Is it better to eat breakfast before I go to the gym in the morning or after?

It depends on the timing. I usually say after, if the workout's really imminent. A quick piece of fruit, however, or a whole-grain snack is worth having, since your system has had no food at all for many hours (break-fast). It's a matter of opinion, but a little immediate fuel (not highly refined, though) is appropriate before high-output energy expenditures.

A real meal, however, is meant to be digested properly, which requires the shunting of a considerable volume of your blood supply from the voluntary muscles to the digestive tract. Trying to do both simultaneously tends to be counterproductive, as the fuels for energy and the amino acids for tissue repair (or building) are now poorly assimilated, if at all.

This is part of the reason that even non-sugary meals, if large, tend to make us want to lie down for a while. (Improving this digestion is also a reason to eat slowly and chew thoroughly; even the psychology of savoring and enjoying a meal helps the process.)

If you get up, eat a real breakfast, read the paper, throw on your gym clothes, hit the gym by loosening and stretching first, then go for the workout, I would then say that eating first is appropriate. (But man, if you have that kind of time you're either a type-A personality, or I want your job!)

Remember that the content of the meal is important too. Very high-protein and high-fat meals take longer to assimilate than carbohydrate meals, though the carb ones don't sustain you as long. More important, make sure the carbs are as complex and unrefined as possible (not sugar). White breads, remember, do NOT qualify as a natural starch, as the fiber is gone and sugar is released too fast (among other horrors).

Anyway, I sure applaud your efforts in the gym!

Good Health,
ANSpreen, M.D.