Introduction
What’s the best time to work out? The easiest and most common answer is morning, but that’s not always ideal (or possible) for everyone—especially those with busy work or school schedules. If you’re like me and have trouble getting up early to go to the gym, then it might be time to reevaluate your morning workout routine!
Breakfast – The First Meal of the Day
Breakfast is generally thought of as being one of, if not THE most important meal of your day. However, many fitness professionals and other experts are now saying that it’s okay to skip it and that there is a benefit in doing so (there’s even a name for it – breakfast skipping). In fact, some fitness professionals say that exercising on an empty stomach will lead to higher levels of fat-burning (more on that later).
Workout on an Empty Stomach
Everyone knows that to build muscle and burn fat, you need to eat a healthy diet rich in nutrients. A cup of fruit and yogurt for breakfast, a tuna sandwich for lunch, grilled chicken with some veggies for dinner—that kind of thing. But did you know that eating before or after exercise isn’t necessarily better than exercising on an empty stomach? In fact, many bodybuilders have changed their views on pre-workout nutrition because recent studies suggest that consuming food before working out can negatively affect your workout performance. Pre-workout meals take time to digest and absorb into your bloodstream. That means there’s a lag between when you consume your food and when it hits your muscles—which leads to reduced workout performance.
Is Working Out on an Empty Stomach Safe?
At first glance, it makes sense to work out on an empty stomach. After all, if you don’t have any food in your system, how much could a little bit of exercise hurt? Actually, that’s a myth. Not eating before exercising is a recipe for disaster and can be quite dangerous. Plus, research has shown that eating before you work out maybe just as good—if not better—for weight loss and overall health.
How do professional athletes do it?
If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s a good idea to consider eating earlier in your day. It might sound counterintuitive, but studies show that people who eat more frequently consume fewer calories than those who skimp on meals. Consuming smaller amounts of food throughout the day also keeps energy levels high and our metabolisms humming along at a steady pace. For most people, that means three squares or four-to-five mini-meals spread evenly throughout each day.
Isn’t skipping breakfast bad for your metabolism?
While it is true that skipping meals can slow down your metabolism, working out early in a fasted state won’t necessarily hurt it. If anything, exercising in a fasted state has been shown to increase fat burning. Researchers put people on a low-calorie diet for 4 days and then had they cycle intensely for 1 hour. One group ate 30 grams of protein immediately before working out, one group ate 30 grams after their workout, and one group didn’t eat at all. Those who ate before exercising lost more weight than those who didn’t eat before exercising and both groups lost more weight than those who didn’t eat anything at all!
Will I be able to think clearly after working out on an empty stomach?
That depends on how long your workout is and what kind of fuel you bring with you. If your workout is longer than an hour, however, it’s probably not a good idea to work out on an empty stomach. There’s a chance that blood sugar levels could drop too low, resulting in dizziness and decreased energy levels. Remember, we are talking about working out for extended periods of time. The idea here is to provide optimal energy for your muscles—and skipping meals (and especially breakfast) can put a damper on that. Aside from exercise-induced hypoglycemia, it may also make sense to avoid training on an empty stomach if nutrition is important to overall health goals.
Benefits of workout on an empty stomach?
Research has shown that exercising in a fasted state leads to greater weight loss than exercising with fuel in your system. This is because, firstly, exercise puts your body in a ‘catabolic’ state where it breaks down fat to use as energy. Secondly, when you work out while fasting, your body actually burns more calories because it has no readily available energy source (like glycogen). This means that both fat and muscle are burned for energy . . . at an increased rate! There are several reasons why working out on an empty stomach is beneficial: You burn more fat by exercising after not eating for several hours You build muscle faster because there’s less insulin floating around Your metabolic rate will increase for several hours after exercising on an empty stomach.
How to Start Working Out On an Empty Stomach
Now, I’m not saying that exercising on an empty stomach is a new thing—I’m sure many of us have exercised in such a state at one point or another. However, in my experience, doing so can be highly uncomfortable and even dangerous to our health. Here are ways working out on an empty stomach could hurt your health: Sore Muscles: If you exercise too hard when your body isn’t properly fueled, it could cause undue stress on your muscles and increase muscle soreness—which could lead to pain and injury.
Conclusion
When trying to gain weight and build muscle, your body needs calories. Contrary to popular belief, however, these calories don’t have to come from a big breakfast in order for you to put on lean mass. The truth is that there are many benefits to working out in a fasted state, including increased lipolysis (the breakdown of fat) and greater focus during your workout. This can help maximize your training sessions—which can lead to better results in less time.
