Re-phrasing my previous question... do you eat (part 2)

aimladuke

I just read this in an article.

"When you eat a meal, your body spends a few hours processing that food, burning what it can from what you just consumed. Because it has all of this readily available, easy to burn energy in its blood stream (thanks to the food you ate), your body will choose to use that as energy rather than the fat you have stored. This is especially true if you just consumed carbohydrates/sugar, as your body prefers to burn sugar as energy before any other source."

So my question is will I burn more FAT if I don't eat before a workout? Or, is this old-style thinking? Also, if it is true, then how long before a workout should I avoid eating.

Thanks for the input in adavance. Sorry if I was unclear about my question before.

feralX

Not sure what kind of workout you're referring to. If it's low intensity cardio, do it on an empty stomach preferably first thing in the morning when your relatively carb depleted. Take some amino acids beforehand to reduce the risk of your body breaking down muscle for fuel. If it's weight training or high intensity cardio, you need some protein and complex carbs about 45-60 min before training to fuel an effective workout. The fat burning comes after the workout thanks to Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and the repair of muscle damage.

aimladuke

Not sure what kind of workout you're referring to. If it's low intensity cardio, do it on an empty stomach preferably first thing in the morning when your relatively carb depleted. Take some amino acids beforehand to reduce the risk of your body breaking down muscle for fuel. If it's weight training or high intensity cardio, you need some protein and complex carbs about 45-60 min before training to fuel an effective workout. The fat burning comes after the workout thanks to Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and the repair of muscle damage.

Thanks for the helpful info. I typically do my workouts after work (around 5:30) I'm really not a morning person so this is the routine that works best for me. I would say that I do low - moderate intensity cardio (45 min - 1 hr) and sometimes 20-30 min of strength training. Would your reccommendation be to avoid a mid afternoon snack? or with my routine will it not really make a difference? Also you reccomended taking amino acids is this a supplement I can buy at CVS or Walgreens?

feralX

Not sure what kind of workout you're referring to. If it's low intensity cardio, do it on an empty stomach preferably first thing in the morning when your relatively carb depleted. Take some amino acids beforehand to reduce the risk of your body breaking down muscle for fuel. If it's weight training or high intensity cardio, you need some protein and complex carbs about 45-60 min before training to fuel an effective workout. The fat burning comes after the workout thanks to Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) and the repair of muscle damage.

Thanks for the helpful info. I typically do my workouts after work (around 5:30) I'm really not a morning person so this is the routine that works best for me. I would say that I do low - moderate intensity cardio (45 min - 1 hr) and sometimes 20-30 min of strength training. Would your reccommendation be to avoid a mid afternoon snack? or with my routine will it not really make a difference? Also you reccomended taking amino acids is this a supplement I can buy at CVS or Walgreens?

Assuming you had lunch at 12 -1, and you train from 5:30 till 6:30-7, and doing some moderate intensity cardio and possible weight training, I would say definitely have the snack, but something high protein and complex carb. Wow that was a terrible run on sentence, sorry. If you're doing both cardio and strength, make sure you do the strength training first. If you're having the snack the amino acids probably aren't necessary, but they won't hurt. You'll be looking for BCAAs, Branch Chain Amino Acids. You can get them in pills or powder, and the powder can be flavored or unflavored. Powder will be more economical. Pharmacies should have the pills, possibly the powder. Powder will be available at supplement stores or online at places like BB.com

rogerOb1

I dont think meal timing matters. Do what you prefer - just make sure you have enough energy for your workout. Your overall eating plan is the main thing. If your eating a healthy balanced diet within the right calorie range, you will see results irrespective of timing.