What’s the Best Thing to Eat Before a Workout?

Many people are concerned with what to eat before and after workouts. A new study on meal timing and physical activity suggests that it could be best not to eat before working out:

For those who can stomach it, working out before breakfast may be more beneficial for health than eating first, according to a useful new study of meal timing and physical activity. Its results indicate that when we eat affects how much fat we burn during exercise and also alters molecular activity within fat cells, in ways that could have long-term implications for our physical well-being.

NYT: The Best Thing to Eat Before a Workout? Maybe Nothing at All American Journal of Physiology - Endocrinology and Metabolism: Feeding influences adipose tissue responses to exercise in overweight men

Dr. Thompson concludes:

"If we just think of this in evolutionary terms," he says, "our ancestors would have had to expend a great deal of energy through physical activity in order to hunt and gather food. So, it would be perfectly normal for the exercise to come first, and the food to follow."

Personally I just about never eat before exercise, and it works fine for me. Have you tried it? Feel free to share your experiences in the comments below.