So for the past couple of months I have been experimenting with different preworkout snacks to see how they affect me. I don’t have a snack if my workout is less than an hour or if it is later in the day. This is only for my early morning workouts (which is 4 to 5 times a week).
What I have tried:
– empty stomach
– Luna Bar
– Zone Bar
– Balance bar
– Soy Joy
– peanut butter and dates
– protein shakes
– apple
The results so far:
– empty stomach: Surprisingly no problems with the workout, although I am totally ravenous when I get home.
– Luna Bar: Doesn’t make me full and gives me some energy.
– Zone Bar: Doesn’t make me full and gives me some energy.
– Balance bar: Makes me thirsty and gives me some energy.
– Soy Joy: Not enough, seems piddly in size for the calories.
– peanut butter and dates: Quite nice, doesn’t make me full, and nice and chewy.
– protein shakes: Excellent, although sometimes make me a bit full.
– apple: Bad – my stomach was growling fiercely 20 minutes later.
So, looks like straight carbs are out. The apple was a poor choice for me. I almost couldn’t concentrate I was so hungry. The protein shakes and the dates with nut butter were the most satisfying.
Interestingly enough, on days where I work out a while after breakfast, like going for a bike ride or a run on weekends, the 2 best breakfasts were oat bran with protein powder and the 1 minute muffin. I seem to do best with a mixed balance of all 3 macronutrients.
What preworkout snacks do you eat?
Thanks for posting this because this has come up a couple of times for me lately. I’m king of hungry and need a little something before a workout.
I’ve also had a banana pre-workout and it worked ok but I was ravenous later.
I need to try the protein pwder and oat bran mixture.
I recently started eating a “pure protein” bar before my bike rides.
Before I go to Boot Camp I always eat an English muffin (the Ezekiel ‘sprouted grain’ kind) with almond butter. I eat it about an hour beforehand, so I’m not too full when I start working out. When I do shorter workouts in the evening I usually just have a granola bar or some crackers, just enough so that I’m not starving, and then I have dinner as soon as I get home.
I have a South Beach Living protein bar (cinnamon raisin) about 1/2 hour before, and my protein shake within a 1/2 hour after. That seems to do the trick for me. I tried eating an apple beforehand, but sometimes it made my stomach hurt.
I absolutely hate eating before a workout…I force myself to do it on race day(s), and then it’s usually a protein bar or half a protein bar about an hour or two prior to the race.
I totally agree, an apple pre-workout drives me nuts! I wonder why? I normally just stick with a protien bar too…