Morning run on empty stomach?

I prefer to run on empty in the morning. For me it's a time preservation issue. I'd rather do the run and then eat.

pinggolfer96 wrote: »

As long as your daily calories remain constant, fasted cardio will be no different than fed cardio

There was a ton of bro-science about this for years, but nothing has been validated.
Personal experience is not science, but here goes.

This seemed to work for me, but my results could be coming from other factors, so I can't really say for sure. I do it as part of Intermittent Fasting.
Sometimes I just need to try things for myself.
My suggestion to the OP is try it out yourself for 6 weeks, and just see what happens. Post your results one way or the other.

It might depend on how far you're going to run, but it's often better to eat something before you run.

From the Australian Institute of Sport:

"Many athletes put a lot of emphasis on the pre-event meal believing it is the key element to performance. It is important to remember that food eaten throughout the training week and food and fluid consumed during the event is just as important. Consuming food and fluid before exercise should be seen as an opportunity to fine-tune carbohydrate and fluid levels and to ensure you feel comfortable and confident.

When should I eat?

Food consumed before exercise is only useful once it has been digested and absorbed. This means you need to time your food intake so that the fuel becomes available during the exercise period. The time required for digestion depends on the type and quantity of food consumed. Generally, foods higher in fat, protein and fibre tend to take longer to digest than other foods, and may increase the risk of stomach discomfort during exercise. Large quantities of foods take longer to digest than smaller quantities. Generally, food is better tolerated during lower intensity activities, or sports where the body is supported (e.g. cycling) than sports such as running where the gut is jostled about during exercise. A general guide is to have a meal about 3-4 hours before exercise or a lighter snack about 1-2 hours before exercise. You need to experiment to find the timing, amount and make up that best suits your individual needs."

http://www.ausport.gov.au/ais/nutrition/factsheets/competition_and_training/eating_before_exercise

More on what to eat at the link.

AlphaHowls wrote: »

I prefer to run empty (early morning run), my stomach gets upset fairly easily so I wait until evening to eat.

Same with me but only for short runs. When I go out for longer runs I usually grab something small (like half a large banana with a teaspoon of peanut butter) and leave immediately.

Runners like to do easy runs fasted because being good at burning fat as fuel is useful during endurance events. But it's for training not weight loss.

I do a 30-40 minute elliptical workout in the morning. If I do it on an empty stomach , I would probably faint !

Chieflrg wrote: »

Cardio burns calories not fat.

It makes zero difference as long as you are eating in a deficit on average.

Eat or don't eat whatever makes you more comfortable with the energy you need.

Question:
What about the fuel for the energy represented by the calorie burn?
How does one shift the odds of that being derived from stored fat as opposed to sugar?

I am studying info that is scientifically inconclusive and contradictory. Just wondering your take on it given your obvious knowledge.

No you don't need to. Personally I train fasted. Weights & cardio. No loss of strength whatsoever. If anything I'm stronger.

lilstry wrote: »

In the past I heard that doing cardio burns fat when your body is in a fasted state. I wake up every morning at 5:30. Should I eat something light, wait 30 min, and then run? any other suggestions?

Your body uses a combination of stored glycogen and fat when exercising. The lower the intensity the higher the proportion of fat (you actually burn the most fat while sleeping....), don't fixate on fat burning concentrate more on total calorie burn.

If you find yourself lacking energy before working out you may want to have something light with simple carbs, personally I prefer to run fasted for runs under 90 minutes (pure personal preference, I hate feeling full when I'm running). It's a little trial and error, do what works for you.

Return2Fit wrote: »

Chieflrg wrote: »

Cardio burns calories not fat.

It makes zero difference as long as you are eating in a deficit on average.

Eat or don't eat whatever makes you more comfortable with the energy you need.

Question:
What about the fuel for the energy represented by the calorie burn?
How does one shift the odds of that being derived from stored fat as opposed to sugar?

I am studying info that is scientifically inconclusive and contradictory. Just wondering your take on it given your obvious knowledge.

Although not directed at me, your body burns fuel on a continuum. There's no switch that flips that goes from glycogen to fat. However, the more you are exercising in the aerobic system, the more of your energy that will come from oxidizing fat. BUT, just because that is the case for that particular exercise session, doesn't mean it's the best route to go. Total calories burned trumps where they came from if your goal is weight loss.

For me, I prefer to work out mostly fasted. When my belly is full I get tired easier and want to relax rather than work out. After 8 hours of sleep and no breakfast I tend to do my morning workout, then have a breakfast of complex carbs and high protein after. However, on the weekends I increase my workouts for endurance, and for those I eat the complex carbs (usually bran cereal with almond milk) before my workout otherwise I burn out faster than I'd like. I do believe it helps to burn fat, but science or not, it works for me. Honestly though if you eat right after your workout I can't really see your body burning any more fat than it would if you ate before. Just give it a try for a while and see if you like it. I do sip on an intra-workout drink though, usually BCAA's of some sort so that I'm not burning what little muscle I've managed to gain. I think the drink is a total of around 50 calories and my usual burn is somewhere in the 800-1000cal range during my workout so it really doesn't make a big difference. Even on the weekends when I eat carbs before working out that is only a couple hundred more calories and the burn is higher. For me it's helping to reduce body fat, I'm down to 12% over the summer so far from 14% in the early spring. I can't say for sure that it worked faster though because that's how I did it. Someone eating before working out might have dropped 2% just the same.. who knows.