Fasted cardio vs. regular cardio

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My goal is to lose weight and I've heard people say faster cardio burns more fat than regular cardio. Any advice?

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  • KittensMaster
    KittensMaster Posts: 748 Member
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    It can...

    If you have depleted your glycogen stores a bit, then your mitochondria will source a slightly higher percentage of fat as fuel.

    It is an endurance athlete thing.

    You can google endurance training mitochondria

    You will get hundreds of hits. It is not new at all and a biology thing not a diet fad

    I have been doing that for 6 months now building up my ability to burn fat as fuel.

    Your mitochondria is an adaptive organelle and designed to do exactly that

    I have found doing this works better when eating low to moderate carb and doing long duration cardio

    My method of exercise is cycling for getting fat as fuel adapted. After work on non-lifting days I average 80 miles a week. Seems to be enough to make a difference. I can do a 40-50 mile ride with 2 x 120 calorie electrolyte packs now.

    17fxv708mft4.jpg

  • adawson55510
    adawson55510 Posts: 60 Member
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    There's always a bit a debate on this topic so IMO and for me lol Morning fasted cardio works very well its a really good start to the day for me leaves me hungry for a good breakfast and my food seems to digest better throughout the day so its my prefered way to do it. :)
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    I can't recall where I have seen this exactly, but some research indicated that alternating between fasted and non-fasted runs within a running plan with lots of long, easy miles was the best way to "train" your cells to burn more fat than they have been accustomed to. Just food for thought.

    I do basically all of my morning runs in a fasted state, but that is simply because I don't want to wake up even earlier to fit in a pre-run meal.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
    edited August 2015
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    This is Brad Schoenfeld's site which he offers data on the latest research.
    http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/my-new-study-on-fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-take-home-points/
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
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    It's not going to matter enough for your particular needs and situation. Don't worry about it.
  • Mayor_West
    Mayor_West Posts: 246 Member
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    herrenmeg wrote: »
    My goal is to lose weight and I've heard people say faster cardio burns more fat than regular cardio. Any advice?

    In this case, as long as you eat at a defect, you should lose weight. As for fasted vs. non-fasted, it shouldn't matter as long as your diet is on point. If you can fit in a pre-workout meal into your macros, then that's fine. If you'd rather eat those macros at another point in the day, that's fine too. I've done both over the years and managed to get results, provided I was eating properly.
  • sheermomentum
    sheermomentum Posts: 827 Member
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    For me, the best thing about exercising in the morning before I eat is that it curbs my hunger all morning and boosts my energy all day. So whether or not I'm burning 5 extra calories in that one hour, it definitely helps me overall.
  • KittensMaster
    KittensMaster Posts: 748 Member
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    It is interesting how we can do similar things from a different angle

    My fasted exercise is after work. I eat lunch at noon and get to the bike trail about 6:30 and get in 1.5 hours or so.

    After exercise I'm not really hungry and definitely sleep well, since I get up at 5 for work.
  • kcjchang
    kcjchang Posts: 709 Member
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    It depends on the intensity (glycogen utilization and current stores) and it takes lot of time to making the adaptation to happen (months?). In general you have about 60-90 minutes of glycogen supply depending on intensity of the workout. Going longer without fueling before and during is foolish at best. If your workout is within that window and of low intensity, you can train the system to better utilize other macros for fuel. The down side is you could have burnt more calories in the same time with higher intensity. The research is mixed and probably only specific to the training regime. It's not necessary the default, normal, or preferred pathway when not exercising - your body just doesn't need it when not press for it. Think of it as a bonus for an endurance event, something like the winter classics (~220km) or grand tours (160+km day-in and day-out for a few days to weeks) for cycling were the competitors are sitting for bulk of the ride with periods of hard exertion. I don't think many pros cyclist train specifically for it; the adaptation happens because of the long duration of training each day especially between racing seasons. Only time this get brought up are those who are strap for time (like morning commute to put in the miles besides the structured training).
  • kami3006
    kami3006 Posts: 4,978 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    It's not going to matter enough for your particular needs and situation. Don't worry about it.

