Exercising in the morning
Berthony25
Posts: 27 Member
If you exercise in the morning on a empty stomach are they any consequences to it? While reading various post some say you lose muscle doing that while others say it's better to lose fat that way. Is there anyway to truly know how much it hurts or helps working out on an empty stomach?
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Replies
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Hi
It is much better to exercise in the morning, when u exercise in the morning, you burn fat....
if you are overweight, its better on an empty stomach....
Also, increase your protein intake, so when doing cardio, your body does not burn muscle....1 -
Given the same calories over the day you will neither lose more fat or more muscle whether you exercise fasted or fed.7
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zeenatunisa wrote: »Hi
It is much better to exercise in the morning, when u exercise in the morning, you burn fat....
if you are overweight, its better on an empty stomach....
Also, increase your protein intake, so when doing cardio, your body does not burn muscle....
So much wrong here.
Exercise timing does not matter, nor does fasting.
Strength training retains your muscle as well as a balanced diet.8 -
A few things to comment on here:
First of all, no you're not going to burn more body-fat by training on an empty stomach. The differences between fasted and fed training are insignificant.
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7
Next, you could make a theoretical argument against training completely fasted IF the goal is to maximize skeletal muscle over the long term. Prevention of muscle protein breakdown in response to training COULD make a difference over the long term and so getting in some protein or amino acids pre training MIGHT make a difference in the long term. Do I think it will be a huge difference? Probably not, but it's worth mentioning.
Finally, here's what REALLY, REALLY matters: Training performance and training consistency. And peri-workout nutrition can play a big role in those.
And so consequently, I would focus less on what is "optimal" from a research perspective and I would focus more on
a) What is going to give you the best chance at sticking to it?
b) What is going to give you the best performance?
Regarding a) above, what I'm getting at is that personal preference should play a role.8 -
You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Personally, I exercise in the morning because if I don't do it in the morning, I will make every excuse in the book to not do it later in the day. I exercise before I eat, and have never had any trouble. 6 -
A few things to comment on here:
First of all, no you're not going to burn more body-fat by training on an empty stomach. The differences between fasted and fed training are insignificant.
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7
Next, you could make a theoretical argument against training completely fasted IF the goal is to maximize skeletal muscle over the long term. Prevention of muscle protein breakdown in response to training COULD make a difference over the long term and so getting in some protein or amino acids pre training MIGHT make a difference in the long term. Do I think it will be a huge difference? Probably not, but it's worth mentioning.
Finally, here's what REALLY, REALLY matters: Training performance and training consistency. And peri-workout nutrition can play a big role in those.
And so consequently, I would focus less on what is "optimal" from a research perspective and I would focus more on
a) What is going to give you the best chance at sticking to it?
b) What is going to give you the best performance?
Regarding a) above, what I'm getting at is that personal preference should play a role.
Great to see you are still on MFP SideSteel.1 -
Personal preference, how it affects your exercise performance and simply how it fits in your day.
It's important that you do it - it's unimportant at what time of day, unimportant whether fed or fasted (unless you are doing endurance cardio....).
You have an enormous store of energy in your body (both glycogen and fat) - training fasted isn't going to cause muscle loss.4 -
A few things to comment on here:
First of all, no you're not going to burn more body-fat by training on an empty stomach. The differences between fasted and fed training are insignificant.
https://jissn.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7
Next, you could make a theoretical argument against training completely fasted IF the goal is to maximize skeletal muscle over the long term. Prevention of muscle protein breakdown in response to training COULD make a difference over the long term and so getting in some protein or amino acids pre training MIGHT make a difference in the long term. Do I think it will be a huge difference? Probably not, but it's worth mentioning.
Finally, here's what REALLY, REALLY matters: Training performance and training consistency. And peri-workout nutrition can play a big role in those.
And so consequently, I would focus less on what is "optimal" from a research perspective and I would focus more on
a) What is going to give you the best chance at sticking to it?
b) What is going to give you the best performance?
Regarding a) above, what I'm getting at is that personal preference should play a role.
Great to see you are still on MFP SideSteel.
Thanks @Damien_K!
I've never left, just gotten very busy. I'm actually making an effort to try to post here more often
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It is all about personal preference. I prefer to workout in the morning because I am more consistent when I do. If I exercise at night I find that life gets in the way for me.1
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You do what works for you - if you don't like to eat before exercise and you have the energy to workout then go for it.
All that matters is the total calories you consume in the day, that you eat less than you burn, the timing doesn't matter one jot.0 -
I run in the morning right when I get up....I have to run on an empty stomach. However, when I do a class (HIIT or Spin) I need to eat at least an hour before my class or I drink a protein shake about 30 min before. I believe it all to be personal preference. I know people that have to eat before they workout otherwise they can't perform well.0
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As a runner and one that strength trains (4 of 7 days a week doing both on the same day), it is all personal preference. Depending on your goals eating the right amount of calories is all you need. When you eat them, how you eat them does not matter.
