I have three questions about am cardio exercise:
I have coffee before my workout and use Splenda and cream in it. Is that ok?
Should I eat immediately after my workout, or should I wait awhile to get the optimum fat burning results? If so, how long should I wait?
Is there a certain type of food I should concentrate on eating after the workout that will be healthier for me and/or keep my body burning the most fat possible?
If these questions have already been covered, I apologize.
Thanks!

Good question Nikkiend! I want to know too! After reading this thread I see that it is a good thing to drink a bit of coffee in the morning before the work out. Boy does that make me happy ! Since I am not a morning person it helps me be more friendly to the other gym members

Man, if I tried to exercise before I ate something in the morning, I'd faint. When my blood sugar is low, it's really low.

From what I've read, caffiene is muscle sparing, so a little coffee before a workout would not be detrimental. I never did drink it so it's not a problem for me.

You do want to make sure you are well hydrated before you begin your exercise. I try to drink 12 oz or more of water before I begin.

If you are doing cardio exercise, you should try to wait 1 hour before eating, but no more. If you are doing weight lifting you should eat immediatly after your workout and take your vitamins also so you can get the most out of them.

Many people recommend a protein shake after your workout. I hate shakes so I put my Designer Whey shake mix into whole milk yogurt and it's very yummy.

Beth

Thanks, Beth. What I'm doing is called Body Flex. It starts out with aerobic breathing and stretching exercises, then goes to resistance training with a "bar" that is part of the workout. So would I eat immed. after, or wait an hour?

Since it sounds more like resistance training, and you would be working muscles, I would say eat immediately. Most weight workouts start with a brief warmup so that seems to fit it with what I've read.

Beth

Thanks so much for your input.

Bumping this back to page 1.

Wow...I just wanted to say, Trainerdan is a hottie!!!
I basically exercise whenever I have the time, since I have two girls, 4 yrs and 14 months, and can't be picky And I certainly am not going to lose an hour of precious sleep, to get up at 6:30 to work out, when my youngest barely sleeps as it is, and is keeping me up at night with her teething pain...
So I get to the gym at night when dh is home. I think we can all agree that exercise, whenever you do it, is beneficial. I LOVE working out, and for me, it's a time to have a break away from the house in the evenings. My gym is so great!

I've read through this thread (and learned alot!) without seeing any mention to people with diabetes. Mine is diet controlled now, but my early morning blood sugar levels are the highest I'll have all day. Should I instead exercise a few hours after lunch, when my blood sugar is at it's lowest and I still have time to keep my body burning at a hotter rate?

I'd appreciate any and all opinions on this subject! Thanks...

kyah, just wanted to say hi - i've seen you on the MFH forum!!

cardio on empty in the morning has done wonders for me...

leighanne

Hi Leighanne! Nice to see you

I just started doing this again and I can't remember how I managed before. It's been about 2 weeks now. I find myself waking up, lying in bed for another half hour, getting up and hanging around doing stuff like going online..Then exercising! I usually don't get to exercising for about 3-5hours AFTER I wake up, and then it's like 6-7 hours awake before I eat anything. This pattern cannot be good!

How do you get in the habbit of waking up and then exercising? I feel like I have to wake up first, which is why I don't get up and just start.... I'm not hungry when I wake up, that's not even the problem. It's waking up!

Unless by any chance it's ok to not eat anything for 5 hours since I'm not actually "awake" lol

Thanks Dan and Fern,

I've been exercising and/or walking in the evenings... think I'll do a workout in the a.m. instead.

I'll be dropping by the part of the forum more often

Hi, i know this is an old post, but today is my first day on this forum. i always go to the gym after one of my jobs (10am-12:30pm) so i get to the gym around quarter to one. my question is , since it is so late do i still get the benefits of am cardio? i never eat before i go to work,unless it is an occassional atkins shake? Is this an effective time to work out (55mins cardio on eliptical trainer). ANY advice would be so much appreciated.
thankx