Things I’ve always heard

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hmhill17
hmhill17 Posts: 283 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
They seem logical, but I have no idea if they’re actually true. Anyone?

You burn more calories exercising in cold because you are using more calories to warm your body.
Exercising before breakfast burns more fat because you don’t have as many carb reserves.

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  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,217 Member
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    apullum wrote: »
    Why do you think they seem logical?

    If there was any truth to the first one, the extra calorie burn would be minuscule at best. Your body warms up fast if you, say, go running in the winter. And why would you want to be uncomfortably cold while working out anyway?

    For the second one, you burn fat while in a calorie deficit. It is not about what time you exercise; it’s about consistently eating fewer calories than your body burns. If your body pulls from its fat stores during exercise but you are otherwise in a calorie surplus, then it’s just going to store the surplus calories later. What you presumably want is long term fat loss, not temporary use and then replacement of fat reserves.

    All you need to lose weight is a consistent calorie deficit. Don’t fall for silly myths about weight loss.

    </thread>
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,757 Member
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    Generally these things tend to have some truth to them, but the implications are so minor, it is best to ignore it. I have heard about those negative calorie foods that burn more calories in digestion than they actually contain. Again, probably true but nothing worth basing a diet plan around!
    I think the value of exercising when you prefer to exercise far outweighs the value of getting an extra calorie burn due to exercising on an empty stomach. The math really is the math.
  • sammidelvecchio
    sammidelvecchio Posts: 791 Member
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    Your body works harder to stabilize your temperature in really hot and really cold weather, but i'd say it's only notable when you also aren't working hard to do so. Like, I cage dive in really cold water, so I'm not swimming or really moving. In that situation, my body is working to warm me up, but even in this case I doubt it's a substantial burn.

    I've definitely heard about benefits to fasted cardio, but I tried it a few years ago and saw no extra benefit that regular cardio doesn't offer.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
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    Heat is a waste product of the work you do during exercise. So no you don't burn extra calories to stay warm.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
    edited October 2019
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    riffraff2112 wrote: »
    Generally these things tend to have some truth to them, but the implications are so minor, it is best to ignore it. I have heard about those negative calorie foods that burn more calories in digestion than they actually contain. Again, probably true but nothing worth basing a diet plan around!
    I think the value of exercising when you prefer to exercise far outweighs the value of getting an extra calorie burn due to exercising on an empty stomach. The math really is the math.

    Not to mention, most people cannot push as hard working out fasted, so actually end up burning less cals during the workout then they otherwise would. probably less for the day too, assuming the rest of the day's NEAT is the same.
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
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    hmhill17 wrote: »
    They seem logical, but I have no idea if they’re actually true. Anyone?

    You burn more calories exercising in cold because you are using more calories to warm your body.
    Exercising before breakfast burns more fat because you don’t have as many carb reserves.

    I think these claims have appeal to folks looking for shortcuts.
  • hmhill17
    hmhill17 Posts: 283 Member
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    I meant this post as not are they true but what weird thing have you heard that seems logical but you don’t think it’s true. Occurred to me that wasn’t clear.

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