We all were used to working out empty stomach until one day experts led us to a health advice that wasn’t known to many for the longest time – that of eating before a
workout
(remember all the listicles you keep coming across about the best foods to eat before a workout?). Well, we all may have got accustomed to eating banana, overnight oats or an apple before a workout but is it really necessary if your goal is
weight loss
and not maintenance or bulking up? Science says that fasted cardio is better for losing weight. We tell you how!
Your body rests and rejuvenates overnight and when you wake up in the morning, your metabolism is ticking. So when you workout right after waking up (without eating anything) your body doesn’t have enough glucose reserve to burn and so it turns to fat. As a result, your body burns more fat than glucose.
Some studies have also gone ahead to prove that fasted cardio not only helps in fat burn but also impacts the body’s ability on a molecular as well as genetic level.
But there is a catch to it! You cannot fool your body for too long and experts fear that in extreme cases it may go to the extreme of burning protein for faster recovery. The results of most studies who favour fasted cardio have only studied its short term effects and so it is difficult to say if it is as effective in the long term.
A study in 2014 studied two groups of women, one who exercised on empty stomach and the other who ate something before a workout. They both did the same amount of workout and in the end, both groups lost almost the same amount of weight.
So yes, if you are looking for short terms gains, you can try fasted cardio for a brief period to boost fat burn. But it may not work in the long run.
So do you workout empty stomach or have a pre workout snack?
Courtesy by : timesofindia
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