Lots of questions. Feel free to answer as preferred (SORRY)
thelostbreed02
Posts: 87 Member
I overheard a trainer say the other day that cardio is not the same in regards to the amount of calories you have ingested. What I think he meant by that is that you burn more calories with the more excess, well not excess but, more calories you have ready to use in your system. This is to the extreme but it is a serious thought. Imagine a man who takes 30,000 steps fasted/bcaas maybe/minimal food. Then compare a man who just ate at the state fair and had like 10,000 calories. If he took 30,000 steps, using the trainers logic that would mean the guy who had 10k calories would burn more calories yes?
And in addition if the trainer is wrong. Then what would happen if the guy had minimal food or fasted but was extremely active(30,000 steps in this example) and ate all his calories late and night and went to bed right after?
Which is the better scenario?
Also, is it bad to do extended amounts of fasted cardio and do a type of one BIG meal a day and a couple small meals when trying to bulk? This being as a result of trying to fit macros on a clean bulk
And in addition if the trainer is wrong. Then what would happen if the guy had minimal food or fasted but was extremely active(30,000 steps in this example) and ate all his calories late and night and went to bed right after?
Which is the better scenario?
Also, is it bad to do extended amounts of fasted cardio and do a type of one BIG meal a day and a couple small meals when trying to bulk? This being as a result of trying to fit macros on a clean bulk
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Replies
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The calories you burn during exercise is dependent on how much you weigh, how intense your exercise was and some genetic factors. It has nothing to do with what you ate.
When you eat has nothing to do with anything either, except sleeping on a full stomach might give you some pain.7 -
From my understanding, there is very little difference as to whether you work out fasted or after eating. If you eat beforehand, you burn more while doing cardio but if you eat afterwards you burn more after the cardio.
Overall, the difference is that small that you are best off doing what works for you.3 -
The calories you burn during exercise is dependent on how much you weigh, how intense your exercise was and some genetic factors. It has nothing to do with what you ate.
When you eat has nothing to do with anything either, except sleeping on a full stomach might give you some pain.
That's what I thought but then I pondered where you would get the calories to burn from. If you dont have food to burn, you would use fat but also MUSCLE.!!! Which if trying to bulk is a huge no no. Just my 2cents9 -
Lillymoo01 wrote: »From my understanding, there is very little difference as to whether you work out fasted or after eating. If you eat beforehand, you burn more while doing cardio but if you eat afterwards you burn more after the cardio.
Overall, the difference is that small that you are best off doing what works for you.
I'm confused so if you do eat before this 30,000 steps you expend more than if you do it semi fasted or with little/less food?1 -
As long as you are giving your body the same amount of calories per day, your body should have enough energy to fuel you throughout the day, regardless of when you eat and exercise.
Some people may notice their performance lags of they do significant exercise while fasted. But plenty of people here do OMAD (one meal a day), where they get all their calories at once and don't eat related to exercise timing. You can try either and see how it works for you.
Regardless, none of this should have any affect on the calories burned during exercise, with the exception of you finding that you are not able to exercise as long or hard if you are in a fasted state.8 -
thelostbreed02 wrote: »Lillymoo01 wrote: »From my understanding, there is very little difference as to whether you work out fasted or after eating. If you eat beforehand, you burn more while doing cardio but if you eat afterwards you burn more after the cardio.
Overall, the difference is that small that you are best off doing what works for you.
I'm confused so if you do eat before this 30,000 steps you expend more than if you do it semi fasted or with little/less food?
If you eat beforehand your body is burning calories with exercise and food digestion. Overall, it makes no difference though as to whether you work out fasted or non-fasted. Over a 24 hour period, your total fat burn will be the same, all other things being equal.5 -
If you exercise and eat the same in TOTAL, your weight will end up the same close enough with no clear advantage to suggest one method over the other.
Depending on quantity and intensity of exercise, quantity and calories and type of food eaten, and current body composition the variables of exercise and eat may NOT prove to be the SAME in TOTAL.
I would not expect myself to put out the same type of effort for my 30,000 steps if I were doing them on an empty stomach and I might actually be more happy and energetic if I did them while slurping an ice cream cone as opposed to chewing on carrot sticks!
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I think it also would depend on how many carbs you eat. You can store 1500-2000 calories worth of carbs between your muscles and your liver but if you eat low carb you won't have that storage and may start burning muscle.22
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My car has enough fuel to drive 100 miles. I’m a out to take a 50 mile trip. Does it matter if I fill the tank before or after the trip? Which one will make the car use less gas?8
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garystrickland357 wrote: »My car has enough fuel to drive 100 miles. I’m a out to take a 50 mile trip. Does it matter if I fill the tank before or after the trip? Which one will make the car use less gas?
Your car will use less gas if it's lighter. 7 -
garystrickland357 wrote: »My car has enough fuel to drive 100 miles. I’m a out to take a 50 mile trip. Does it matter if I fill the tank before or after the trip? Which one will make the car use less gas?
Less fuel in your tank means less overall weight meaning you would burn less gas if you don't fill up. It would hardly be worth considering in a normal situation though.
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cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.1 -
cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.
If you're getting enough overall calories on a low-carb diet, your body will generally use the fat and protein you are consuming on a daily basis for energy before it will go scavenging your body parts for energy. I say generally because preferential pathways for energy aren't all-or-nothing on-off switches.
If you're in calorie deficit, you do put your muscles at risk for being broken down for stored energy, but that risk exists any time you are in a deficit, with the risk increasing more based on how large your deficit is, rather than based on what the macro split in your diet is.
