cardio on an empty stomach?

kb9222

I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?

TavistockToad

its personal preference really... for me, i can't work out fasted, some people can and do.

IrZeo

I do it every single morning - but - I recently read online that working out on an empty stomach makes the brain tell the body to store fat whenever you do eat. Not sure how true this is, but now I'm a little worried myself!

Although that been said, I've been doing that since August and lost almost 50lbs, so it can't be that bad?

999tigger

Theres a recent thread on it about the latest study dismissing it. I looked into it, but it seems whatever advantage there is , works out to be tiny. I always have something to make sure I have the energy to finish my session and its not preying on my mind that i'm hungry. Do what suits you.

nosebag1212

do cardio whenever, it won't make a difference in fat loss to doing it in a fed state with the same deficit, caloric deficit is everything

MelodyandBarbells

Personal preference too for me. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If it's first thing in the morning and I'm running late (as usual ), food is the last thing on my mind when bolting out the door at 6 AM. If it's an afternoon/evening workout, same thing, only there's no saying I wasn't stuffing my face with cake a half hour prior...

Ultimately, calories in calories out. Meal timing, exercise timing etc are not really significant when it comes to weight loss

h7463

Hi! You'll have to try and see if it's working for you. For me, it's not. Whatever their 'science' says, my body disagrees. I get sick and dizzy without some food first thing in the morning.

lloydrt

Ive done it for 5 years and its been sucessful for me, although I did put some back on........I will say, I broke a plateau recently........I did more working out on the weight machines, ie, increasing the amount of weight and less cardio, and ir really helped.....again, eveyones got different body types, gentetics, etc..........good luck

UpEarly

I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever with fat loss. The body just doesn't work like that. However, I prefer to do my cardio on an empty stomach - I feel lighter and faster. My workouts are always better when I don't have a stomach full of food.

fat2strongbeth

You need to find what works best for you. There are too many conflicting studies out there.

dorothytd

I do it all the time, often more than 30 minutes. I've also worked out full, half-full, just a little full. (8+ years) Work out when you want, at whatever food level works for you. The activity is the important thing. Good luck!

SonicDeathMonkey80

Marathon runners do this all the time. It's not a weight loss thing, but rather a fuel-management thing. Low HR cardio burns fat for fuel, and high HR cardio burns glycogen.

NoelFigart1

I do fasted cardio more often than not, simply because I swim first thing most mornings. But on mornings when I go in to the pool later, I usually have had breakfast.

I do find that my swim times tend to be better when I've eaten. *shrugs* Anecdotal, but for me, I'm thinking about how to deal with my schedule v. my desire for improvement in athletic performance.

Liftng4Lis

I do it every morning, but because I don't like to eat until about 10 a.m. and I work out at 5. I do it as personal preference, myself.

Phrick

I do it but out of convenience not for any benefit. I go to the gym at 4:30am, I'm not hungry before. I drink about a liter of water and go run for 40 minutes or whatever, and then don't eat till after 7 most days. It doesn't matter, like everyone has said, it's really down to personal preference.

sijomial

In my experience fasted cardio makes you better at fasted cardio. Don't believe there's any fat burning difference assuming same net calories over the course of time.

I certainly seemed to adapt to it over a period of months (I adopted an IF eating pattern).
I now have to fuel my cycle rides less and seem to take much longer to get to the stage of glocogen depletion ("bonking" or "hitting the wall").

Apart from the cycling performance the main benefit to me is I can fit in my workouts with more flexibility.

jrline

I sometimes do up to 6 miles on an empty stomach. I wouldn't do more than that

feralX

kb9222 wrote: »

I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?

My experience is if you're doing light to moderate cardio of short duration, 30 min or less, a fasted state yields the best results. I take BCAAs and extra leucine about 20-30 min beforehand to ensure my body won't be breaking down muscle in case I up the intensity too much. There's always contradictory studies on things like this, I prefer to look at what the bodybuilding community has found to be the most effective. Experience trumps theory.

ninerbuff

In the fitness world, this is recommended for competitors to do who are ALREADY at low or near low body fat percentages to encourage fat burning to get to elite statis.
For the general population, the results don't seem to yield the same based on some current research.
Personally I do fasted cardio and workouts every morning because I prefer it that way.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

SideSteel

feralX wrote: »

kb9222 wrote: »

I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?

