cardio on an empty stomach?

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kb9222
kb9222 Posts: 42
in Health and Weight Loss
I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?
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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    its personal preference really... for me, i can't work out fasted, some people can and do.
  • IrZeo
    IrZeo Posts: 58 Member
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    I do it every single morning - but - I recently read online that working out on an empty stomach makes the brain tell the body to store fat whenever you do eat. Not sure how true this is, but now I'm a little worried myself!

    Although that been said, I've been doing that since August and lost almost 50lbs, so it can't be that bad?
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
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    Theres a recent thread on it about the latest study dismissing it. I looked into it, but it seems whatever advantage there is , works out to be tiny. I always have something to make sure I have the energy to finish my session and its not preying on my mind that i'm hungry. Do what suits you.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
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    do cardio whenever, it won't make a difference in fat loss to doing it in a fed state with the same deficit, caloric deficit is everything
  • MelodyandBarbells
    MelodyandBarbells Posts: 7,725 Member
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    Personal preference too for me. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. If it's first thing in the morning and I'm running late (as usual :( ), food is the last thing on my mind when bolting out the door at 6 AM. If it's an afternoon/evening workout, same thing, only there's no saying I wasn't stuffing my face with cake a half hour prior...

    Ultimately, calories in calories out. Meal timing, exercise timing etc are not really significant when it comes to weight loss
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
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    Hi! You'll have to try and see if it's working for you. For me, it's not. Whatever their 'science' says, my body disagrees. I get sick and dizzy without some food first thing in the morning.
  • lloydrt
    lloydrt Posts: 1,121 Member
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    Ive done it for 5 years and its been sucessful for me, although I did put some back on........I will say, I broke a plateau recently........I did more working out on the weight machines, ie, increasing the amount of weight and less cardio, and ir really helped.....again, eveyones got different body types, gentetics, etc..........good luck
  • UpEarly
    UpEarly Posts: 2,555 Member
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    I don't think it makes any difference whatsoever with fat loss. The body just doesn't work like that. However, I prefer to do my cardio on an empty stomach - I feel lighter and faster. My workouts are always better when I don't have a stomach full of food. :smile:
  • fat2strongbeth
    fat2strongbeth Posts: 735 Member
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    You need to find what works best for you. There are too many conflicting studies out there.
  • dorothytd
    dorothytd Posts: 1,138 Member
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    I do it all the time, often more than 30 minutes. I've also worked out full, half-full, just a little full. (8+ years) Work out when you want, at whatever food level works for you. The activity is the important thing. Good luck!
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
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    Marathon runners do this all the time. It's not a weight loss thing, but rather a fuel-management thing. Low HR cardio burns fat for fuel, and high HR cardio burns glycogen.
  • NoelFigart1
    NoelFigart1 Posts: 1,276 Member
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    I do fasted cardio more often than not, simply because I swim first thing most mornings. But on mornings when I go in to the pool later, I usually have had breakfast.

    I do find that my swim times tend to be better when I've eaten. *shrugs* Anecdotal, but for me, I'm thinking about how to deal with my schedule v. my desire for improvement in athletic performance.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    I do it every morning, but because I don't like to eat until about 10 a.m. and I work out at 5. I do it as personal preference, myself.
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
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    I do it but out of convenience not for any benefit. I go to the gym at 4:30am, I'm not hungry before. I drink about a liter of water and go run for 40 minutes or whatever, and then don't eat till after 7 most days. It doesn't matter, like everyone has said, it's really down to personal preference.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited November 2014
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    In my experience fasted cardio makes you better at fasted cardio. Don't believe there's any fat burning difference assuming same net calories over the course of time.

    I certainly seemed to adapt to it over a period of months (I adopted an IF eating pattern).
    I now have to fuel my cycle rides less and seem to take much longer to get to the stage of glocogen depletion ("bonking" or "hitting the wall").

    Apart from the cycling performance the main benefit to me is I can fit in my workouts with more flexibility.
  • jrline
    jrline Posts: 2,353 Member
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    I sometimes do up to 6 miles on an empty stomach. I wouldn't do more than that
  • feralX
    feralX Posts: 334 Member
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    kb9222 wrote: »
    I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?

    My experience is if you're doing light to moderate cardio of short duration, 30 min or less, a fasted state yields the best results. I take BCAAs and extra leucine about 20-30 min beforehand to ensure my body won't be breaking down muscle in case I up the intensity too much. There's always contradictory studies on things like this, I prefer to look at what the bodybuilding community has found to be the most effective. Experience trumps theory.
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,535 Member
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    In the fitness world, this is recommended for competitors to do who are ALREADY at low or near low body fat percentages to encourage fat burning to get to elite statis.
    For the general population, the results don't seem to yield the same based on some current research.
    Personally I do fasted cardio and workouts every morning because I prefer it that way.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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  • SideSteel
    SideSteel Posts: 11,068 Member
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    feralX wrote: »
    kb9222 wrote: »
    I was watching a video yesterday about fat loss tips and they talked about doing 30 minutes of moderate cardio on an empty stomach in the morning. I did a little research on the internet and found mixed reviews. Does anyone do this? Any success?

    My experience is if you're doing light to moderate cardio of short duration, 30 min or less, a fasted state yields the best results. I take BCAAs and extra leucine about 20-30 min beforehand to ensure my body won't be breaking down muscle in case I up the intensity too much. There's always contradictory studies on things like this, I prefer to look at what the bodybuilding community has found to be the most effective. Experience trumps theory.

    The problem with using bodybuilder anecdote is that:

    a) You're not necessarily able to tightly control variables or quantify effectiveness the same way you could under trial conditions.

    b) Even if you could demonstrate greater effectiveness in lean bodybuilders (perhaps due to fatty acid mobilization as Lyle mentions) that doesn't mean that fasted cardio would be a better choice for people who are not already lean (and likely don't have any issues with mobilization).

    To the OP, you can read the original study and also commentary from one of the study authors here:

    http://www.lookgreatnaked.com/blog/my-new-study-on-fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-take-home-points/

    And if you have the patience to sift through a TON of comments (Fred Hahn showed up so it got out of hand as it always does when Freddy shows up) I'd suggest reading this thread because James Krieger drops some awesome knowledge bombs and insights in this thread:

    https://www.facebook.com/gregory.nuckols/posts/10152477532998779?comment_id=10152495705968779&offset=0&total_comments=1050&notif_t=share_comment


    As of now I think a very solid recommendation would be to perform cardio in a manner that allows you the best adherence and performance.
  • peter7361
    peter7361 Posts: 20 Member
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    Some studies support fasted cardio for fat loss, some refute it. As another poster already said, the true benefit of fasted cardio is that it will make you better at fasted cardio. If you're training for a marathon or other high endurance activity, training with fasted cardio will help your body adapt so you "hit the wall" later, if at all. If you're training for an event like this, then consult with a coach or trainer for their experience on this. If you're just trying to lose weight, exercise at the time that works best for you, whether that's in a fasted state or an hour after eating a three course meal. Your workout will go better, you'll get more exercise in and burn more calories, leading to more weight loss.

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