Morning exercise before eating?

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  • Natasha233
    Natasha233 Posts: 48 Member
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    I do the fasted workout first thing in the morning and I am fine. If I know I am lifting heavy or running more than 5 K, I will eat a bit more the night before. I like it a lot - but not sure if I am seeing results. I feel better and it creates a small caloric deficit.
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    edited January 2018
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    AllanMisner wrote: »
    Azdak wrote: »
    AllanMisner wrote: »
    The theory goes...

    SNIP

    If you “have yet to do see a study that proves it makes a difference”—and you won’t—how can you say that “it works”? Works for what?

    And why go into detail about a “theory” that you know is wrong?

    I've seen it work for me. I've seen it work for dozens of my clients. Those are my observations. I guess I should have said, I haven't seen any studies that prove or disprove this theory. Self-experimentation is best way to know what does and does not work for you.

    Allan Misner
    NASM Certified Personal Trainer
    Host of the 40+ Fitness Podcast

    Again, what do you mean by “it works”? Are you saying it “works” for enhanced fat loss? Because it doesn’t.

    When you say “it works for dozens of my clients”, are you comparing them with control groups? The fact that people perform “fasted cardio” and also lose weight is zero evidence of its efficacy. It’s coincidental, not causal.

    To be clear, there is nothing really wrong with fasted cardio. As seen in these comments, many people find it more comfortable and convenient to exercise before eating. For the most part, even in a so-called “fasted” state, we have plenty of fuel available for the average workout. But that has nothing to do with enhancing fat loss.

    If you are looking for references, you can start here:

    https://weightology.net/fasted-cardio-an-undeserved-good-reputation/

    Here is another one:

    http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/the-myth-of-cardio-before-breakfast-debunked.html

    And here is one that shows that the acute response during a workout has little effect on overall fat oxidation:

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19305201

    And I disagree that “self-experimentation” should be the basis of someone’s diet and workout program. If all they need to do is “try it and see what works”, what do they need us for? As fitness professionals, shouldn’t we be aiming a little higher?


  • jeremywm1977
    jeremywm1977 Posts: 657 Member
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    How funny, I was just reading an article today on this very topic.
    In the article, they detail a study of those doing fasted and non-fasted workouts, and found no substantial difference between each groups results.

    Sorry if I don't remember where I read this. I guess you'll just have to trust me that I read this article and am summing it up accurately.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Chieflrg wrote: »
    MegaMooseEsq wrote: »
    Chieflrg wrote: »
    Only if it's the means of you adhering to a caloric deficit.

    I wouldn't advice it otherwise.

    I think there are other benefits, too. I work out first thing in the AM and find that it fits my schedule better and keeps me motivated to workout first, then eat. For scheduling purposes, I'd rather get the workout in and then rush breakfast if necessary. And for motivation, I find getting that jolt of energy first thing feels great rather than sitting around and eating while I'm still stiff and sleepy. I've never felt any physical detriment from it, although I suppose it might be different if I was going to work out longer than an hour or go crazy hard or something.
    So pretty much what I stated, it helps your adhere to a diet.

    I don't work out to lose weight, but I see from your post below that you were talking about the benefits for weight loss specifically, so I see where the disconnect is.
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    No. Just do what's best for you. Some people have a better workout if they've eaten something and others don't.
  • Okiludy
    Okiludy Posts: 558 Member
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    The “The Influence of the Time of Day on Core Temperature and Lower Body Power Output in Elite Rugby Union Sevens Players” study by West, Daniel J an company showed evidence that time of day has a small influence on performance. There was no part in it that worked with fat loss or calories burned.

    They noticed high end trained athletes performance was better in late afternoon than morning. This seemed to match up with the rise in core body temp.

    Just an interesting article along the lines of time of day in training. I still will lift in the morning fasted as it “works” for me :p
  • dbhuff369
    dbhuff369 Posts: 17 Member
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    There was a lot of hype about fasted training awhile ago, and there are some supplements that apparently contribute to fat burning (caffeine, yohimbine, HMB) but the difference is trivial, and there is a significant liklihood that your workout will be less vigorous if you do. Also, in the fasted state without supplements you will just as likely burn muscle for fuel! Especially for weight training, the EPOC and strength/size gains are negatively impacted and so you may end up worse off than you intended. In general, most advice I've seen says get some carbs around your workout (before/during/after) then maintain caloric deficit and keep your protein intake up. Of course, if comfort is an issue, adjust accordingly.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    Fat loss comes down to energy balance (ie consuming fewer calories than you expend) and I have yet to see any solid evidence that exercising fasted contributes to fat loss. As Azdak mentioned there's little to no correlation between fuel source (glycogen or fat) and long term fat loss.

    It really comes down to a matter of personal preference. I don't like working out with food in my stomach as it makes me feel uncomfortable, others don't experience this discomfort. If you're eating a reasonably balanced diet you should have enough stored glycogen to get you through 60 to 90 minutes of moderate exercise. Do what feels best for you.
  • fuzzylop72
    fuzzylop72 Posts: 651 Member
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    jeremywm1977 wrote: »
    How funny, I was just reading an article today on this very topic.
    In the article, they detail a study of those doing fasted and non-fasted workouts, and found no substantial difference between each groups results.

    Sorry if I don't remember where I read this. I guess you'll just have to trust me that I read this article and am summing it up accurately.

    Possibly https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242477/

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