Fasted Cardio....yay or nay?

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  • bepperson30
    bepperson30 Posts: 40 Member
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    I can't eat and then workout or I feel nauseous. But I have to have something on my stomach or I have no energy. So I usually eat like an hour or so before so I'm neither hungry nor full. Works good for me if you are trying to decide what to do.
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,182 Member
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    shainaa99 wrote: »
    Is doing cardio on an empty stomach good or bad?
    e.g- heading to the gym in the AM before breakfast.

    I do my cardio on an empty stomach. It's 30 minutes of treadmill, using the "Hill Climb" feature, which involves 12 1-minute intervals of running at ascending angles of incline to a maximum of 5.1 mph at 5 degrees. At the most intense level, my heart rate gets to 161 briefly. My rough guess is that burns 389 calories. I usually follow that with a protein shake before going to my strength training, which is a combination of squats, push-ups and barbell curls. Today, I forgot to have the shake, and the last 50 squats just got harder and harder and I got slower and slower doing it. I needed that shake.
  • _Bro
    _Bro Posts: 437 Member
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    Figure out what works for you.
    Cardio is terrible to begin with so don't make it worse getting hung up on trying to not eat.
  • nineteentwenty
    nineteentwenty Posts: 469 Member
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    That's highly personal, play around and see what you like.

    Personally, I get the barfs something awful if I eat within 2 hours of a workout, before or after.
  • T1DCarnivoreRunner
    T1DCarnivoreRunner Posts: 11,502 Member
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    filovirus76 wrote: »
    eyyoomia wrote: »
    Well, basic bio says food = energy. Therefore, you will be able to put in more energy when you eat, perfoming better and therefore being able to burn MORE calories. Otherwise, your body could begin to eat your muscles to gain the energy required, resulting in muscle loss as long as fat loss.
    Scientifically, fasted cardio has no extra benefits.

    It can take 6-8 hours to digest many foods. That energy you get from eating a bagel right before you work out will come about an hour after your done.

    I go to the gym early AM and do not eat before and seem to do fine. I run early afternoon on alternate days and if I don't have a banana an hour before I can tell my energy lags a bit, especially on longer runs.

    False. Carbohydrates convert to glucose starting within minutes and peaking 30-60 min. That glucose will then either be used or stored within an hour. Bagels are high in carbs, and if you wait 6-8 hours to exercise, then it has already been stored (as glycogen or fat) by then. The only good thing about that is if you haven't eaten carbs recently, you can pull that glycogen out of storage to replenish glucose, which is in heavy use as you do cardio.

    Don't believe me? Eat a bagel and test your BG every 5 min. for 2 hours. Make a graph. You will see BG spike (from digesting carbs) and fall (as glucose is stored as either glycogen or fat) within that time. Exceptions exist for diabetics, though.
  • Tallawah_
    Tallawah_ Posts: 2,474 Member
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    Yay!.. but as said above...highly personal. I never eat within 2 hours of a workout but stuff my face after.

    I regularly do a Saturday am 2.5 hour workout on an empty stomach.
  • Raptor2763
    Raptor2763 Posts: 387 Member
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    I got to have a little something before I step off for a run - maybe an apple or so - nothing crazy. I save my real breakfast for afterwards, when I refuel. A couple -egg omlette with ground flaxseed, blueberries and I'm good to go
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    I run & row fasted first thing in the morning for the sole reason that I don't like having food in my stomach. I can ride after eating and I refer doing weights after something Bligh...... but it really comes down to personal preference (unless you're going for a really long run or ride, most people will have plenty of glycogen to see them through 60to 90 minutes of moderate exercise)
  • Budjola
    Budjola Posts: 148 Member
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    it works, but then again cardio is cardio as long as u do it
  • JackLuttge
    JackLuttge Posts: 2 Member
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    TigerTebb wrote: »
    I tried to do a PT sesh at 7am without food and when I had to stop for fear of throwing up the instructor said training without food has no benefits to the body, and infant eating before the gym wakes your body up and kick starts your metabolism.

    I find eating infants before doing cardio to be extremely beneficial.
  • MsBuzzkillington
    MsBuzzkillington Posts: 171 Member
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    TigerTebb wrote: »
    I tried to do a PT sesh at 7am without food and when I had to stop for fear of throwing up the instructor said training without food has no benefits to the body, and infant eating before the gym wakes your body up and kick starts your metabolism.

    I'd be concerned if my PT was suggesting eating infants before a work out.

    But, there is no evidence either way. As others have said, it's up to you. I personally like not eating before a work out and then getting to eat delicious food afterwards. Occasionally I'll end up eating before a work out and don't notice any differences in energy levels, as in I don't have more after eating first.

    Do what you want.

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