At 5:30am, the last thing you want to think about is eating! Heck, you are probably just proud of yourself for getting out of bed for your workout (as you should be!).
While fasting during the night, your body has been depleting your energy stores for important processes like breathing, pumping blood, vital organ functions and R.E.M. dreams of your fit body! There are two ways to think about this: One, you will feel so much stronger, faster, capable and more motivated to push hard in your workout when your body is properly fueled. Two, if your goal is weight loss or muscle gain, properly fueling before your workout gives you the energy you need to push hard, therefore burning more calories and fat.
So either way you slice it, properly fueling before your early morning (or any time of day for that matter!) workout is essential.
If you find yourself repeating, “Coach Sarah, you don’t understand, I will vomit.” Or “Coach Sarah, I just can NOT eat anything that early.” You are not alone. However, your gut CAN be trained to handle an early morning meal! Start with a small snack such as a piece of fruit or toast. Then gradually add a protein, then a small amount of healthy fat until your tummy can tolerate it. Small changes in eating habit can make a huge change in your performance and goals.
Here are some examples of small but mighty early morning breakfast ideas:
- Fruit with boiled egg (pre-made for time saver)
- Egg Banana Pancake Roll (really only takes 5 minutes so don’t panic!)
- Smoothie (requires less digestion time)- include plain greek yogurt for protein!
- Toast with peanut butter & sliced banana (use ½ serving of PB)
- Overnight Oats
- Gabe’s Sunbutter Balls
- Avocado Toast with Egg Whites
If you are working yourself up to eating breakfast, keep the portion sizes small to start!
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