Weddingbee boards

I work out in the mornings before I eat my breakfast. I've never had any problems!!

This is what Jillian Michaels recently said in an interview re: working out on an empty stomach:

Jillian: Never work out on an empty stomach or you’ll lose muscle mass because your body will convert muscle into glucose. Eat about 45 minutes to 1 hour prior to working out so you have enough blood sugar. You want to be fueled, but you don't want to get cramped because your stomach is full. Get a good combination of complex carbohydrates, healthy fat and protein. Have a handful of raw walnuts and an apple, almond butter on half an Ezekiel English muffin, or low-fat organic yogurt and organic berries.

Back in the old days, people thought they should train on an empty stomach in order to burn more fat, but that has turned out to be FALSE. In fact, your body needs some glucose (blood sugar) for fuel in addition to what it can use from fat stores when you're working out. If you don't have any blood sugar available, your body will eat the muscles' glycogen, or stored glucose. Low blood sugar will also make you tired and sluggish during your training session. For these reasons, I suggest you eat something 45 minutes to an hour before training — you'll have more energy and endurance to work harder, burn more calories, and improve your muscle tone.
After training, during a period known as the golden hour (45 to 60 minutes after a workout), muscles absorb the most nutrients, and glycogen is replaced the most efficiently. You don't have to have a huge meal — just a little something that contains both protein and carbs will give the best results.

I always just have coffee, and then go work out. If I'm working out later in the day, I make sure that I haven't eaten anything for at least and hour and a half (longer if the last thing I ate was big).

@Evie19: I almost always do cardio when I work out, maybe followed by some strength training.

@Evie19: I do both cardio, strength and toning (err... if that's even in its own category).

I usually work out in the evenings now, but I used to run or lift every morning.  The Jillian Michaels advice is right - if you are doing cardio on an empty stomach, you will be burning a higher percentage of muscle mass than you would otherwise.   If you're exercising for weight loss, this probably isn't as big of an issue as if you're trying to build muscle as well.

For me, the issue is performance as well as the way I feel.  Unless I had a massive and late dinner the night before, first thing in the morning runs on an empty stomach are pretty pathetic. I get light-headed and nauseated halfway through and my times are way off what they normally are.  While I'll sometimes suck up the hungry cardio if I don't have anything good to eat around, I NEED to lift weights with something in my stomach.  Preferably not too much, but enough that I'm not feeling acute hunger.

I'll usually have a piece of fruit just before I head out the door.  It's quick, accessible energy, not too heavy, not too much food, but filling enough that I won't be starving.  If I don't have any fruit around (on vacation, need to hit up the store, etc), a bite or two of a luna bar or a handful of cereal works as well.

I actually find coffee or tea before running is a terrible idea... that's when my stomach gets really upset.  Though I've read caffeine can improve performance, so I'm a little envious of all of you who can run with it.