JVoigt

I'm up at 5am doing intervals for an hour before heading off to work. What's best to eat before and after? I wake up 30 minutes before the workout, so not much time for digestion. I usually do some variation of steel cut oats, dried fruit, pb&j, or cereal, but I'm wondering if anyone has a more scientific explanation of what should be ingested before/after an intense workout.

gregf83 

You don't need to eat anything for a 1 hr workout. Just eat when you are finished.

GirlAnachronism

Everyone is different. I have a huge appetite when I wake up in the morning and can barely manage a 30 minute easy commute on an empty stomach, let alone actual intervals. I have friends who absolutely cannot eat when they first wake up, and I'm sure there are plenty of people in between.

Theoretically you should be fine for a one hour workout if you've had enough to eat the day before, but, again, I hate working out hungry.

In general you want carbs before and a ratio of 4:1 carb: protein after. Something slowly digested like complex carbs/PB before is a good thing, and try to keep the fat content low for immediately after.

surgeonstone

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/1...ore-breakfast/

Interesting article touching on the this topic.

revchuck 

First, if what you're doing now works, don't fix something that ain't broke.

In theory, I'd go with something that digests really quickly, like a gel washed down with sports drink. The other things you mentioned would take more time for me to digest. When I ride in the morning, I give myself more time and have cereal and milk, plus my normal dose of coffee.

Follow GA's advice and have something substantial afterwards. You've fasted all night, and burned a bunch of calories during the intervals, so you've got to refuel before you go to work.

JVoigt

Indeed interesting. I always thought I needed to eat something before the workout to perform halfway decent. I think I may try an empty stomach, or just something very small and easy digestible.

hammy56

what would jens eat?

hammy56

times up...the obvious answer is 'souls'.

snowman40

Are you sure he wouldn't say shut up stomach, I'll tell you when I'm hungry?

Zastolye

I believe eating before improves your recovery. Although a quick/easy 20 minute morning exercise might be good for losing weight, your muscles do not have the ingredients to start repairing the damage you have caused..

revchuck 

From the abstract:
"This study for the first time shows that fasted training is more potent than fed training to facilitate adaptations in muscle and to improve whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity during hyper-caloric fat-rich diet." (emphasis mine)

I tried to access the study, but it requires a subscription to the journal, and I'm not that curious. There are a lot of questions that the study may well answer, but aren't presented in the abstract or the NYT article. It doesn't quantify a big breakfast or carb (and fat) intake during exercise in terms of calories, or specify how much time elapsed between breakfast and exercise. Most importantly, there was no group which continued a pattern of healthy eating and exercise to compare to the three groups presented. Still, it's food (no pun intended) for thought.

Quel

I'll sometimes ride up to 2 hours, with 1 hour of that being interval/tempo, in the morning. I don't eat beforehand.

mmmdonuts

If you eat before intervals you will be eating twice.

kensuf

the bones of randonneurs.

kensuf

oh yeah that too.

kensuf

Seriously, I can't eat something substantial that would be digested enough that I wouldn't be sick doing intervals 30 minutes later. Therefore, my suggestion would be to just shoot a gel and drink sports drink during the workout, then eat sensibly after.

kleinboogie

Fast digesting carbs.

veloboy971

chocolate chip cookies!!! lots of them

surgeonstone

Yeah- this really surprised me.

dekindy

2 grams of L-Glutamine and carbs before. Absolutely no fatty foods. Drink plenty of water before, during, and after.

After, depends upon goal.

If your goal is to maximize performance, eat carbs and protein with 30 minutes for maximum recovery.

If you are an older rider and maximum HGH production and fat burning is important, then 25 grams of program after and no carbohydrates for 2 hours.

JVoigt

Interesting, I'll try this. Right now in the off season, my goal is to keep my weight down and riding strength up. When it gets closer to race season, main goal becomes performance only. I've heard the recommendation for 4-1 carb/protein ratio for after-workout recovery. Why do you say protein only after?

alancommike

6 weeks of eating a diet with a 30% higher calorie intake than normal with a high fat content AND no exercise. They only gained 6 lbs on average? I'd gain like 20!

BikeNube

This.