when do you start metabolising muscle?

shakybabe

I do better exercising first thing in morning as soon as i get out of bed before my muscles start to stiffen up. so I do 2-3 early morning sessions and get up at 5am and exercise to about 7- 7.30a.m... on other days I have shorter less intense sessions in middle of day (30-60 mins) so I also get several nights of the recommended 6-7hrs sleep.

I've lost loads of inches this way and 21 lbs.. I've noticed some people on here mentioned that at some point you stop burning fat and start metabolising muscle.. at what time does this happen? .. like if I've been exercising over an hour?, hour and half? . i read it took about 30 mins to get into 'fat burning mode' but when we wake up we naturally wake up in this state and thats why I started to exercise so early as in the beginning I struggled to exercise for 30 mins, so didn't think I was ever getting into 'fat burning mode' when I was exercising in the middle of the day?

my lean muscle mass number has gone up on body fat scale and my body fat is consistently going down and my water going up. (I was dehyrated when I first started).

I guess my question is: Is 2 to 2 and half hours first thing in morning too long on an empty stomach?

ATT949

I've noticed some people on here mentioned that at some point you stop burning fat and start metabolising muscle

A person doesn't metabolize muscle in the course of exercise.

When a human is going through "starvation mode", real starvation mode, the body will start to metabolize muscle once it has consumed all body fat except "essential fat", which I understand is at about 5%.

The only way to get into what the medical world calls "starvation mode" is to consume a very low calorie level (less than 500 cals) for a long period of time.

I guess my question is: Is 2 to 2 and half hours first thing in morning too long on an empty stomach?

You're not harming your body by doing that, no. One thing to keep in mind is that our bodies have evolved to give us feedback. When we need to empty our bladder or bowel, our body tells us. When we need water, we get thirsty. When our stomach is empty, we feel hunger.

If we don't empty our bladder, well eventually our body will do it for us so that our kidneys can continue to remove waste. Similarly, if we don't put food in our stomach, our body will get "food" by dipping into our "food reserves" (fat).

Some folks express great concern if we reveal that our diets or eating habits don't follow within certain patterns. I have no doubt that they have nothing but everyone's best interests at heart but sometimes it's good to step back and remind ourselves that thousands of generations of our species have done just fine, regardless.

</Pontification mode> :-)

shakybabe

Thanks, I'll try and get back to it next week after my back has recovered. I was told on previous diet forum that after exercising for certain amount of time on empty stomach I would start burning muscle instead. Left there as I didn't feel I got much support, it's much friendlier here! :happy: