2 things.

1. How long after waking up should you eat breakfast?

And

2. Does exercising before breakfast kickstart your metabolism so that you burn more calories all day?

Been unsure on these for a while so any answers would be of great help. Thanks!

My Weight Watchers leader says that exercising before breakfast kickstarts your metabolism.

I tend to go out walking before having my cereal - but I take a banana and small bottle of water with me in case I get hungry or delayed. That way I sometimes have a "pre-breakfast".

Ahh thanks

I've read articles that says this is true and articles says this is complete an utter hogwash... both arguments come from fairly reliable sources - but in my own experimentation - I see no diffrerence soI'll go with hogwash


I've also read that a cup of coffee before a cardio workout gives you a little more endurance (but that makes me -ummm - oh how shall we say this politely - that makes me need to take a breakmidway thrumyworkout...)

I wouldn't suggest a full course breakfast before a workout but having something to get some food in your stomach wouldn't be a bad thing - a banana or evensome form of protein.. both before and after a workout...

there's an interesting article on fasted cardio here:

TESTOSTERONE NATION

and if you google "fasted cardio" you'll find a ton of stuff

I'm not a fan of fasted exercise at all.

Unless you're going for that soft look, lol.

Nothing is really going to 'jumpstart' your metabolism. And eating before exercise a) allows you to work at a higher intensity which at the end of the day matters most and b) gives your reason not to waste muscle (hence that soft comment above)

Ive read many things that have said that doing low intensity exercise (heart rate 60-65% of max) will not use muscle for energy, depending on your body type, and I doubt many people here would be ectomorphs.

OP. Just see what works for you? if you decide to workout before breakfast and you are getting results, keep going. If not, change it up. The best thing to do is try it out and see if you get results, because everyone is different.

Reading is much different than experiencing.

Do as you wish... I'm simply offering my advice which you can take for what it's worth.

This is very true, psychologically speaking.

Unfortunately though, we are all locked to the core fundamentals of physiology... there are some differences on the higher ends of the spectrum such as body type and certain metabolic characteristics... but the fundamentals are in place for all of us outside the realm of disease.

The fact is, if someone is fat, chances of losing appreciable muscle is slim to none, you're right.

But that negates the other part of my post about intensity associated with exercise in a fed-state.

Really? Huh. My personal trainer could ALWAYS tell when I'd had coffee before a workout. I would crash about halfway through. He said coffee was one of the worst things to have before cardio. Everyone has a different opinion! (and trust me, I know about the mid-workout break ).

My morning workout consists of doing what needs to be done around my urban farm - hauling bags of feed to chickens, weeding the garden, planting seeds, chopping wood, etc. I just get up and do stuff until I get hungry or feel worn out and then I go in and eat breakfast. Sometimes I eat before I go out because I wake up ravenous. Other times I get almost 3 hours in before I need to get something to eat. I just do what my body thinks feels right and never keep working when I feel weak. I just don't think I'm going to be changing my metabolism that much by eating/not eating at a specific time.