When is the best time..?

[JoyRenee]

Probably asked before but when is the best time to workout? Morning, noon, evening?

Do you wait 30-60 minutes after eating to workout?

Do you eat immediately afterwards or wait?


I just want to get a better feel for when to build my exercise regimen. I am not a morning person, at all. I cannot imagine waking up before the sun. But since I'm trying to go to bed earlier, maybe I'll be able to get up earlier. Okay, that's it! Look forward to hearing your answers.

If you have any other tips, tricks, or tidbits I'd love to hear them!

[Barb135]

I get up at 3:30 am because I have to be at work early; since I'm not willing to get up an extra hour earlier (2:30 am is the middle of the night!!!  lol) to work out, I have to work out when I get home in the afternoon, which is around 3:30 pm.  Now, since my "winter neighbor" is here, we walk for about 45 min to an hour every day, then I have to try to get in a workout; fix dinner, take care of the house, etc and be in bed by 7:30 in order to get up and do it all over again.  Have to admit that the walking has been pretty much BEEN the workout lately in order to keep up with everything else.  I have to have some "down time" before I try to sleep and if I exercise too close to bed time, I can't get calmed down enough to get to sleep on time.  

I think it doesn't matter WHEN you work out, just that you get SOME kind of exercise every day.  

[JoyRenee]

twehner and others- that's what I've heard! My husband's grandmother was a nutritionist and still reads all the journals and articles so she's up-to-date.

She also said that working out before eating burns more calories and boosts your metabolism!

I'm going to continue doing my mid-morning routine, before lunch, since that's what works for me. I just cannot do it when I first get up. I'm too groggy! Waking up a bit and eating breakfast helps me.

[lucindamartinez]

Seems that there are so many different times that work out better for different folks....I think that there might be different reasons for different times for each person, but the important thing is that we get it done...regardless of the time of day.  ; )  

[crizem]

I've heard several things also. like it's better in the morning than at night (had no reason behind it when I heard it though) but I think I agree it just depends on when and what fits you the most! I personally do it at night after my kids go to bed. reason being thats the only time I have that I can say OKAY I can get 30 minutes of exercise done! and if I get just in a really snacky mood I just grab a tiny apple and a few glasses of water and I'm happy!

[twehner5]

StarryNight makes very good points, and it's hard to argue with gokuangel's 10lbs of success.  

Two points I'd like to make about exercising in the a.m. AND eating LIGHTLY first are these: ONE: If you start your day with exercise, you are encouraged to make better food choices the rest of the day (at least, I am!), and TWO: your metabolism is slowed down overnight (breakfast=break-the-fast), so a small snack BEFORE you exercise revs it up, fuels your tank, if you will, so you can burn more calories.  

I would then eat another light snack at mid-morning, and then a light lunch.  As a side note, a friend who was doing the exact same walking route as me at the time (3 miles) didn't lose a pound and she wasn't eating.  She had MORE to lose than I did, so we both figured her lack of weight-loss was that she wasn't eating B4 walking and I was.  Unfortunately, instead of trying a snack (sometimes if I overslept, I ate a bite of peanut butter!), she quit!

NOW, I am working and unable to workout that early. Fortunately for me, my job is flexible (I drive morning, noon, and evening school bus routes), so between routes, I stop at the Y and exercise.  I take my gym bag FULLY packed for 5 days on Monday and leave it on my bus.  It works for me.

Find a time that works for you and DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT NOT DOING IT.  I did it this week even though I had a migraine.  I am so glad I did.  I lost 2lbs!!!

I'll shut up now.   :<)

[wonko]

I read in a recent Health magazine that actually doing it is more important than when!

I prefer to do it earlier in the day.  That way, I get it done (whereas putting it off until PM can backfire if I get too tired or busy).  Plus, sometimes I feel pretty energetic after I work out, which serves me better in the morning.

I don't eat immediately before I work out.  Sometimes I work out right when I get up.  Other times, I eat first and work out maybe 30-45 minutes later.  Likewise, I'm not hungry right after I work out.

[StarryNight23]

I've heard a few different opinions on what time of day is best to workout but honestly, the best time to workout is whenever you have time to fit it into your schedule! Personally I workout at all different times. Sometimes I have time to kill in the morning and have enough energy to get in at least a half hour of some kind of cardio (it's rare though because I am not a morning person AT ALL either lol) Other times I do it late at night. As long as you fit it into your day, the time really doesnt make a difference. If you do workout in the morning, it's best to have a little something in your stomach. Something light though like at least a piece of fruit, a yogurt, a granola bar. And then have your normal breakfast after the workout. If you workout at night, it's best to wait I would say at least 45 minutes to an hour after dinner because working out on a full stomach can give you cramps. If you workout before dinner, eating any time after that shouldnt matter. Something else I've heard a lot of is if you eat within 3 hours of working out, you'll end up metabolizing some of the nutrients in your food better since your metabolism will be increased and you will be in that "after burn" window of time. I don't know all the specifics on that, but I wouldnt worry or focus too much on that since the same amount of calories will be consumed no matter what or when you eat. The only time you probably shouldnt be working out is like an hour or 2 before you'll be going to bed. Your endorphins will be flying and you'll probably find it difficult to relax and unwind properly if you worked out not long before bed.

[gokuangel]

i was getting stuck too recently and i was only doing my wii fit and the 10 min cardio on SP and this week i tried the tae bo and the jillian michaels dvd and it has worked i dropped this week!! So try something new from your usual routine! On you tube you can find lots of work out videos to watch for FREE!! Thats how i was doing the Tae bo!! If you get stuck its just that plateau and you have kick it in the butt and keep going lol!! that 10 min vid. from spark people its really awesome and it will help! i got started that way and dropped a few lbs quick!!

[JoyRenee]

Awesome! I might just have to try to wake up uber early (yuck) because as it is my weight is STUCK!!!

[gokuangel]

oh ur other question sorry lol missed that i usually eat within 30-40 mins of working out! i cool down relax get a breather drink some water etc.. and then i eat something!!

[gokuangel]

i dunno either lol!! Every1 on here says they work out at different times during the day so i think its one of those things again you have to find your happy spot!! but i have heard as long as you exercise at some point its great!! As for me im not a morning person at ALL!!   I had heard it was best to exercise as soon as you wake up that way you are on an empty stomach and you burn off your excess fat instead of what you just ate so this is what i follow! As soon i as i DO wake up i put my work out clothes on wake up a bit and then get to it!! It has worked for me I have lost 10lbs now!! but like i said every1 is very different some peeps work and dont work out till later on when they are off and have done chores! im at home all day so i work out then do chores etc..! but i would say they do just as well they are losing too!!