before workout eating..bet with the wifey

Good Morning All...(posted on men's forum and thought to post it here too) ..on the way to the gym the wife and I had a little discussion about nutrition before going to the gym...........Got Sunday breakfast in bed going to winner.........
I say that you need to eat some protien and carbs before you work out because you need the carbs for fuel during cardio and also you need some protien for lifting weights....   I.E i like to drink a slimfast drink or a protien drink and a 90 calorie quaker oat bar; the wife says that your body will get what it needs from within  she hasn't eaten before the gym for as long as i have known her............don't let me down guys...who is right??? Thanks and have a great day

I don't know about RIGHT, but I agree with your wife. I go to the gym early in the morning and I can't eat beforehand. I have plenty of energy. I end up eating about an hour after I am done. I do drink a ton of water though, before during and after.

I'm with you Victor...your body needs fuel!! I know I can push myself way harder when I have a little something before I train. I guess so far you're tied :)

I reall ynot sure you need it, but my daughter who was training for half marathon learned you need someone in your body.  She was on treadmill doing 8 miles and almost past out.

The answer is that you are both right or perhaps both not wrong. If eating works for you than go for it. It seems that not eating works for her.

I have run marathons without eating before hand and routinely run 10-12 miles without anything.

 for what its worth, my opinion is it is totally dependant on the type of workout and what your goals are.  If I am trying to lose weight, I want my body to burn fat, so fueling with carbs is not so important (course the workout needs to be adapted for that purpose).  When I was in major weight loss mode, I usually only took a protein shake before a long slow run.

If I am training endurance for performance, my body will burn fat, but I also will need carbs and fuel to go the distance.   If I am doing major strength training, I really need the carbs to get the intensity levels up (and protein during and after expecially).  

But everyone is different..

For weight loss I would do protein only. You can use your stored carbs and burn fat.

For performance a mix of both.

I would agree with you are both right and both wrong.  I think it totally depends on the condition your body is in, what your previous workouts were and what your current workout is. I typically do some carbs before a workout but my surgeons nurse goes ape about this, so today I stupidly tried things her way.  Was slated for a 5 mile run, monday I did this in about 48 minutes.  Today my preworkout was a prtein shake with 1 tablespoon peanut butter, a fraction of what I usually eat.  I was running a less intense profile and at mile 4 totally gased out to the point I knew it would be bad to push the last mile. After a 10 minute recovery I was then able to get my weights in but this took a major effort as well and I had to change it up and focus more on my core than my legs.

Do what works for you.

It is also going to depend on the type of workout the duration of your workout and how long it has been since your last meal.

If you ate last night at 6, then basically fasted all night and go to the gym the next day, you have a long period of no calorie intake.

However any exercise lasting 1 hour or less, you body generally has enough to sustain itself and you can do it on water alone.  After an hour, you need to start replacing the calories/energy or you are working on a bigger deficit and can have issues with having enough energy to complete your workout appropriately.

http://www.active.com/running/Articles/The_Pre-Race_Meal.htm ?cmp=17-1-867

An article on eating before racing.  Could be applied to working out.