Should I Eat Before I Exercise?

[jamesg]

WOW. Heavy meals are not recommended anyway; especially if then you go swimming.

[Little John]

Yup, I've had no problems with my lifting workouts after a meal, but when I row after a meal, it's completely worthless.

Alternately, when I try early morning rows on an empty stomach, it's almost as bad, I have no stamina. That's when I have some watered-down OJ with me, and maybe a granola bar, HB egg, apple or something else small beforehand.

[Christophorus]

I swim at 6.30am before work most days.
I get up at 6.10 and have a fruit smoothie, banana, blueberries, kiwi, yoghurt, milk and oats. This is always enough fuel for a 2.5km swim. I have the same again when I get home as my breakfast.

Always worked fine for me

[Carl Watts]

Even a big lunch before a row in the late afternoon stuffs my performance.

Something really light before a row or your just better off with fluids like a Powerade and leave the food out for a couple of hours before rowing works best here.

[Atorrante]

In my experience it depends a lot in the type of workout and the size of the meal. For running or rowing i prefer to lunch lightly at least an hour before workout, and drink some juice minutes before. In the other hand for cycling in the afternoon i can have a meal minutes before going and a single light drink (vodka with cranbery) seems to help me to move on.