On the occasional day that I get up early it’s always shocking to see that the world exists at 7am. Not only are there people walking with purpose in their stride, there are people running, breaking a sweat in the chilly don’t rip-off-the-blankets sort of cold. Or, let’s not forget the several shades saner people under the roof of the RSF, squeezing in a work-out before class or work, who clearly do this every day. Dang, that’s inspiring.

Then there are people like me, who would rather be in bed at that hour, and will stay in bed until the last possible minute before rolling out and trudging over to whatever scheduled commitment I now regret making. And in the few minutes I give myself to roll out of bed, put something on, brush my teeth, and go, I often neglect to eat something. Yes, breakfast, the “most important meal of the day” goes mostly forgotten.

Breakfast makes a noticeable difference, though, even if all you’re required to do is sit and appear conscious during a lecture (some still have difficulty with this). I discovered this midway through a freshman semester of morning lectures that if I managed to grab a bite before class, the words exiting the professors mouth would remain strung together in coherent sentences as they entered my brain and passed onto my notebook in legible handwriting. Wow. (Next, add a bit of coffee and your attention span might last the whole hour and a half instead of dribbling away into doodles).

But when it comes to more physically demanding activities like exercising, I’m undecided on whether or not I should eat breakfast beforehand. I’ve experienced the negative consequences of both cases. If I do eat and am unfortunate to walk into a difficult work-out then I may feel crampy or, worse, pukey. If I don’t eat, at best I tire quickly, or worse I start to feel faint from hypotension, low blood pressure. (Apparently a common problem with young women. Symptoms include shallow breathing, rapid heart rate, light-headed-ness, fatigue, and nausea. If you feel woozy at anytime, lie down and prop your feet above your head to get blood to your brain.)

The best solution, of course, is to eat a small breakfast and to give yourself time to digest before you exercise. That means if I’m working out at 7am, I should be getting up at 6 in the am to properly hydrate and energize myself. Crazy! This is why I have full respect for people who work out in the morning. A morning work-out requires a) motivation to get out of bed, b) planning ahead to sleep early to c) wake up extra early to eat something (and don’t forget, d) actually working out). This is something afternoon and nighttime exercisers don’t need to worry about because they’ve been eating throughout the day and don’t have to accommodate for an 8 hour fast of sleep. Hmm.

Anyways, the point is, you can’t really skimp on breakfast, not if you want to exercise in the morning – physically or mentally, really. For a pre-workout breakfast, make sure you get hydrated, then eat lightly and save the real breakfast for your post-workout munchies. Smoothies, nuts, cereal I am told make great pre-workout foods. And afterwards you can enjoy a real breakfast as the rest of the world wakes up.

Breakfast done right.

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