Breakfast question when training first thing after waking up

Hi Jeff, quick question here :-)

Due to work/kids, I can't schedule my workouts at regular times each day, but if I get the chance, I try to complete my workout first thing in the morning before the kids wake up. I'm not an early riser, so for me early means anywhere between 6am and 7:15am (by that time kids are usually up), which also means I don't get much time before one wakes up so I need to rush through my workout/eating as quickly as possible to finish it by that time. Here's what I currently do:

• immediately after waking up: drink around 350 ml of water
• around 10-15 mins after waking: drink a coffee with big spoonful of raw/full fat/grass-fed cream
• start work out immediately after coffee
• immediately after workout: drink around 350 ml of water
• when possible: eat breakfast, just fat and proteins, most days it's 5 eggs. Some days, it's immediately after, but others it's up to 1h15 after end of workout after the kids are out of the house and off to school.

I'd be very interested on your views about eating strategies when workouts are scheduled asap after waking up. In particular:

• anything wrong with what I'm doing? I feel fine, but this may not be optimal at all though.
• should I add some protein powder with the coffee before the workout? ( a la "zip shake" from Zach)
• should carbs re-enter the picture of breakfast when working out before? any negatives in waiting till lunch to have some carbs?
• would you recommend not working out when waking up altogether for optimal performance?

My particular constraint is that I need to do my work out either before the kids wake up or then I need to wait until the afternoon altogether. And it's difficult to wake up earlier than 6am while still getting decent sleep as I am naturally a night owl and usually work quite late into the night.

As usual, feel free to tell me to wait until later on, etc. :-) Just trying to make sure I'm applying the thrive steps in a good way without impacting workout performance given these constraints :-)

Many thanks!

Julien

Julien,

I appreciate the situation your in with the kids. Obviously they are the priority and your breakfast timing may have to suffer but have you ever thought of military school for them? Just kidding. Umm..I like the added fat in the coffee so you are not completely running on empty for the workout. I just don't like to add carbs in the AM for any reason even if it is a workout. A zip shake is not a bad idea but if I recommend a protein powder then I owe the 2500 word essay on how to actually buy one that is doing more harm than good. So I would just stick with what you have as it is doing the best you can do and although its not optimal to wait an hour it is reality and its still pretty good. Further the digestion rates and times of most stuff would be too slow to have an impact that quickly(before the workout) and the trade off that you would have to pay is not worth it in my opinion. 

The other option is to just suck it up and roll out of bed right into the workout then you would probably have time to eat before the kids. But I think you were setting me up to not give you this answer. 

Hi Jeff, many thanks for your reply! Just some quick questions to make sure I understand your points correctly :-)

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So I would just stick with what you have as it is doing the best you can do and although its not optimal to wait an hour it is reality and its still pretty good. Further the digestion rates and times of most stuff would be too slow to have an impact that quickly(before the workout) and the trade off that you would have to pay is not worth it in my opinion. The other option is to just suck it up and roll out of bed right into the workout then you would probably have time to eat before the kids. But I think you were setting me up to not give you this answer.

Rolling out of bed into a workout wouldn't be such an issue as warming up really wakes me up :-) What I was really setting you up for was not to tell me to just wake up earlier to solve all issues ;-)

So from what I gather:

• you're concerned much more with me not eating breakfast immediately after the workout than working out on an empty/near-empty stomach
• if I can eat immediately after workout, what I am doing is not that bad compared to "optimal"
• if I want to to try for "optimal" I should eat something out of bed then wait some time (30 mins? 1hr?) before working out, then eat breakfast immediately after. I might be able to implement that some days, in that case: 1) what do you recommend I eat? 2) how much time should I allow between eating and working out to get the benefits?

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A zip shake is not a bad idea but if I recommend a protein powder then I owe the 2500 word essay on how to actually buy one that is doing more harm than good.

Ah! Interested as well :-) Before the 2500 words essay, please feel free to ignore this or tell me if the powder I am using is bueno/no bueno/you can't say and I should wait. I am attaching a pic of the label. From the shop owner where I am buying it, it's cold processed (can't verify by myself) and from grassfed cows (it's from NZ milk so it's indeed almost surely the case), and it's just WPC with a minimal amount of sunflower lecithin added.

Thanks again for all the time you're spending in the forums answering personal questions!Your individualized coaching is really pure gold and I fully get the huge amount of time you must be dedicating to this :-)

Julien

Optimal is to quit your day job come on down to Scottsdale AZ train with Coach and I. I can have your meals prepared for you and you can sleep 10 hours a night. But, since that is more than likely out of the question you have to balance reality and optimal. 

I think training first thing like that with a little bit of coffee and cream is okay. Eating after is okay, the sooner the better. 

I can tell you any protein that claims "Grass Fed Cows" is lame. The whey protein molecule is isolated. Or the unwanted items are filtered out.   [no more sup questions till later, sorry] 

I think we have to start distinguishing between "realistically optimal" and "in your dreams optimal" 

Action item for me then: really prioritize eating immediately after workout. I'll see how I can adjust to ensure that on most days. Thanks for this!

(to be honest with the protein powder supplier and my shop owner, they don't claim anything regarding grass fed cows, it's more myself who was ignorantly inquiring about the cows ;-)

The grass fed cow protein thing isn't about ignorance its just a label on the side of a bag that looks really appealing and at face value appears to be better than one that is not from a grass fed cow. 

Yes, given your situation I would advise trying to eat a little closer to the end of the workout. Your addition of a little bit of fat in the coffee does buy some time and is a wise move. But in reality waiting an hour is not the end of the world.