Exercise and mealtime
May 19, 2008 2:21 PM Subscribe
During the week my only time to exercise (mostly cardio for now) is after dinner. How long after dinner should I wait? Is exercise after dinner/at night less beneficial than exercise at other times of the day?
The legend I always heard is that the absolute best time to do any kind of anything is first thing in the morning, because it kickstarts all sorts of crazy biological stuff. Maybe get up a little earlier, and go to bed a little earlier? Of course, people tend to eat massive blowout meals at dinnertime, which is a bad idea, because what we tend to do after dinner is go to sleep, which means none of that fuel gets used and most of it gets stored around your waist. Get up early, do your cardio, have a nice big breakfast, a smaller lunch, and a much smaller dinner (we're talking bowl of soup and slice of wholemeal bread small).
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:40 PM on May 19, 2008
posted by turgid dahlia at 2:40 PM on May 19, 2008
Response by poster: Follow up to Turgid: about the meal sizes you are talking about, for me, I get REALLY hungry during the day (esp. 3pm and dinnertime). How do you deal with this?
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 2:45 PM on May 19, 2008
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 2:45 PM on May 19, 2008
I'm no sure about turgid's legend, but exercise after dinner might make it more difficult to fall asleep. A snack before exercise and later dinner? And, remember, exercise at any time is better than none at all...
posted by bluefrog at 2:59 PM on May 19, 2008
posted by bluefrog at 2:59 PM on May 19, 2008
I workout after dinner, about 7 p.m., about 3-4 times a week. And I've lost about 40 pounds since January, so... I am going to echo what ob says. It doesn't really matter when as long as it happens sometime and semi-frequently.
I usually eat a salad with tons of veggies and chick peas for dinner, so I guess that's a pretty light and I tend to workout about 45 minutes after eating. I dunno. YMMV.
And trust me, I am fast asleep, out cold, by 11 p.m.
posted by als129 at 3:02 PM on May 19, 2008
I usually eat a salad with tons of veggies and chick peas for dinner, so I guess that's a pretty light and I tend to workout about 45 minutes after eating. I dunno. YMMV.
And trust me, I am fast asleep, out cold, by 11 p.m.
posted by als129 at 3:02 PM on May 19, 2008
No, it doesn't matter when you exercise (not significantly, anyway). And as long as you're waiting long enough after eating to have no issues with cramps, by all means, exercise away!
posted by knave at 3:37 PM on May 19, 2008
posted by knave at 3:37 PM on May 19, 2008
I work out in the evening. The best time to work out is when you can and will work out. It doesn't make any difference to calories burned.
Sometimes I end up working out after dinner, but I actually prefer to do it before only because a full stomach can be uncomfortable. Usually I drink a lot of water during the workday. I eat lunch about 12:30 and then have a carb-ish snack (like a power bar or some crackers and cheese) about 4:30. I hit the gym when I get done work about 6, and have dinner at home at 7:30, 8.
But if that doesn't work for your schedule, don't sweat it - just eat a lighter dinner and wait a half hour to hour to digest a little before getting active.
There's a lot of voodoo out there about best times of day to eat/exercise/etc...but the truth is, it really doesn't matter. There are great athletes and fit people who work out at all different times of day. Just do it when you can, and adjust meals/snacks/hydration as necessary. Your body is your best guide.
posted by Miko at 3:40 PM on May 19, 2008
Sometimes I end up working out after dinner, but I actually prefer to do it before only because a full stomach can be uncomfortable. Usually I drink a lot of water during the workday. I eat lunch about 12:30 and then have a carb-ish snack (like a power bar or some crackers and cheese) about 4:30. I hit the gym when I get done work about 6, and have dinner at home at 7:30, 8.
But if that doesn't work for your schedule, don't sweat it - just eat a lighter dinner and wait a half hour to hour to digest a little before getting active.
There's a lot of voodoo out there about best times of day to eat/exercise/etc...but the truth is, it really doesn't matter. There are great athletes and fit people who work out at all different times of day. Just do it when you can, and adjust meals/snacks/hydration as necessary. Your body is your best guide.
posted by Miko at 3:40 PM on May 19, 2008
I also work out at night and have for 8 years. Until I had thyroid problems, I was always able to maintain my weight easily working out 4-5 days a week for 1 hour (45-50 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes of weights).
For me, I eat lunch as late as possible (1-2 pm) and a luna or other protein bar at 5 p.m. and then work out, then eat a light late dinner. Between being tired from working out and having a food baby, it's easy to sleep.
However, if you're going to eat dinner, then work out, and not eat anything afterward? I would eat something light (NOT super protein heavy) and then have a snack afterwards. Is this possible? Your metabolism will be raised afterwards.
Whenever I've eaten dinner and then worked out within an hour, I occasionally have gotten nauseated. If I have a full stomach, I do weights first, then cardio, or do something lighter, like walk on a steep incline vs. running or doing the elliptical.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 4:05 PM on May 19, 2008
For me, I eat lunch as late as possible (1-2 pm) and a luna or other protein bar at 5 p.m. and then work out, then eat a light late dinner. Between being tired from working out and having a food baby, it's easy to sleep.
