Fasted cardio. Yay or nay?

skylardevenney
skylardevenney Posts: 49 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I need to lose about 50-60 pounds. Someone told me fasted cardio was a good way to burn the fat I have vs what I've eaten? I'm totally confused. Any advice?
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Replies

  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,650 Member
    You burn fat when you consume less energy than you expend...regardless of exercise or whether or not you do it fasted or fed...regardless of meal timing, etc.
  • sault_girl
    sault_girl Posts: 219 Member
    I prefer doing my cardio fasted. On a daily basis, I eat lunch at 12:00pm, and then usually I don't eat anything in the afternoon and I head out to go snowshoeing at 5:30pm when I get home from work. I get in a good hour+ of snowshoeing, and I always feel better doing it on an empty stomach.

    On the weekends I usually skip breakfast and meet a friend for snowshoeing around 10am; we go out for 1-2 hours and then I have lunch when I come back.

    I don't think it makes too much of a difference for losing weight, but I prefer to go out fasted.
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
    I don't think it makes a fat burning difference, but personally I always find I am faster if I don't eat before I run. A full stomach makes it harder for me, I tend to get an upset stomach.
  • liftsalltheweights
    liftsalltheweights Posts: 73 Member
    I do fasted cardio because I exercise before breakfast.
  • JustMissTracy
    JustMissTracy Posts: 6,339 Member
    I've tried it a few times, but to be honest, my workouts are better if I fuel up first. Even just a wee bit of egg, or an apple and pb...without, I am lucky not to faint.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    There's nothing wrong with fasted cardio. Some people prefer it, some don't. However it's not going to make you lose weight any faster than you would if you had a small meal before hand.
  • briscogun
    briscogun Posts: 1,135 Member
    edited March 2016
    liftsalltheweights wrote: »
    I do fasted cardio because I exercise before breakfast.
    This is me. But...
    JustMissTracy wrote: »
    I've tried it a few times, but to be honest, my workouts are better if I fuel up first. Even just a wee bit of egg, or an apple and pb...without, I am lucky not to faint.

    ...there are times when I wake up too hungry and feel that it'd be in my best interest to put a little something in my stomach or else I'm going to BONK and die out. In those few occasions I'll eat like half a banana just to out something in me, wait a few minutes, do my warm up and I'm good.

    There have been studies done on this, and they are pretty much inconclusive. It's a personal preference thing.
  • mkakids
    mkakids Posts: 1,913 Member
    My runs tend to be easier if i dont eat before running....but thats a personal preference.

    I *believe* there is a minute additional amount of fat burned when you exercise fasted vs when you exercise after eating. But not enough to make a significant difference.
  • joinn68
    joinn68 Posts: 480 Member
    I second @cwolfman13. Exercise when it's convenient for YOU
  • ManiacalLaugh
    ManiacalLaugh Posts: 1,048 Member
    I don't know how long you have to have not eaten to count as "fasted" officially, but I love doing my cardio on an empty stomach. Well, actually, it's a forced love. If I have anything in my gut, I will get sick. I usually plan my workouts 3-4 hours after I've eaten at minimum for this reason. It makes it a major pain in the neck to schedule sometimes.

    I think it's a matter of how you feel (i.e. personal preference). Certainly, whatever state you feel better in is going to give you a better performance and in effect, a better calorie burn.
  • ironhajee
    ironhajee Posts: 384 Member
    A very interesting topic indeed they say breakkyy is the most important meal of the day.

  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    Not really a difference. Here are two very educated guys with differing opinions:

    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/fasted-cardio-and-fat-loss-qa.html/

    http://alanaragon.com/myths-under-the-microscope-part-2-false-hopes-for-fasted-cardio.html

    while Lyle McDonald thinks that fasted cardio might have an advantage for **EXTREMELY LEAN** individuals (read: bodybuilding competitors during show prep, not you), Alan Aragon does not quite agree. One thing they both do agree on is that it doesn't make a difference for average people.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    99% of your progress will be due to your calorie intake compared to your calorie burn, so that's where your focus should be. Things like fasted cardio, nutrient timing, supplements, etc are insignificant compared to calorie balance... so worry about that before getting into any of the finer details.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    ironhajee wrote: »
    A very interesting topic indeed they say breakkyy is the most important meal of the day.

    "they" say a lot of things. Some of it has merit, some of it is pure crapola.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,489 Member
    edited March 2016
    I workout fasted everyday. I do not like tasting my food later on in the run even if it was three hours before. My longer running requires something (150 calories of carbs) during the run after about 50 - 60 minutes because of glycogen depletion and I still start this run fasted

    Have I ever done it for weight loss or fat burning? Nope
  • Karozel7
    Karozel7 Posts: 9 Member
    Do what works for you.

    Personally, if I work out in the morning without eating, my workouts suffer. I also end up unreasonable hungry and grumpy for the rest of the day.

    But if I eat and then immediately work out, I tend to feel sick to my stomach.

    I do best when I work out in the late afternoon, a few hours after eating lunch. Plus eating my dinner later helps curb my evening snacking and I sleep better.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,145 Member
    ironhajee wrote: »
    A very interesting topic indeed they say breakkyy is the most important meal of the day.

    they are wrong...

  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,145 Member
    skylardevenney wrote: »
    I need to lose about 50-60 pounds. Someone told me fasted cardio was a good way to burn the fat I have vs what I've eaten? I'm totally confused. Any advice?

    you need a calorie deficit to lose weight..

    you can eat too much food, do fasted cardio, and you will not lose one pound.

    rule of thumb; calorie deficit for weight loss and exercise and macor adherence for overall health and body comp.
  • WaterBunnie
    WaterBunnie Posts: 1,372 Member
    A study here in the UK showed that whilst men burn more fat by exercising empty, women actually burned more from having eaten before exercise. The difference is due to hormonal differences.
  • drachfit
    drachfit Posts: 217 Member
    edited March 2016
    WaterBunnie wrote: »
    A study here in the UK showed that whilst men burn more fat by exercising empty, women actually burned more from having eaten before exercise. The difference is due to hormonal differences.

    here is an article about a study done using a group of females that shows no difference in doing fasted vs. unfasted cardio.

    http://breakingmuscle.com/strength-conditioning/debunking-the-myth-of-fasted-cardio

    there. is. no. difference.

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