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violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.1 -
violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.
I posted a well-designed research paper earlier in this thread demonstrating no difference between fasted and fed cardio.
It absolutely is valuable to do your own research and people should do that, but on this particular topic The evidence seems to point towards it not making any difference.
That being said, you make mentioned that you believe the research shows otherwise.
If you happen to have a particular study in mind I'd love to see it if you'd be willing to share.
Thanks!2 -
I say do what works for you. It honestly doesn't matter much what time you work out... as long as you are working out and eating right. I use to work out at night and lost weight. I now work out in the morning... still lost weight! I say this because everyone's body and health goals are different. You may find you have to eat before working out or you may find (like me) you cannot eat a meal and then workout.0
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violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.
I posted a well-designed research paper earlier in this thread demonstrating no difference between fasted and fed cardio.
It absolutely is valuable to do your own research and people should do that, but on this particular topic The evidence seems to point towards it not making any difference.
That being said, you make mentioned that you believe the research shows otherwise.
If you happen to have a particular study in mind I'd love to see it if you'd be willing to share.
Thanks!
No, I don't have links to any articles. That was quite kind of you to provide them. I am just a normal person, encouraging others to do their own research. To me, that includes reading articles provided to them as well as seeking out alternative opinions. The existence of one well-designed research paper demonstrating something does not exclude the existence of another well-designed research paper demonstrating a different outcome. Just because you provided a link does not mean OP can't continue their own research.
I was not attempting to argue with you personally. I am simply stating what I have read. The OP and others are more than welcome to ignore my post. No skin off my nose if some rando on an Internet forum ignores me. *shrug*0 -
I exercies in the morning for me. Then I take and teach in the evenings. I also dance when I cook. It helps pass the time and I get another 10-20 minutes of exercise in at the very least.0
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violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.
I posted a well-designed research paper earlier in this thread demonstrating no difference between fasted and fed cardio.
It absolutely is valuable to do your own research and people should do that, but on this particular topic The evidence seems to point towards it not making any difference.
That being said, you make mentioned that you believe the research shows otherwise.
If you happen to have a particular study in mind I'd love to see it if you'd be willing to share.
Thanks!
No, I don't have links to any articles. That was quite kind of you to provide them. I am just a normal person, encouraging others to do their own research. To me, that includes reading articles provided to them as well as seeking out alternative opinions. The existence of one well-designed research paper demonstrating something does not exclude the existence of another well-designed research paper demonstrating a different outcome. Just because you provided a link does not mean OP can't continue their own research.
I was not attempting to argue with you personally. I am simply stating what I have read. The OP and others are more than welcome to ignore my post. No skin off my nose if some rando on an Internet forum ignores me. *shrug*
I get it, it's just that you claimed that you researched this and you believe research indicates that fasted cardio is superior.
I was asking you which paper you've read. If you don't want to provide it that's fine but can you tell me which paper or the author or the title so I can go find it?
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violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.
I posted a well-designed research paper earlier in this thread demonstrating no difference between fasted and fed cardio.
It absolutely is valuable to do your own research and people should do that, but on this particular topic The evidence seems to point towards it not making any difference.
That being said, you make mentioned that you believe the research shows otherwise.
If you happen to have a particular study in mind I'd love to see it if you'd be willing to share.
Thanks!
No, I don't have links to any articles. That was quite kind of you to provide them. I am just a normal person, encouraging others to do their own research. To me, that includes reading articles provided to them as well as seeking out alternative opinions. The existence of one well-designed research paper demonstrating something does not exclude the existence of another well-designed research paper demonstrating a different outcome. Just because you provided a link does not mean OP can't continue their own research.
I was not attempting to argue with you personally. I am simply stating what I have read. The OP and others are more than welcome to ignore my post. No skin off my nose if some rando on an Internet forum ignores me. *shrug*
I get it, it's just that you claimed that you researched this and you believe research indicates that fasted cardio is superior.
I was asking you which paper you've read. If you don't want to provide it that's fine but can you tell me which paper or the author or the title so I can go find it?
You are obviously someone who has a much more extensive professional and science-based history in this field. I appreciate that your are working to make replies in the forums more based on research and truth instead of broscience. I apologize if my post muddied the waters in that regard.
In my (obviously inferior) research, I simply did what I suggested OP do, which is Google & read articles by sources I trusted. I realize that even if I spent the time finding the articles I thought were particularly helpful, they would not stand up in your eyes, as they are not research papers or peer-reviewed studies. So I will not bother.
To be clear, I did not claim that fasted cardio was "superior." I never mentioned cardio specifically. I stated that choosing fasted or fueled exercise depended on your goals. At the time, I did not think that this statement was quite so inflamatory, but I have since been corrected.