However, if you're going to eat dinner, then work out, and not eat anything afterward? I would eat something light (NOT super protein heavy) and then have a snack afterwards. Is this possible? Your metabolism will be raised afterwards.
Whenever I've eaten dinner and then worked out within an hour, I occasionally have gotten nauseated. If I have a full stomach, I do weights first, then cardio, or do something lighter, like walk on a steep incline vs. running or doing the elliptical.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 4:05 PM on May 19, 2008
I don't know, but I just finished a nice little book called Why we run by UVM biology prof and ultramarathoner Bernd Heinrich that touches on a number of issues that relate to metabolism and exercise/endurance.
He is unlike a lot of proseletyzers in that he is a trained scientist with world class running abilities, and he generally recommends against simultaneous digestion and exertion.
I know in my own 3 hour treadmill runs, having a big dinner in the tank would be uncomfortable. I'm not sure what your logisitics are, but isn't dinner possible after exercise? Unless you are doing a lot of extended cardio work, just taking the edge off with an appropriate snack would seem like a good way to postpone the dining until your workout was done.
I actually use a 2 oz. Snickers bar... about 200 calories and with a glycemic index of about 50 for that very purpose. It's the fuel for the first few miles of any run for me, and at about 1 hour intervals, I use Gu (a carbo/electrolyte gel) for intermediate energy. The Snickers kills food craving rather quickly.
That works for up to about 4 hours of extended cardio exercise (running), and I haven't gone beyond that.
After a workout, dinner is more moderate, too, which is a benefit. YMMV depending on your metabolism, but I'd be pissed if you puked up your hamburger on the stationary bike. Ick!
posted by FauxScot at 4:22 PM on May 19, 2008
He is unlike a lot of proseletyzers in that he is a trained scientist with world class running abilities, and he generally recommends against simultaneous digestion and exertion.
I know in my own 3 hour treadmill runs, having a big dinner in the tank would be uncomfortable. I'm not sure what your logisitics are, but isn't dinner possible after exercise? Unless you are doing a lot of extended cardio work, just taking the edge off with an appropriate snack would seem like a good way to postpone the dining until your workout was done.
I actually use a 2 oz. Snickers bar... about 200 calories and with a glycemic index of about 50 for that very purpose. It's the fuel for the first few miles of any run for me, and at about 1 hour intervals, I use Gu (a carbo/electrolyte gel) for intermediate energy. The Snickers kills food craving rather quickly.
That works for up to about 4 hours of extended cardio exercise (running), and I haven't gone beyond that.
After a workout, dinner is more moderate, too, which is a benefit. YMMV depending on your metabolism, but I'd be pissed if you puked up your hamburger on the stationary bike. Ick!
posted by FauxScot at 4:22 PM on May 19, 2008
Follow up to Turgid: about the meal sizes you are talking about, for me, I get REALLY hungry during the day (esp. 3pm and dinnertime). How do you deal with this?
Snacks. Dried/wet fruit, nuts and the like. The whole three main meals thing is actually a pretty inefficient way to process food - really we should be having six or seven smaller meals a day. But I don't really know what to tell you as I tend not to get all that hungry during the day and when I do I find that a cup of tea and a handful of almonds or whatever tends to do the trick. An apple is surprisingly filling.
It's all a matter of training your appetitite, I suppose. You get hungry at those times because that's when your body is accustomed to having a nice big meal. So you have to try and graduate in the other direction: smaller portions later in the day, larger portions earlier.
It also has a lot to do with what occupies you during the day. If you're sedentary, sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours, like many of us, there's really no reason to be having great big lunches and dinners and so forth. If you spend your days chasing gazelles or whatever across harsh scrubland, well, that's a different story. Most of us don't do that but we neglected to adjust our diets accordingly.
posted by turgid dahlia at 6:22 PM on May 19, 2008
Snacks. Dried/wet fruit, nuts and the like. The whole three main meals thing is actually a pretty inefficient way to process food - really we should be having six or seven smaller meals a day. But I don't really know what to tell you as I tend not to get all that hungry during the day and when I do I find that a cup of tea and a handful of almonds or whatever tends to do the trick. An apple is surprisingly filling.
It's all a matter of training your appetitite, I suppose. You get hungry at those times because that's when your body is accustomed to having a nice big meal. So you have to try and graduate in the other direction: smaller portions later in the day, larger portions earlier.
It also has a lot to do with what occupies you during the day. If you're sedentary, sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours, like many of us, there's really no reason to be having great big lunches and dinners and so forth. If you spend your days chasing gazelles or whatever across harsh scrubland, well, that's a different story. Most of us don't do that but we neglected to adjust our diets accordingly.
posted by turgid dahlia at 6:22 PM on May 19, 2008
Response by poster: thanks all, very helpful. some good things to chew on.
(and oh, were my job to chase gazelles over the harsh scrubland... I need not worry about such matters)
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 6:57 PM on May 19, 2008
(and oh, were my job to chase gazelles over the harsh scrubland... I need not worry about such matters)
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 6:57 PM on May 19, 2008
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posted by ob at 2:33 PM on May 19, 2008