    This. Do what feels best on any given day.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    edited August 2015
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    This still seems to be a misunderstood subject. Part of the reason for the confusion is that people conflate enhanced fat loss, personal digestive comfort, and workout performance into one response.

    Fasted cardio does not enhance fat loss, except possibly for a tiny, tiny subset of the population.

    Even if fasted cardio does result in a higher percentage of fat burned as a fuel during a workout, it has no effect on overall stored body fat loss. The body just burns less fat the rest of the day. (Melanson et al 2009).

    People have a lot more stored glycogen than they think. Very few people are "glycogen depleted" even in a "fasted state"

    There is a wide variety of individual response to working out in a fasted state. Many people can do quite well, even with longer workouts. Many people also feel it is more comfortable working out before eating. However, that is a completely separate issue from "fat loss".

    Research suggests that for longer, more intense workouts, prefeeding improves performance. That is under structured conditions, so plenty of people have different personal experience.

    Lastly, as some have mentioned, training the body to utilize fat more efficiently as an exercise fuel can enhance performance. Again, this has no real effect on losing stored body fat.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
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    DavPul wrote: »
    It's not going to matter enough for your particular needs and situation. Don't worry about it.

    This
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    herrenmeg wrote: »
    My goal is to lose weight and I've heard people say faster cardio burns more fat than regular cardio. Any advice?
    Not enough to make a significant difference...
  • WhatMeRunning
    WhatMeRunning Posts: 3,538 Member
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    I should add that the whole point of people trying to increase the percentage of fat burned is only for endurance sports. The higher ratio of fat you burn, the longer it takes before you run out of glycogen and can't continue any further. So it is solely to aid with distance, not with fat loss.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    It is somewhat like the old saying - majoring in the minors.

    Yes, I do think that stuff like fasted cardio, nutrient timing, carb/calorie cycling...etc make a smidge of difference...but the effect is minimal and really shouldn't be worried about until you are extremely close to your goal. Get the first 99% right before worrying about the remaining 1%...
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
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    It can...

    If you have depleted your glycogen stores a bit, then your mitochondria will source a slightly higher percentage of fat as fuel.

    It is an endurance athlete thing.

    You can google endurance training mitochondria

    You will get hundreds of hits. It is not new at all and a biology thing not a diet fad

    I have been doing that for 6 months now building up my ability to burn fat as fuel.

    Your mitochondria is an adaptive organelle and designed to do exactly that

    I have found doing this works better when eating low to moderate carb and doing long duration cardio

    My method of exercise is cycling for getting fat as fuel adapted. After work on non-lifting days I average 80 miles a week. Seems to be enough to make a difference. I can do a 40-50 mile ride with 2 x 120 calorie electrolyte packs now.

    17fxv708mft4.jpg

    Those are some exaggerated calorie burns.
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    You are burning nearly 1300 cals an hour? Gosh.....

    Ps what they all said OP about it not mattering, do what you feel suits you.
  • J72FIT
    J72FIT Posts: 5,948 Member
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    Hornsby wrote: »
    It is somewhat like the old saying - majoring in the minors.

    Yes, I do think that stuff like fasted cardio, nutrient timing, carb/calorie cycling...etc make a smidge of difference...but the effect is minimal and really shouldn't be worried about until you are extremely close to your goal. Get the first 99% right before worrying about the remaining 1%...
    ^^^This...
  • SuggaD
    SuggaD Posts: 1,369 Member
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    Long before I heard the term, I was working out first thing in the morning and eating after. So I will run and hit the gym for swim or cycling without breakfast. But if I'm going on an endurance ride, I have breakfast before heading out and then will go the first up to 2.5 hours without eating anything.
  • PinkyPan1
    PinkyPan1 Posts: 3,018 Member
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    I start each morning with 2 cups of coffee and then power walk for 6 miles. I average 100 minutes for those 6 miles. I can not do 6 miles with food in my stomach. I comes down to whatever works best for you.