Do you REALLY burn more fat by exercising on an empty stomach first thing in the morning?

Question

I hear so many different opinions that I'm tempted to think it all comes down to how your own body reacts to exercise, what time suits your metabolism, when you are most energetic and therefore get the hardest workout, etc. Can a certified practitioner or, I dunno, DIETITIAN with a Ph. D. or something shed some light on this much debated question?

Answer 1

ok...I will try to keep this as simple as possible.

the practice of performing low intensity am cardio in a fasted state first started with bodybuilders decades ago. the logic being that muscle and liver glycogen stores are depleted from the nightly fast and that it shouldn't take much to tap into fat stores. however the body is always utilizing energy from a combination of amino acids, glucose and free fatty acids. so when one energy source is depleted the ratios of the other 2 energy sources increases. this would actually increase the catabolic effects of exercise as the amount of amino acids being converted for use as energy increases. however since many competitive bodybuilders use anabolic and androgenic steroids the catabolic effect is severely reduced. the steroid molecules attach to the same androgenic receptors (AR) located on muscles cells that the catabolic hormone cortisol attaches to. since those receptors sites are blocked cortisol has no effect.

it is very easy to see why many have fallen into this belief of doing am cardio in the fasted state. but for those that train natural this can cause a substantial loss of muscle mass over time especially if the person persons high intensity cardio in this fasted state.

now you also have to release how ineffective low intensity cardio is for fat loss. the intensity of exercise determines the primary energy source. the body can utilize free fatty acids for use as the primary energy source as long as the level of intensity is low. once the level of intensity gets to a certain point the body can not convert free fatty acids at a fast enough rate so it switches to using glucose as the primary energy source. this is a very good thing. when muscle and liver glycogen stores are depleted and you consume carbohydrates after exercise, later in the day/night, etc. the excess will be stored in skeletal muscle and the liver as designed with little chance of it being converted to a lipid and stored in the fat cell. also training at a high level of intensity causes the greatest increase in the metabolic rate "after" the conclusion of exercise, this is called the afterburn effect. what is really happening is the body has to utilize a higher rate of oxygen to restore the body to the pre-exercise state. this is actually called the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption or EPOC. the greater the intensity of exercise and the longer the duration the greater the EPOC. medical study has shown that the EPOC can last from 4-10 hours if a person exercises at >75% of the VO2Max for 60-80 minutes.

so am cardio in the fasted state is catabolic for the person that trains natural (no AAS) and is surely not optimum for fat loss. you can burn fat during exercise for 1-1.5 hours with no increase in the resting metabolic rate after exercise or you can elevate the metabolic rate by training at a high level of intensity and see some real results. this is also why training with high reps and light weights is not optimum for fat loss anybody that says any different has no real knowledge of human biology.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I'm not sure but i did hear that you should exercise at least 10 min in the morning to get your metabolism going within an hour of waking up but the never say when before or after breakfast?

Answer 4

I would love to know the answer to this also!

I tend to either have a glass of warm water with a squeeze of lemon or a mouthful of Celebrity Slim Shake before I exercise (in the morning) just to wake my metabolism up. If I have something to eat I tend to taste it all through out the work out (which isn't nice - especially if I had Wheatbix lol).

Can anyone tell us what is best for burning more fat in the morning?

Thanks,
Bon

Answer 5

Truth is, its not really known. Studies go both ways, so if a study can't tell you, a dietitian or MD or PhD can't tell you for sure either, they can just tell you their opinion. Even professional bodybuilders who successfully diet more than any other group of people disagree with one another.

But when I do cardio, I sometimes do it in the morning on an empty stomach and I take amino acid pills just so I know I'm not burning my muscles and I'm burning fat.