Should You Eat Before A Morning Run?

In this video, I’m going to talk to you about whether you should be eating in the morning before your run.

And if so, what should you be eating?

So first off let’s tackle that first question.

Should you be eating before your morning run?…

And the answer is NO…

That may come as a surprise!

Critical Reasons Why:

First, note that at the end of this article I’ll go over some foods you can eat if you still feel like you really need to eat something before your run.

So let’s go into those critical reasons why…

1. Teach Your Body To Burn Fat
   When you don’t eat before your morning run what happens is a few things..When you’re sleeping 7-8 hours and then getting up and not eating and running for an hour your body then can’t rely on carbohydrates as an energy sourceInstead your body has to rely on good fats because the carbohydrates don’t last long enough to get you energy after 7-8 hours of sleeping, etc.Good fats are better because they last longer, burn longer, and thus give you more energy for a longer period of time.So by not eating before you run your training your body to use good fats instead of carbohydrates, which will help make you faster in your workout and races.
2. Our Bodies Are Adapted To Run Hungry
   In man’s primal cave-age time, when man was hunting for food, he would typically run to hunt down his food. So the body has sort of adapted over time to be efficient at running when we are hungry.This is why a lot of times when people ask me whether they should be eating before or how close before they should be eating prior to a run or race, I tell them they should be “running hungry.”So it’s sort of natural for the body to run hungry.Also if you think about what happens when you eat…

   Blood flow and energy goes to your stomach and organs to digest that food.

   The problem with that is that it takes away energy and blood flow that could go to your muscles.

   Thus your performance is somewhat less since your body can’t totally focus on running.

So those are some of the most critical reasons why.

Now, let’s go over what you could eat if you absolutely have to eat before your morning run.

First, you should never eat something new and untested before a hard workout or a race.

You only ever want to do things you know for sure will work for you before a race or important workout.

Otherwise it could lead to disaster.

Food Suggestions

So some of the foods I would suggestions are:

• Toast
• Simple Fruits
• Drinks – not sugary drinks

Anything you eat or drink should only be in small portions.

Remember you want to run hungry so don’t eat so much that you lose that appetite.

Check out my free course on weight training for runners here: