we plan a rigorous session of 90 minutes or longer, getting a bit to eat beforehand is a good idea. To understand why, it's important to know how our bodies use energy during a workout. When we exert ourselves, we burn glycogen -- the cache of glucose we keep stored in our muscle and liver cells. After we've gone through that store of carbohydrates, we can start to feel fatigued. As Thompson explains for the ACSM, the body can store about 2,000 calories in glycogen. If you plan to go over that amount (and, wow, that's quite a workout if you do!), you could begin to get light-headed, weak or just plain exhausted.
But for a 30 minute treadmill session? You probably don't have to make a concerted effort to eat enough. You do, on the other hand, have to keep hydrated. Water is fine for a half-hour run, but any workout over an hour may require some electrolyte replacement -- such as a sports drink or a piece of fruit.
Beyond the question of whether or not to eat, there are other considerations. It's important not to eat too much -- or too little. And to know when to eat it. The Mayo Clinic provides a guideline, suggesting a small snack about an hour before exercising or a medium meal two hours before a gym session. For a full meal, they recommend giving yourself a three to four hour time period between eating and hitting the gym. Overdo it, and you could give yourself stomach cramps or even diarrhea.
Most of all, it's important to note your own reaction to food and figure out an eating plan that's right for you. Feel fine during a morning run, even without that yogurt? Skip it. But if you need a little something for extra energy, there's nothing wrong with starting with a snack.
For some ideas on snacks and drinks that could go well with your workout, try these:
Better Than A Sports Drink
Bananas(01 of07)
Open Image ModalChocolate Milk(02 of07)
Open Image ModalCoconut Water(03 of07)
Open Image ModalRaisins(04 of07)
Open Image ModalHomemade Drink(05 of07)
Open Image Modal"Liquid really makes the most sense during the workout. Blood flow goes to the muscles, so digestion is slower. The easiest thing to digest is a liquid," says Barbara Lewin, RD, LD, a sports nutritionist who works with professional and Olympic athletes, as well as "regular" gym-goers.
Lewin shared her go-to mix for a healthful, natural alternative sports drink.
Natural Sports Drink Recipe:
3.5 cups water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
An eight-ounce serving provides 50 calories and 110 mg sodium, according to Lewin. (credit:FLICKR: DONNA NADIA)
Rice(06 of07)
Open Image ModalIt might seem surprising -- and certainly messy! -- but UC Davis' Elizabeth Applegate explains that cooked rice, especially squirted with a bit of honey, makes a good energy-delivering, restorative snack for endurance athletes.
"Of course, this isn't appropriate for runners," she told The Huffington Post, recommending the mix for cyclers. (credit:Alamy)
Caffeine(07 of07)
Open Image ModalWhile endurance athletes need the electrolytes and carbohydrates that come from a sports drink, most often, regular gym goers do not. That's because under an hour of moderate-to-intense exercise doesn't warrant concerted replacement efforts.
Most often, when your average gym warrior goes for a sports drink, they really just need a pick-me-up. And for that, suggests Elizabeth Applegate, a low-cal drink with 100 milligrams of caffeine -- like a black iced coffee or strong tea, will work just fine.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this slide stated that caffeine should contain 100 grams, rather than milligrams. That would be a dangerous amount of caffeine. We regret the error. (credit:Alamy)
Have a question? Ask Healthy Living!
Previously On Ask Healthy Living
Should I Try Intermittent Fasting?(01 of29)
Open Image ModalHow Does Exercise Reduce Stress?(02 of29)
Open Image ModalDo 3,500 Calories Equal A Pound Of Fat?(03 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Do I Have Brittle Nails?(04 of29)
Open Image ModalThe Healthiest Way To Gain Weight(05 of29)
Open Image ModalHow Much Water Should I Drink?(06 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Am I So Grumpy In The Morning?(07 of29)
Open Image ModalIs Your Workout Better If Your Body Trembles?(08 of29)
Open Image ModalIs There A 'Wrong' Way To Eat Fruit?(09 of29)
Open Image ModalShould You Drink Water After A Massage?(10 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Can't I Stop Eating At Night?(11 of29)
Open Image ModalDo Food Cravings Indicate Nutritional Deficiency?(12 of29)
Open Image ModalIs Neck Cracking Dangerous?(13 of29)
Open Image ModalHow To Stretch Safely For Flexibility After 50(14 of29)
Open Image ModalPaleo Diet: Healthy Or A Hoax?(15 of29)
Open Image ModalIs Organic Food Healthier?(16 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Do My Eyelids Twitch?(17 of29)
Open Image ModalAdult Acne: Why Does It Happen?(18 of29)
Open Image ModalWho Decides Serving Sizes?(19 of29)
Open Image ModalIs It Necessary To Eat Before A Workout?(20 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Does Weight Loss Get Harder?(21 of29)
Open Image ModalShould I Do Cardio Or Weights First?(22 of29)
Open Image ModalShould You Take A Multivitamin?(23 of29)
Open Image ModalHow A Hangover Works(24 of29)
Open Image ModalHow Long After I Eat Is Weight Added To My Body?(25 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Am I So Hungry After A Big Meal?(26 of29)
Open Image ModalWhat Is Excessive Sweating?(27 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Do My Muscles Burn So Much?(28 of29)
Open Image ModalWhy Does My Face Flush When I Exercise?(29 of29)
Open Image ModalOur 2024 Coverage Needs You
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Can't afford to donate? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.