working out on a empty stomach in the morning?

gabriela182
gabriela182 Posts: 49
in Fitness and Exercise
so, i have read some mixed reviews on this. i have heard that working out before breakfast is a good way to burn "stored" fat as apposed to burning the calories that were eaten before working out. And then I have heard that its a terrible I idea and that you should eat before you work out.
I'm looking to burn more fat regardless lol I'm just curious on what I should avoid doing...
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Replies

  • donnasebastian1
    donnasebastian1 Posts: 17 Member
    Im going to assume its not a good idea because you need that first meal to start your day off.
  • Troublemonster
    Troublemonster Posts: 223 Member
    This was in a topic yesterday, in my experience the only two things you should avoid doing are over eating and skipping workouts.

    I personally like working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and have never had any negative effects while lifting heavy and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio at the end of the workout. I have gone as far as running a 10K on an empty stomach(except for water) with no ill effects.

    Today, life got in the way and I ended up having to workout at 4:00pm and therefore did so after eating lunch and a small snack before the workout.

    I noticed no appreciable difference in my energy, strength, or endurance.

    If you are prone to blood sugar problems or feel that you need/want a meal to get rolling in the morning then do as you please. No matter what your body will burn what it has available and the food that you put in right before your workout does not become available immediately anyway. I would say it is highly unlikely that it makes much if any difference other than in blood sugar levels.
  • fitnessfoodtravel
    fitnessfoodtravel Posts: 32 Member
    You do not need to eat a lot; having an apple or half of a banana will do the trick. You need a little bit of carbs to be able to push yourself. Your post workout meal will be very important; lots of protein! All you need is about 50-100 calories.
    When I wake up in the morning, I am starving so if I don't have a small snack, my workout suffers; feel dizzy and nauseated.
  • strangewebby
    strangewebby Posts: 72
    I will usually just eat an apple if it's an early morning workout. Anything more than that and I'm going to be visiting the trashcan during the harder cardio.
  • ashlinmarie
    ashlinmarie Posts: 1,263 Member
    I feel sick if I eat before I workout in the morning. It isn't too bad if I workout later in the day as long as I haven't eaten for 2-3 hours. I don't eat or drink anything, go for my run or walk, and then get home and eat.
  • ajs03
    ajs03 Posts: 32
    I generally do work out in the morning on an empty stomach, but it is usually low impact cardio/aerobics. I have heard you should eat something like a protien & carb before and a carb after (within a hour on either side). So something like an orange & some nuts or jerky. But I can't remember for certain which way you were to eat them, it could have been switched so that the protein & carb were after. The idea is you give yourself "fuel" for the workout & to replenish after.
    Best of luck.
  • ColleenHollis
    ColleenHollis Posts: 53
    Your body will pull it's energy from what you eat first then from stored fat. Fat is the "back up in case of famine". So look at it this way. If you've been in a sort of fasting state all night while sleeping and you go work out then you are working out on the energy from fat stores.
  • gabriela182
    gabriela182 Posts: 49
    so i guess it just all depends on the way your body works :/
  • Troublemonster
    Troublemonster Posts: 223 Member
    so i guess it just all depends on the way your body works :/
    Pretty much, If your metabolism is cranked up high enough or if you get up early enough to eat and have a meal digested prior to your workout then get it on.

    I try to be out the door as soon as I am able to get breakfast into my daughter. In my experience vigorous exercise right after a meal is generally conducive to me not feeling well at some point during the workout so I prefer to have nothing more than some amino acids in water intra-workout and sometimes a pre-workout supplement as an eye opener.
  • faceoff4
    faceoff4 Posts: 1,599 Member
    I agree with the comments above. You need a little something before working out and your body supposedly metabolizes better if you can eat some protein within 30 mins of waking. Protein is hard tho prior to a workout but if you can its a good way to get that fat burn going. Just do what your body feels best with in the end, but personally I prefer to have something light in the mornings before I work out (protein shake, some nuts, carrots, etc).
  • orangelobster
    orangelobster Posts: 151
    I'm often an early morning gym person too. I just have a very light snack (like a piece of fruit for example or small bowl of cereal) and then after I will have a more substantial breakfast part 2
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    . (and man, that breakfast part 2 is some kind of awesome!
  • Troublemonster
    Troublemonster Posts: 223 Member
    I'm often an early morning gym person too. I just have a very light snack (like a piece of fruit for example or small bowl of cereal) and then after I will have a more substantial breakfast part 2
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    . (and man, that breakfast part 2 is some kind of awesome!

    LOL, Yes the post-workout meal is GLORIOUS.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    Im going to assume its not a good idea because you need that first meal to start your day off.
    No science to prove that.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    Keeping calories constant, I don't think there would be any appreciable difference in fat burn. So do what helps you feel and perform best.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,989 Member
    This was in a topic yesterday, in my experience the only two things you should avoid doing are over eating and skipping workouts.

    I personally like working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and have never had any negative effects while lifting heavy and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio at the end of the workout. I have gone as far as running a 10K on an empty stomach(except for water) with no ill effects.

    Today, life got in the way and I ended up having to workout at 4:00pm and therefore did so after eating lunch and a small snack before the workout.

