Fasted cardio vs. eating small snack?

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nyla2120
nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
For those that have tried fasted cardio do you feel it makes a huge difference for fat loss vs. having a small snack beforehand? Just curious, thanks!

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  • JUDDDing
    JUDDDing Posts: 1,367 Member
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    I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

    And the science is inconclusive at this point IMO.
  • MrsSenecal
    MrsSenecal Posts: 312 Member
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    I don't think it makes that much of a difference.

    And the science is inconclusive at this point IMO.

    I found for my long runs if I had a small snack before it made a difference. Other than that, I dont think so.
  • PepperWorm
    PepperWorm Posts: 1,206
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    If I don't eat before I work out, I find that I have a lack of energy and enthusiasm. I simply don't have the energy to perform.

    I don't know if it affects fat loss...or how, if it did. I just know that if I eat at least an hour before, I'll work harder and feel better doing it.
  • amybg1
    amybg1 Posts: 631 Member
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    Only difference I found with a fasted workout of ANY kind was a reduction in performance if it went on for a while. As far as bf% went there's little to no difference and science is indeed inconclusive
  • CyberEd312
    CyberEd312 Posts: 3,536 Member
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    I personally think this comes down more to a personal preference, myself I wouldn't think of going to workout on an empty stomach. I eat around 1200 calories an hour before I hit the gym but again this is what works for me... Best of Luck....
  • riccoismydog
    riccoismydog Posts: 320 Member
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    I can`t do fasted cardio. Well I can, but I last half as long and I feel faint. I think its a personal choice. If you do it and feel fine then do it. My husband does. He feels better because there isn`t anything moving around in his stomach while he moves around. I wish I could for this reason, I get heart burn doing cardio. I don`t believe it burns more calories. There is glycogen in your muscles and that goes first in combination with whatever sugar is running around in your blood stream. Then fat. I don`t think 60-100 calories of good protein and complex carbs is going to cause your fat stores to get used much later in the workout, if you take into account that protein and complex carbs don`t rush into your blood stream as energy very fast, unlike pure sugar. On the other hand if you eat a jelly doughnut, your body is probably burning that doughnut before your fat reserves. But it still has to burn something when the doughnut is used up.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
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    Doing fasted cardio has the potential to break down muscle. To prevent this, eat some protein before hand, or consume BCAAs
  • 18Julie
    18Julie Posts: 4
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    I am currently doing the Insanity program, and the nutrition guide for it says if you exercise immediately after eating, you may lack the energy you need to complete your workout because your body's focused on digestion. I completely agree with this! But everyone is different :)
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
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    I really prefer to eat before my workouts. Usually just something small like coffee & a rice cake with 1 TBS of nut butter. I have been doing fasted workouts for the past few days & I can feel that I'm not going as hard as I normally do because I don't have as much energy. So it left me wondering if fasted cardio really makes a difference & thanks to you all I can see it doesn't seem to which makes me feel better about going back to my pre workout snack. Thanks so much for sharing :smile:
  • willdob3
    willdob3 Posts: 640 Member
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    I agree that it is just personal preference. One or the other will not result in better fat loss.

    I did fasted workouts in the past & won't do them anymore. My workouts are much better after I've had a meal, or better yet, two. In my book better workouts mean better results.
  • nyla2120
    nyla2120 Posts: 370 Member
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    I agree that it is just personal preference. One or the other will not result in better fat loss.

    I did fasted workouts in the past & won't do them anymore. My workouts are much better after I've had a meal, or better yet, two. In my book better workouts mean better results.

    I completely agree!
  • dandur
    dandur Posts: 267 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-qa.html

    "For the lean trying to get very lean (15% body fat or less for men, 22% or less for women), various strategies, including fasted cardio are probably going to be required to offset the mobization and blood flow defects....But for folks who aren’t that lean yet, the folks in the middle range of body fat levels, it really doesn’t matter. The best time to do cardio will be whenever it will most consistently get done."

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