This question is pretty simple; however, the answer isn’t quite as straightforward. The best answer is that it isn’t good or bad whether or not you eat before exercise.
To answer as correctly and thoroughly as possible, I did a lot of research instead of merely giving you my opinion on the subject.
The reason for eating before a workout is so that you’ll have energy when you’re going through your program or following an exercise class. But it’s all about balance. There’s a pretty thin line between providing enough food to give you a needed boost and feeling overly full when you’re working out.
Once, a bunch of us had come from yoga pictorials and we were running late for my evening yoga class, which they all were attending. Everyone was starving because, of course, we had done the pictorials on empty stomachs so we’d be able to do difficult poses looking as fit as possible.
We still had about an hour so we ordered several vegetarian pizzas to go and ate them on the way to class. Unfortunately, they took a bit long to fill the orders so we were not only hungrier, we were also so late that we only had enough time to munch quickly and put our mats in place.
In a class of about 20 or so people that night, there were about six of us who were feeling really sick, especially during the bent-over stretches! I’m sure I am speaking for all of us when I say we learned our lesson.
Research shows that when you eat before exercise instead of exercising with an empty stomach, it improves your athletic performance. We’re not talking about full meal here; this is just a snack, so generally, a snack taken before an activity will provide fuel for that activity – or practice, game, workout, run, etc. – depending on how long the session lasts. - Anna Unson-Price
Sources: Go Ask Alice! Columbia University Health Services; Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook, 1997; American Dietetic Association.anna.price2008@gmail.com