    I noticed no appreciable difference in my energy, strength, or endurance.

    If you are prone to blood sugar problems or feel that you need/want a meal to get rolling in the morning then do as you please. No matter what your body will burn what it has available and the food that you put in right before your workout does not become available immediately anyway. I would say it is highly unlikely that it makes much if any difference other than in blood sugar levels.
    This. I also personally workout first thing in the morning before eating. I'll workout at about 10:00am and not eat my first meal until 12:00pm. I do eat up until 11:00pm at night almost every night.


    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 28+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
    This was in a topic yesterday, in my experience the only two things you should avoid doing are over eating and skipping workouts.

    I personally like working out on an empty stomach first thing in the morning and have never had any negative effects while lifting heavy and doing at least 30 minutes of cardio at the end of the workout. I have gone as far as running a 10K on an empty stomach(except for water) with no ill effects.

    Today, life got in the way and I ended up having to workout at 4:00pm and therefore did so after eating lunch and a small snack before the workout.

    I noticed no appreciable difference in my energy, strength, or endurance.

    If you are prone to blood sugar problems or feel that you need/want a meal to get rolling in the morning then do as you please. No matter what your body will burn what it has available and the food that you put in right before your workout does not become available immediately anyway. I would say it is highly unlikely that it makes much if any difference other than in blood sugar levels.

    ^^this

    ETA: I actually do feel a difference in my gym performance in the afternoon even though I have eaten more recently, so I prefer fasted workouts in the morning.
  • jalesa989
    jalesa989 Posts: 4 Member
    My weight training professor always used to say....if you don't eat anything and workout you have nothing to burn/work off.
  • taso42
    taso42 Posts: 8,980 Member
    My weight training professor always used to say....if you don't eat anything and workout you have nothing to burn/work off.

    with lines like that, no wonder he's a professor
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Your body will pull it's energy from what you eat first then from stored fat. Fat is the "back up in case of famine". So look at it this way. If you've been in a sort of fasting state all night while sleeping and you go work out then you are working out on the energy from fat stores.

    Even in a "fasting" state, most people still have a decent amount of stored glycogen. And even if you do burn more fat, a) it's a tiny amount and b) it makes no difference because even if your body does burn a (minuscule) greater amount of fat during exercise, it will burn less in the hours afterward. In the end, it makes no difference. Eat the way you need to fuel your workouts.
  • Molly_Maguire
    Molly_Maguire Posts: 1,103 Member
    I prefer to workout on an empty stomach. I feel better afterwards, and from what I understand, If there isn't any excess glucose in your blood to burn (from the breakfast ) when you're working out, you will go straight to burning fat. Some ppl prefer to eat before, though. Listen to your body and do what feels right for you.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    I think it depends more on how it makes you feel. I used to workout first thing on an empty stomach, but it would occasionally drop my blood sugar and I would get dizzy and nauseous, not optimal working out condition!
  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
    Keeping calories constant, I don't think there would be any appreciable difference in fat burn. So do what helps you feel and perform best.

    Basically this ^^
  • AntWrig
    AntWrig Posts: 2,273 Member
    I prefer to workout on an empty stomach. I feel better afterwards, and from what I understand, If there isn't any excess glucose in your blood to burn (from the breakfast ) when you're working out, you will go straight to burning fat. Some ppl prefer to eat before, though. Listen to your body and do what feels right for you.
    Not true.
  • darkguardian419
    darkguardian419 Posts: 1,302 Member
    It's personal preference. I prefer to work out fasted, so I don't have anything to throw up (on cardio days). However, I don't see diminished returns from not eating. If you do better if you eat, then eat. If you feel better doing it fasted, then don't eat.
  • gabriela182
    gabriela182 Posts: 49
    i guess everyone has their own preference
  • aelunyu
    aelunyu Posts: 486 Member
    It's true! overall food intake and whether your are in a calorie deficit is way more important than if you work out on an empty stomach. I personally hate breakfast (if you check my logs you'll see I don't eat it), but my workouts are before work, empty stomach.

    I have never had problems gaining muscle or losing weight doing that, so it really shouldnt matter!
  • kaltey
    kaltey Posts: 20 Member
    I really think it's personal preference. I workout in the mornings and don't eat breakfast mostly because if I do it gives me heartburn.
  • galenofedgewood
    galenofedgewood Posts: 146 Member
    I generally feel ill if I'm pushing hard on cardio with anything in my stomach. It's probably from all of these years in the service and not eating until after PT is over. /dunno
  • disdatdude
    disdatdude Posts: 118
    That's when you should get your protein (powder) drink on 20 mins before or 20 mins after.
  • Tdacks
    Tdacks Posts: 136 Member
    Count me as no food before the workout, because it makes me queasy and gives me heartburn. I can't even drink much water, because then I feel it sloshing in my stomach as I run. Ugghhh. :sick:

    I used to know a young guy when I was in the Air Force who ate a huge pancake, sausage, oatmeal, etc. breakfast as we were waiting for PT formation. Seriously, he would go from chowing down to running amazingly fast 5 minute later. He was also extremely thin and ate huge meals, so his metabolism must have been through the roof.

    My point is that there is no rule, and anyone telling you there is has been misinformed.

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