What to Eat Before 6 AM Class

This question comes from Ryan-

Duncan,

What do you recommend eating before the 6am workout?
*******************

I know it can be difficult to eat something before a workout, let alone at 5:30 am. On the other hand, it is important to eat something before the workout or immediately after. Think about... your body just went through an 8 hour fast. The longer you prolong eating after you wake up, the slower you may make your metabolism.

Back to the question... I can personally eat anything before a workout. Oops, that's not true. I just remembered that I once had a bunch of sushi and then did Taekwondo sparring for an hour.

I recommend experimenting with different foods to find what exactly sits quietly in your belly during your entire workout. In a perfect world, you would eat at 5 am, then workout at 6 am. If you're eating at about 5:40 am, then I recommend something light.

I know a lot of people have success with my breakfast diet- 6 scrambled eggs (half with yokes) and a bowl of shredded wheat. Some people do eggs & oatmeal or eggs & cream of wheat. I'm partial to eggs because it's a light protein that sits well with me 10 to 15 minutes before the workout, and it's fast and easy to prepare. Of course, I also squirt a little bit of ketchup on those bad boys.

You're thinking, "6 eggs???" No, 6 eggs are not necessary for most. Remember, my protein intake requirement is different than a 140 pound female. Take a look at your body comp chart. Take your protein intake requirement and divide it by 5 (five meals a day). For many females, that's roughly 15 grams a meal. That's 1 egg and a cup of milk and you've knocked out your protein requirement, or 2 eggs and some white cheese melted on top.

See you in class!

Duncan Richardson
Chief Master Instructor
Taekwondo & Fitness Instruction