The debate around eating dinner and evening workouts

For those who workout in the evening...is it better to eat dinner before or after the workout?

I usually have a snack (100-200 cals) an hour before my workout, so around 4:30pm, and then I eat dinner after the gym, usually around 7:30pm.

I don't know if this is better, but it works for me. I eat the small snack for energy during my workout, because a full meal would make me too full to perform well.

I do the exact same as Nicole and it's been working and I RARELY feel hungry.

Now this is a good question.....I've been wondering the same thing.... My problem is, I dont go to the gym.... I get home from work around 6:00 pm...Me and my son go walking after I get home... My question is should I cook/eat dinner BEFORE we go walking which would be around 7:30-8:00 (which starts to get darker) or go walking right after work and then come home and cook dinner???

Now, I do also do more excercises after he goes to bed for about another 30 minutes... but I am also confused...

jparker- for your situation I would say to eat dinner whenever you are hungry.

If you are hungry before your walk, go ahead and have dinner first. A full stomach would not affect my ability to take a walk, but a full stomach would affect my ability to do a high intensity exercise like a run or interval training.

As long as it is not causing you discomfort, you can eat before your workouts. For me personally, I can't run on a full stomach or take a yoga class or a pilates class with a full stomach, I would feel sick.

I do however love to go for an evening walk with my dogs after dinner and I feel it actually aids in my digestion :)

I get tired after eating and want to get comfy on the sofa therefore I find that I feel much better about myself walking after dinner. I loose my hunger from the walk so I wouldn't be able to eat after.

I do agree about the actual exercising!!! You can't do that with a full stomach, but you need some small thing so you don't get dizzy.

I also find that if I eat dinner after I exercise, my appetite is decreased because of the activity, so I end up eating just enough and not accidentally overdoing it.