Having experimented with it personally, that approach leads to me eating more food overall, gaining weight, and losing performance.

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

I do most all morning workouts fasted, even workouts with intensity and duration.

Last week, I experimented with eating before a couple of workouts. I actually got hungry during those workouts and had to eat more to keep going. These were long swims and bike intervals.

I said screw this and stopped eating before the workouts.

This is a great thread already, and so typical of ST: someone posts some research and then there's an immediate avalanche of anecdata.

But that doesn’t mean their N=1 is inaccurate, does it?

I am curious to see this thread play out.

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Aaron Bales
Lansing Triathlon Team

27 (!) years ago:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2022581

If I don't eat in the morning I don't do well at any training later in the day.

By counting calories I'm able to keep my overall eating in line.

jaretj

Having experimented with it personally, that approach leads to me eating more food overall, losing weight, and gaining performance.

N=1

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Don't get me wrong, there are some novels aspects to this recent study (and another recent paper very much like it). The finding just aren't nearly as original as the lay press/public seem to believe (and in fact, some results are completely predictable).

As for promotion of science via social media, you are spot on there. What people who excessively pursue this strategy don't realize is that being famous in the eyes of the public (e.g., by simply tweeting/retweeting every new paper that gets published, including those not their own) is not the same as being respected by other scientists, i.e., those that really control your fate (by reviewing papers and grants). In fact, having a too-high 'k index' profile can work against you.

Awesome. I never said it applied to anyone else, let alone everyone, did I?

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The point is, ladies and gentleman, that speed, for lack of a better word, is good. Speed is right, Speed works. Speed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

No...I'm just quoting because I found the opposite to be true for myself. Don't get so defensive...we all have opinions, and this is the internet.

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"The person on top of the mountain didn't fall there." - unkown

also rule 5

Haven't they been touting the, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" message for, like, ever?

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

This seems pretty obvious, but who has 2 hours to spare between when they eat breakfast and their morning workout? I know I don't.

Maybe this is something that's already out there, but it would also be interesting to see ratio of fat to carbs burned during each of the scenarios they tested.

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Strava

We found that carbohydrate oxidation during exercise was ~10% higher 2 h after a light breakfast (bagels and orange juice) vs. an overnight (12 h) fast. Fat oxidation, of course, showed a reciprocal decrease.

At 4 h post-breakfast, substrate oxidation was similar to that at 2 h, whereas after 8 h of fasting it was similar to that after 12 h. The values were intermediate to these two extremes after 6 h.

I was just stating my experimental results. Why should I believe this scientific study, anyway? I can easily find scientific research that proves the opposite.

Here are some example of scientific research.

Coconut oil is great for you.
Coconut oil is terrible for you.

Coffee is great for you - prevents certain cancers
Coffee causes cancer

Eating carbs at night causes weight gain
Eating carbs at night (backloading) is good for losing weight

Fasting in the morning leads to longer lifespan
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day

Eating carbs shortens lifespan
Low carb diets take 4 years off your life

Paleo is a great diet plan
Paleo is a horrible diet plan

Pasta causes weight gain
Pasta is a beneficial part of a healthy diet

Diet and exercise can stave off diabetes in obese people
Diet and exercise have no impact on diabetes in obese people

Fasted cardio is great for burning fat
Eating before cardio is great for burning fat

For every scientific study that proves something, there is an equal study proving the exact opposite.

I go with an english muffin with jelly (no butter - avoid fat which slows absorption). Sometimes a can of cold brew with some sugar in it too, but most of the time just black coffee (put a little ice in to be able to drink it faster). This allows me to be exercising within 30 minutes of waking, and this food absorbs quickly and doesn't cause issues during the workout. Also for longer sessions I will also drink sports drink during.

This method allows me to usually have strong 2 a day workouts all week. And when I started eating before the morning workout (rather than just coffee), I found that my body composition actually improved (maybe due to being able to burn more kj during the workouts?).

Anyway, that is my n=1

Eating a breakfast before I run in the morning will lead me to updating my entry into the "I shit myself running" running thread.

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

I often have crappy workouts if I don't eat something before an AM workout. Sure I "feel lean" if I don't eat, but energy is not super. I'll east a slice of organic sourdough toast and have a coffee, then do some work for 1-1.5 hrs & THEN get in a workout. Then eat lunch w/protein & work some more--sustained energy throughout the day.

When does my work day start? When I was in the Army, woke up at five but didn't PT until 0630 (last job we had a meeting at 0600 everyday) I three down some whey and oats and then had a real breakfast at 0830 at my desk.

No...wake up at 0515, start running or driving to the pool at 0545 and start eating at 0717-0730ish window.

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Washed up footy player turned Triathlete.

It all depends on how long my workout is. Anything past 2 hours and I have to eat or my workout will suffer. I can usually get away with a cup of coffee.

I don't understand how some of you guys have all this time to hang out between eating and working out in the morning...are you all pro triathletes? I need whatever job you have if not. I eat before my morning workouts (6 am) because it's either eat then or don't eat until lunch.

I thought this was known many years ago


Bodybuilders were doing this since back in the 80s

Ha-hell no, far from it. Just a weekend warrier AG'r who trains far too little (likely far less than most of you on this forum). I'm an old fart and many (many) years past my prime. It just depends on the job(s) you have and what those hours call for. Some work later in the day, some early, some all night. Understand, the world does not operate on a normal 8-5 or 9-5 job schedule M-F. These days, it's 24 x 7 in some cases. Cheers & hope you find your way to a schedule that will work better for you. ;-)

Ya dude, but I just want to know if I should eat breakfast tomorrow morning or not?