I never know what to eat and how much before weightlifting at the gym. I get paranoid about either fainting through too little or being sick from too much. Unsure of how long to leave it after a meal before working out, or what type of snack to have.

What of things do you like to eat?

I usually leave it at least an hour before running after eating. I spoke to someone in our health shop a few weeks ago and she said if she needs something and is about to work out, she'll have a protein shake. I've tried the ones she suggested and they're actually really nice!

Depends on the time of day I go!

Tomorrow I'm at the gym mid morning so I will have a JP with blended fruit or porridge with honey and return home to lunch (usually scrambled eggs or omelette).

Today I went for a run at 4pm, I had lunch at 12 and a snack in between of apple and natural peanut butter... My other option could have been a pre run shake.

What times are you working out?

Bananas are meant to be a fab choice of pre workout I keep trying to like them and failing.

PP be warned protein shakes come with gas

I work out at different times as my husband works different shifts each week, so can only look after LO at certain times.
So sometimes I do morning workouts around 11am, and when he's on nights or 6-2 I will do afternoon workouts around 3pm.


I like bananas so I will try one of them before the gym


I love protein shakes but normally have them after the gym.

A protein shake is a good quick fix for it. For me it depends on what I am actually doing as far as exercise. If I hit the mountain bike in the morning (which I have not done lately) a good protein bar is fine for me. The trip is only about 30 minutes so when I get back I will make some eggs.

Lately I have been working out inside the home so I will eat my normal breakfast and exercise about an hour before lunch, then after I am finished I pop in the shower and go make lunch.

I don't like to eat anything before I work out because after I eat I end up feeling all sluggish. So, I eat lightly. A piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, some raisins. A little energy food. My workout time is usually early because that is when I feel at my best.

I really don't like eating anything before I exercise either because I don't want to be burping and all that while I'm jumping around. I usually wait around 2 hours after I eat or more to start any activity.

I am diabetic so I have to make sure that I eat before I work out. I usually will have a hard boiled egg or some cottage cheese and maybe a small glass of milk or juice before I go to the pool to get some exercise.

Depends on when you train, but there is generally no need to eat if you are doing heavy weight training, in fact, training in a fasted state can have some pretty good benefits.

If you are doing really high intensity full body workouts, then a protein shake, or a peice of fruit like an apple or banana an hour before can help fuel the session.

If you train early in the morning, a few starchy carbs the night before will usually be enough.

There is some benefit to meal timings around your training, but it's more important in the post-exercise window than before.

Sorry David, but this blanket statement is not true.

Pre-workout nutrition depends on what type of exercise you do, it it is low intensity aerobic exercise, then carbs are pretty unneccessary, fat oxidation is what will provide fuel for the most part, but if you are doing high intensity exercise, interval training, heavy weight lifting etc, these activities use glucose as their fuel, more specifically glycogen from muscles and liver.

If you don't fuel that, workouts are gonna suffer big time.

To the OP, this post is old, but if you want to post your workouts etc, I'll give you some feedback