Eat before or after workout?

I'm planning a new routine because I'll begin working 2pm-11pm in a few weeks. For breakfast I plan to have a fiber-rich cereal, a protein shake or an egg. For my workout I'll be doing some work on the elliptical and weight machines, as well as occasional yoga/pilates. I'm just not sure if I should be eating or workign out first. 

I've heard it argued that you should wait to eat until after your workout, when your metabolism is higher, and that you can cramp up and feel weighed down if you eat before you work out.

But I've also heard that you shouldn't workout without eating first becasue you need the energy to work out to the best of your ability.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks! 

I hate working out on empty stomach, I can't keep going like I normally do if I work out in the middle of the day after I have eaten some food. If you are going to work out in the morning,  eat something really small for energy, like a banana or apple, something light that will not sit in your stomach while you are working out.

I like to eat after workouts because it feels better. Remember, food is fuel!

It's difficult for me to eat before I workout (I am usually at the gym before 6a on most days).  I've experimented with eating before and not eating before speed workouts at the track, and find little to no difference in my performance; however on days that I do heavy weight training, I find I do better if I can have a little something before. 

I always eat after the gym (unless it's a really light workout) to replenish what I've lost and to help my muscles to rebuild.  Check out this article -  this should give you what you're looking for:

http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage .aspx?cp-documentid=100146039

I think you should do a bit of both.  Have something lite before you work out, a piece of fruit, handful of nuts, etc.  Then once you have completed your work, eat the more hearty breakfast.

Your body needs energy to sustain you through your workout and yet you need a good solid breakfast to help you through the rest of your day.  As well, eating after your workout will help burn the calories and keep up your metabolism.

I doubt that it makes much difference.  The article from msn doesn't cite many sources so it's unclear what evidence she is relying on.

One interesting abstract I read "Energy metabolism during exercise in normal subjects undergoing total starvation." from 1985 indicated "Resting metabolic rate (RMR) was not significantly affected by starvation." which seems to contrast with "Don’t enter a workout hungry. If you start exercising in an energy deficit, your body is likely to preserve fat and perform poorly.".

The one thing the study did mention was: "All subjects felt that the work load (assessed on the Borg scale for perceived exertion) was greater during starvation than either before or after starvation (P less than 0.01)."

So regardless of whether there's an advantage wrt metabolism or exercise there is apparently a psychological effect of perceiving that it was much harder.

I used to work at a gym and we were always told that it was best to eat with in 30-45min  after you work out because your metabolism is high.