Breakfast and Your Morning Workout

So my friend Jeff is involved in Plyometric training early in the morning and asked my opinion about not eating before his workout. This is a great question and in a general sense, I am a firm believer in eating before exercise. There are so many variables though, that this isn't so black and white. Such variables could be type, length, and intensity of training, duration of preworkout fast, substrate content of preworkout meal, training status, and your individual GI tolerance of exercising fasted or postprandial.

In Jeff's case, he is doing explosive, full-body exercises at high intensity for about an hour. He wakes up at 5:30 and is at the gym at 6:00 for an hour-long workout before work. Just as he puts gas in his car so he can drive, he needs to fuel his muscles so he can exercise. If his last meal was at 6PM the night before, his liver glycogen levels are most likely depleted. Remember liver glycogen is what is responsible for maintaining blood sugar levels, so if he is running "on fumes" he could notice several symptoms associated with hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) such as light-headedness, mental stress, and fatigue - none of which contribute to a max-potential workout experience.

In Jeff's case, I suggest he try waking up 15 minutes earlier for a light breakfast such as toast with jelly and a glass of juice or water for about 60g of carbs (240kcals) 45 minutes before his workout. Other light yet carb-dense options could be low-fat yogurt, cereal, or oatmeal. If this isn't a possibility or he has GI discomfort, he could try a late-night snack. Yes, I know I just suggested the controversial topic of eating before bed but as long as he doesn't have reflux or sleep issues as a result, this may sustain blood and liver glucose levels long enough to last through his morning workout. Some general recommendations that I have came across include 1-2kcals of carbs/lb 1 hour before workout. For me, I workout in the afternoon and time a carb-dense lunch with a protein shake about 1-2 hours before my workout. The best way to find out what works best for you is trial and error. For example, if you are doing High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) through sprints, you may want to be a little more conscious of what you eat than if you were going to cycle for an hour or two.

Eggs!

About a week ago I saw an episode of History channel's Modern Marvels all about eggs. It was a really cool segment about the production and use of one of our most affordable protein sources. If you happen to see the episode on hulu or History's website, I definitely recommend checking it out. Anyways, I wanted to talk about eggs because it seems that everyone in the gym has their own theory about them. Some people stay clear from them, others throw out the yolk, and some just eat as many as they can. My take on them? Well, I absolutely love them because of their taste and value and usually eat 3 full eggs almost every day of the week (If I eat more, after 3 I generally get rid of the yolk). I had my lipid profile checked monthly for about 6 months and in my case, my cholesterol and triglycerides were just fine. I'll also note that I have no family history of diabetes or coronary heart disease. In other words, I'm not too worried about my cholesterol rising from so many egg yolks. This is because I am considered a compensator meaning my liver compensates for the increase in dietary cholesterol by suppressing endogenous cholesterol (the liver usually produces about 1,000mg/day). In one journal article, researchers estimated that as many as 2/3 of Americans are able to compensate for the increase in dietary cholesterol. (Howell)

So What About EGGS?

Despite the various opinions, one thing is for certain - eggs are an extremely good source of affordable, high-quality protein. Not to mention, they are an extremely versatile food that can be consumed anytime. One large egg contains 6 grams of protein and 97% of that protein is in the form of readily available amino acids - including all of the essential AAs. If you throw away the yolk though, remember you are only getting 3.6g of protein from the egg white. The yolk also contains all of the fat and cholesterol found in eggs. The average large egg yolk contains about 5.6g of fat and 210mg cholesterol (The DRIs suggest less than 300mg/day). Before that scares you, it is important to note that of this fat, only 1.6g of it is saturated. The rest is mono- and poly- unsaturated (considered the good fats). If you are only eating 1-3 eggs/day, I am a big advocate for eating the yolk. Obviously if you have high cholesterol and respond well to a low cholesterol diet, or have a family history of heart disease, this many whole eggs may not be recommended in your diet as the American Heart Association recommends no more than 3/week. As for the rest of us, 2 eggs/day has not been shown to increase your risk of heart disease (Katz et al)

References

Howell W. Diet and Blood Lipids. Nutrition Today. 1997 June;32(3)

Katz, D, et al. Egg consumption and endothelial function:
A randomized controlled crossover trial. International Journal of Cardiology 2005 March;9(1)