I hope that's clear. I always feel like my explanations are too long, but I can't figure out a shorter way to say it.7 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.
If you're getting enough overall calories on a low-carb diet, your body will generally use the fat and protein you are consuming on a daily basis for energy before it will go scavenging your body parts for energy. I say generally because preferential pathways for energy aren't all-or-nothing on-off switches.
If you're in calorie deficit, you do put your muscles at risk for being broken down for stored energy, but that risk exists any time you are in a deficit, with the risk increasing more based on how large your deficit is, rather than based on what the macro split in your diet is.
I hope that's clear. I always feel like my explanations are too long, but I can't figure out a shorter way to say it.
I guess I am confused. I don't eat low carb. I actually eat high carb. I thought that high carb protects your muscles because your body can tap the stored glycogen so that it doesn't have to use muscle for energy. Isn't that why athletes carb load before a race?0 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.
If you're getting enough overall calories on a low-carb diet, your body will generally use the fat and protein you are consuming on a daily basis for energy before it will go scavenging your body parts for energy. I say generally because preferential pathways for energy aren't all-or-nothing on-off switches.
If you're in calorie deficit, you do put your muscles at risk for being broken down for stored energy, but that risk exists any time you are in a deficit, with the risk increasing more based on how large your deficit is, rather than based on what the macro split in your diet is.
I hope that's clear. I always feel like my explanations are too long, but I can't figure out a shorter way to say it.
I guess I am confused. I don't eat low carb. I actually eat high carb. I thought that high carb protects your muscles because your body can tap the stored glycogen so that it doesn't have to use muscle for energy. Isn't that why athletes carb load before a race?
Athletes carb load more as a fueling strategy, vs. to avoid muscle loss. If you think of the glycogen stores as your primary fuel tank, and stored fat as an auxiliary fuel tank that is a little harder to get to and use, then the carb loading would be about trying to make sure the primary fuel tank is as topped up as it can possibly be, before an endurance event/activity. (Carb loading isn't just about eating a bunch of carbs the day before, either.)
There's sort of a sense in which carbs are protein-sparing, but it's more complicated, and more situation-specific, than just "regular people should eat more carbs to preserve the most muscle". People who eat low carb diets don't automatically lose more muscle in a calorie deficit, for example, even if they exercise.7 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.
If you're getting enough overall calories on a low-carb diet, your body will generally use the fat and protein you are consuming on a daily basis for energy before it will go scavenging your body parts for energy. I say generally because preferential pathways for energy aren't all-or-nothing on-off switches.
If you're in calorie deficit, you do put your muscles at risk for being broken down for stored energy, but that risk exists any time you are in a deficit, with the risk increasing more based on how large your deficit is, rather than based on what the macro split in your diet is.
I hope that's clear. I always feel like my explanations are too long, but I can't figure out a shorter way to say it.
I guess I am confused. I don't eat low carb. I actually eat high carb. I thought that high carb protects your muscles because your body can tap the stored glycogen so that it doesn't have to use muscle for energy. Isn't that why athletes carb load before a race?
Athletes carb load more as a fueling strategy, vs. to avoid muscle loss. If you think of the glycogen stores as your primary fuel tank, and stored fat as an auxiliary fuel tank that is a little harder to get to and use, then the carb loading would be about trying to make sure the primary fuel tank is as topped up as it can possibly be, before an endurance event/activity. (Carb loading isn't just about eating a bunch of carbs the day before, either.)
There's sort of a sense in which carbs are protein-sparing, but it's more complicated, and more situation-specific, than just "regular people should eat more carbs to preserve the most muscle". People who eat low carb diets don't automatically lose more muscle in a calorie deficit, for example, even if they exercise.
Gotcha. I don't eat high carb for that purpose. I have depression and an autoimmune disease and feel better with higher carbs. I thought that muscle sparing could be a benefit but I guess not.5 -
lynn_glenmont wrote: »cmriverside wrote: »
So how does it work? I'm not being snarky. I really want to understand.
If you're getting enough overall calories on a low-carb diet, your body will generally use the fat and protein you are consuming on a daily basis for energy before it will go scavenging your body parts for energy. I say generally because preferential pathways for energy aren't all-or-nothing on-off switches.
If you're in calorie deficit, you do put your muscles at risk for being broken down for stored energy, but that risk exists any time you are in a deficit, with the risk increasing more based on how large your deficit is, rather than based on what the macro split in your diet is.
I hope that's clear. I always feel like my explanations are too long, but I can't figure out a shorter way to say it.
I guess I am confused. I don't eat low carb. I actually eat high carb. I thought that high carb protects your muscles because your body can tap the stored glycogen so that it doesn't have to use muscle for energy. Isn't that why athletes carb load before a race?
What you seem to be missing is that you burn a combination of both fat and carbs while exercising - primarily dependant on exercise intensity.
Personally when tested in a sports science lab fat was the predominant fuel up to about 130bpm, above that I was using a higher proportion of carbs but still significant amounts of fat until I got to extreme and very short duration (anaerobic) level.
For context my multi-hour cycling intensity is averaging around 130 - 140bpm at about 500 net calories an hour.
For extended duration rides (say 100km and above) I will eat a high carb breakfast and take on carbs constantly while riding. Despite which my calorie burns will still outstrip my intake.
For shorter duration exercise (say 2hrs) I've got plenty of carbs (glycogen) stored away - perhaps 2,000 cals worth, so fuelling and refuelling isn't an issue.
Burning muscle for energy is very much a last resort.5
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