I will refrain from commenting on forum posts in the future unless I have appropriate citation to back up my claims. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.0 -
violetness wrote: »You will find an opinion here to suit whatever camp you are in on this.
Agreed. I would suggest you do a Google search on fasted exercise study & read the articles from trusted sources. Aka: medical/academic sources, not bioscience blog posts.
From my research in that area, it seems that it depends on your goals. If you want to burn fat, exercising fasted is better. If you want to improve your performance in your activity (ex: hit lifting PRs, decrease running time, etc) it's better to workout fueled.
Do your own research & form your own opinion. Don't just blindly swallow what people on forums tell you.
I posted a well-designed research paper earlier in this thread demonstrating no difference between fasted and fed cardio.
It absolutely is valuable to do your own research and people should do that, but on this particular topic The evidence seems to point towards it not making any difference.
That being said, you make mentioned that you believe the research shows otherwise.
If you happen to have a particular study in mind I'd love to see it if you'd be willing to share.
Thanks!
No, I don't have links to any articles. That was quite kind of you to provide them. I am just a normal person, encouraging others to do their own research. To me, that includes reading articles provided to them as well as seeking out alternative opinions. The existence of one well-designed research paper demonstrating something does not exclude the existence of another well-designed research paper demonstrating a different outcome. Just because you provided a link does not mean OP can't continue their own research.
I was not attempting to argue with you personally. I am simply stating what I have read. The OP and others are more than welcome to ignore my post. No skin off my nose if some rando on an Internet forum ignores me. *shrug*
I get it, it's just that you claimed that you researched this and you believe research indicates that fasted cardio is superior.
I was asking you which paper you've read. If you don't want to provide it that's fine but can you tell me which paper or the author or the title so I can go find it?
You are obviously someone who has a much more extensive professional and science-based history in this field. I appreciate that your are working to make replies in the forums more based on research and truth instead of broscience. I apologize if my post muddied the waters in that regard.
In my (obviously inferior) research, I simply did what I suggested OP do, which is Google & read articles by sources I trusted. I realize that even if I spent the time finding the articles I thought were particularly helpful, they would not stand up in your eyes, as they are not research papers or peer-reviewed studies. So I will not bother.
To be clear, I did not claim that fasted cardio was "superior." I never mentioned cardio specifically. I stated that choosing fasted or fueled exercise depended on your goals. At the time, I did not think that this statement was quite so inflamatory, but I have since been corrected.
I will refrain from commenting on forum posts in the future unless I have appropriate citation to back up my claims. Sorry for wasting everyone's time.
This is truly the most remarkable reply I've ever gotten.
Have a lovely day.3 -
I ride my trike first thing in the morning, but after I eat breakfast (about 190 calories). I used to do it before eating, but noticed that, on the occasions that I rode after I ate because of my schedule, my speed was noticeably faster. So, I figured that I must have more energy after eating, so that's what I started doing.0
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As someone who looked into IF a lot a few years ago, the take away points I took from the various stuff I read, was that fasted exercise (cardio or weights) will likely *mobilise* more fat, ie your body being carb-deprived is utilising more fat for fuel since you're fasted, thus to fuel your fasted activity, its likely mobilising more fat from your bodies fat stores as opposed to fuelling your energy needs through what you ate/ stored muscle glycogen. Bear in mind, fat mobilisation is not fat loss, ie if you want that mobilised fat not to be sent back to storage by the end of the day, you need to eat at a deficit still.
The other takeaway point, is with fasted intense exercise, with reduced carbs/ glycogen to fuel your exertions, muscle protein breakdown may may occur more, than if your training had been fed. Now in all likelihood, if you're eating normally after you train, all that will be replenished, but if you're not, I'd imagine you have a surefire way to drop some muscle by training fasted, and eating minimally afterwords. For example, this is why Martin Berkhan advocates having some BCAA's/ whey before otherwise fasted training, well, that and maximising the muscle protein synthesis rebound when you eat post-training, by having some aminos already in the system. My *suspicion* is the above is the reason you see many runners with that typically slight, runners body, ie train hard/ long with minimal protein beforehand, and not enough nutrients afterwards to rebuild after your training exertions.
Bear in mind, this is all anecdotal, but perhaps may point you in the right direction if you wished to explore more. Folks like Martin Berkhan of Leangains, and Brad Pilon (Eat-Stop-Eat), would be my go-to sources, if looking more at this area.
Personally I've trained fasted and unfasted, both light cardio (walking), as well as strength training. Overall, it's not made much difference, as long as I was training and eating enough protein. Where you may need to pay attention to what you're doing with fasted exercise, is if you're on a decent deficit, and want to maximise any *small* amounts of muscle you could gain (as opposed to just being happy with muscle retention/ minimisation of muscle loss).
Anyway, just my 2 cents, but I'm more of a read-widely/ experiment myself/ see if it works for me *personally* kinda guy.0
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