[schless]

First, hello! I stumbled across the site accidentally a couple of days ago. I liked what I've found here so much decided to register and participate! Looks like a great bunch of folks here, all so willing to help one another out. Hoping you can help me too!

I am struggling to get rid of the fat around my midsection. I know I need to clean up my diet, and have been reading lots here and elsewhere about the best way to go about that. I workout 5x/wk as follows:

Day 1: Chest/Shldr/Back/Abs + 30 min stairstep, 20 min HIIT
Day 2: Legs/Bi/Tri + 30 min "something" (row, elliptical, treadmill)
Day 3: Rest
Day 4: same as day 1
Day 5: same as day 2
Day 6: Abs/Core + 30 min stairstep, 20 min HIIT

I workout from roughly 4a - 6a, except on Saturdays when I "sleep in" and go in around 5:30a. Lots of folks talk about eating before your workout. I have to admit the last thing I want to do at 3:30 in the morning is eat or drink anything except water! Is it really necessary to eat first?

And is there a formula re: prot/carb/fat that I should be paying attention to for optimum fat loss?

Thanks in advance for any help!