Is it ok to run on an empty stomach in the morning?

SlipperyPete13 wrote:

I know this site is a troll-haven, but I still don't understand the overly harsh reactions to what seemed like a pretty innocent question. The answer is that everyone is different and you have to find what works best for you. If I'm doing a 5-10 mile run, I usually don't eat. If I'm doing a long run or a race, I get up earlier to have a substantial breakfast. I'm lucky enough that I can eat fairly heavy (waffles/cereal etc) without it affecting my run.

It's a collection of dorks who had their first couple drinks in the last 6 months and or maybe even got laid a few times, now their T levels have maxed out..

Running 30-50 minutes fasted in the morning before breakfast has always worked fine for me. I do have a glass of 12 oz of water usually and most importantly, warm up my body a few minutes, but no food though.

I do avoid any real strenuous type of workouts if I am fasted. I'll toss in strides or get my hill climbing in due to where I live, but I don't do any tempo/interval workouts. I like to have some fresh glycogen in my system for that. Not saying that's a law of science, I just seem to respond better to the workout.

Some of my meat head friends disagree with this, but I like strength training in a fasted state, maybe even with a bit of caffeine in my system too. There's been some research on cortisol levels being spiked throughout the day if you don't have water to go along with your caffeine before your fasted workout. Interesting to think about. We all respond in our own relative way to workouts.

tbh I don't think its ok at all - are you coach by Al Salazar ??

I did this for several years and do it on occasion now. It's definitely doable, but for me I have to be careful to eat enough the night before. I have erratic blood sugar and can easily bonk but as long as I have a good dinner I am ok. The only time when I ran into trouble was in the summer when I was loosing a lot of liquid to sweating so having some water and maybe gatorade can be helpful.

theRanMan wrote:

tbh I don't think its ok at all - are you coach by Al Salazar ??

You must be new to this running thing?

I run fasted every morning with the exception of a glass of water, caffeine pill 100mg, and 1 tbsp ACV. I go anywhere from 5-15 miles this way, workouts included. It was a little tough when I first started doing it, but I have not had any issues since getting used to it. Fuel up before bed. That's my favorite time to binge on salty carbs (ex: pretzels).

I agree with this post, but will add that some people get acid in their stomach making them feel sick during exercise, so I recommend these people eat something benign, like a banana or a slice of toast to calm the acids.

webby wrote:

We've established that it's fine to run on an empty stomach. Is there similar consensus that it's fine to run on a full stomach? When the timing of a run would otherwise throw off my meal schedule in the afternoon/evening, I'll occasionally eat a fairly full meal before running. I've always assumed that it's fine to do that if it doesn't bother me, but I've wondered if it has any side effects that I should be aware of (such as interfering with digestion or absorption, or obviating the need to eat a recovery meal). I don't pretend to have the least bit of expertise in nutrition, so feel free to educate me -- and even insult me!

Not a totally full stomach, but I sometimes run an hour or so after the evening meal. It takes an hour to get the poop right. Occasionally I went earlier. Not a good plan!

I do all my runs around 5-5:30 AM. I have formulated a pretty simple routine.

1) I always have a cup of coffee before I head out the door to run.

2) If I am running less than 10 miles I just head out

3) If I am running 10-15 miles I eat a banana with some peanut butter and drink some gatorade

4) If I am running more than 15 miles I eat a banana with some peanut butter, a cliff bar and drink some gatorade

5) I always eat breakfast upon returning/showering etc.

highhoppingworm wrote:

I do all my runs around 5-5:30 AM. I have formulated a pretty simple routine.

1) I always have a cup of coffee before I head out the door to run.

2) If I am running less than 10 miles I just head out

3) If I am running 10-15 miles I eat a banana with some peanut butter and drink some gatorade

4) If I am running more than 15 miles I eat a banana with some peanut butter, a cliff bar and drink some gatorade

5) I always eat breakfast upon returning/showering etc.

This seems reasonable. But why the peanut butter? It doesn't appear that there's an available short term benefit .

Kevinkm wrote:

I'm planning on running early in the morning to get my runs done. Sometimes I'll eat something light like a banana and PB & J sandwich and wait 30 mins before I begin running. I end up procrastinating a bit and 30 mins can end up being an hour or two. So would getting up out of bed and heading out to run directly be a good idea? These will be 5-6 mile runs at around 6 AM. This week coming up will be my first week back from a week off after XC so the runs will be at an easy pace.

I never eat before running, except before a marathon race I will eat in the middle of the night. Your body has at least 1500 calories stored as muscle glycogen and probably another couple hundred still in your liver (liver glycogen gets depleted while you sleep). You'll use maybe 700 in a 6 mile run if it's an all out effort. Probably only 400-500 on an easy day since you'll be using higher fat %. So yeah, you'll be fine.

malmo wrote:

This seems reasonable. But why the peanut butter?

To slow the release of the caffeine?

Because I like peanut butter and it makes my banana more enjoyable honestly.

Ultras are weird wrote:

That's dumb. You dont want to suppress cortisol levels you want to maintain it.

https://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-cortisol

This is the protip shared by my nutrition professors in grad school and by the head Exercise Physiologist when I lived and trained at the Olympic Training Center. Your cortisol level peaks when you wake up, and combined with the added stress of exercise, further raises cortisol- which can put the body in a catabolic state and be detrimental to health and performance. They advise having something, even light, to raise your blood sugar and help suppress the cortisol level when you wake up.

Nearly every single one of my training runs from light recovery to hard long runs (up to 22+ miles) are fasted. I DO eat before nearly all my races. Usually have a piece or two of toast with peanut butter.

Yes, it is completely normal to get out of bed, put on your running gear and head out the door for an early morning run. This is exactly what I did all through college and running about 5-6 miles. If I ate anything prior to running I never felt good. I also needed about two hours after eating before going to XC/Track practice in the afternoon.

webby wrote:

We've established that it's fine to run on an empty stomach. Is there similar consensus that it's fine to run on a full stomach? When the timing of a run would otherwise throw off my meal schedule in the afternoon/evening, I'll occasionally eat a fairly full meal before running. I've always assumed that it's fine to do that if it doesn't bother me, but I've wondered if it has any side effects that I should be aware of (such as interfering with digestion or absorption, or obviating the need to eat a recovery meal). I don't pretend to have the least bit of expertise in nutrition, so feel free to educate me -- and even insult me!

I once ate 1,6 lt of ice cream in around 20 min while watching a movie and then decided to go for a run. First 5 km felt good, at km 10 my stomach felt heavy and by km nr 14 i was hiding in the woods, pants in my knees with explosive diarrhea. Had to wipe myself with one of my socks and then do the walk of shame back home.

malmo wrote:

Eat now wrote:

You would eat because food has calories in it . Why would you not eat ?

Unless those calories are simple sugars, they won't be available until long after you've finished your run. When you wake up in the morning you already have all the available glycogen you need except in the case of very long runs. So your eating is habitual with no benefits for you during your run.

You could still be hungry in the morning before the run even if you have all the available glycogen. I think some people will like to eat something light just to avoid feeling hungry during the run.