My experience is if you're doing light to moderate cardio of short duration, 30 min or less, a fasted state yields the best results. I take BCAAs and extra leucine about 20-30 min beforehand to ensure my body won't be breaking down muscle in case I up the intensity too much. There's always contradictory studies on things like this, I prefer to look at what the bodybuilding community has found to be the most effective. Experience trumps theory.

The problem with using bodybuilder anecdote is that:

a) You're not necessarily able to tightly control variables or quantify effectiveness the same way you could under trial conditions.

b) Even if you could demonstrate greater effectiveness in lean bodybuilders (perhaps due to fatty acid mobilization as Lyle mentions) that doesn't mean that fasted cardio would be a better choice for people who are not already lean (and likely don't have any issues with mobilization).

To the OP, you can read the original study and also commentary from one of the study authors here:

http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/my-new-study-on-fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-take-home-points/

And if you have the patience to sift through a TON of comments (Fred Hahn showed up so it got out of hand as it always does when Freddy shows up) I'd suggest reading this thread because James Krieger drops some awesome knowledge bombs and insights in this thread:

https://www.facebook.com/gregory.nuckols/posts/10152477532998779?comment_id=10152495705968779&offset=0&total_comments=1050&notif_t=share_comment


As of now I think a very solid recommendation would be to perform cardio in a manner that allows you the best adherence and performance.

peter7361

Some studies support fasted cardio for fat loss, some refute it. As another poster already said, the true benefit of fasted cardio is that it will make you better at fasted cardio. If you're training for a marathon or other high endurance activity, training with fasted cardio will help your body adapt so you "hit the wall" later, if at all. If you're training for an event like this, then consult with a coach or trainer for their experience on this. If you're just trying to lose weight, exercise at the time that works best for you, whether that's in a fasted state or an hour after eating a three course meal. Your workout will go better, you'll get more exercise in and burn more calories, leading to more weight loss.

SideSteel

peter7361 wrote: »

Some studies support fasted cardio for fat loss, some refute it. As another poster already said, the true benefit of fasted cardio is that it will make you better at fasted cardio. If you're training for a marathon or other high endurance activity, training with fasted cardio will help your body adapt so you "hit the wall" later, if at all. If you're training for an event like this, then consult with a coach or trainer for their experience on this. If you're just trying to lose weight, exercise at the time that works best for you, whether that's in a fasted state or an hour after eating a three course meal. Your workout will go better, you'll get more exercise in and burn more calories, leading to more weight loss.

Aside from acute effects have you seen studies on fasted cardio that demonstrate greater fat loss over time compared to fed cardio?

JustAnotherGirlSuzanne

I used to and I saw no side effects. If anything it helped me eat something well-portioned and more healthy than I otherwise would have. Now I eat as soon as I wake up and I don't think I'd make it very long on an empty stomach. But to eat their own.

ETA: spelling

peter7361

SideSteel wrote: »

peter7361 wrote: »

Some studies support fasted cardio for fat loss, some refute it. As another poster already said, the true benefit of fasted cardio is that it will make you better at fasted cardio. If you're training for a marathon or other high endurance activity, training with fasted cardio will help your body adapt so you "hit the wall" later, if at all. If you're training for an event like this, then consult with a coach or trainer for their experience on this. If you're just trying to lose weight, exercise at the time that works best for you, whether that's in a fasted state or an hour after eating a three course meal. Your workout will go better, you'll get more exercise in and burn more calories, leading to more weight loss.

Aside from acute effects have you seen studies on fasted cardio that demonstrate greater fat loss over time compared to fed cardio?

Personally, I have not seen any of the studies. Most articles about "bonk training" or fasted cardio do say that some studies support it.

PeachyCarol

For me, fasted cardio means cardio that I will do. I have several chronic conditions that leave me fairly nauseated most of the time. I exercise first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, or I wouldn't exercise at all because it would all come back up. As it is, I medicate myself with anti-nausea meds before heading to the gym.

bonjourjackie

I think it's more of a preference/work schedule than anything. I personally can't do a good workout without eating something before, so I do eat like an orange or apple or something before it. If you do eat something right before your workout you should eat some simple carbs like fruit to get fast energy

MagnumBurrito

Take BCAAs before fasted cardio to minimize lean mass loss.

The science behind fasted cardio being beneficial is inconclusive. Suppversity has some good articles on it.

kb9222

Thanks guys