Do you eat before your workouts?
I was asked the same questions twice in one week from new clients this week, so that warrants an ‘every day is a school day' blog!
The question was:
Should I eat before my workouts?
I am going to change the question slightly to answer it, to:
Does fasted exercise boost fat loss?
…because that is often the real question that is being asked!
According to many fitness ‘experts' the answer is yes.
They claim that you burn more fat on an empty stomach due to reduced insulin and glycogen levels.
But is that true?
Well, data shows that you indeed do use more fat for fuel if you work out fasted – for example, if you train in the morning after an overnight fast.
But the fact that you burn more fat DURING your workout doesn't mean you'll lose more fat OVERALL.
A study by Paoli et al. (2011) found that if you burn more of one substrate during a training session (in this case fatty acids), you'll burn less of it over the next twenty-four hours.
In other words, your metabolism will compensate for the increased fat burning later in the day.
As a result, you'll burn the same amount of fat over a twenty-four-hour period whether you work out fasted or not.
Another study concluded: “fasted compared to fed exercise does not increase the amount of weight and fat mass loss.”
In addition, the researchers also noted: “weight loss and fat loss from exercise is more likely to be enhanced through creating a meaningful caloric deficit over a period of time, rather than exercising in fasted or fed states.”
That ^^^ above is KEY.
Here is what I recommend you do…
What you do over time is FAR more important that worrying about whether you should train fasted or not!
Don't worry about whether you should do your workout in a fed or fasted state. Both are equally effective for fat loss.
Some people, however, exercise better if they consume something before their workout.
In that case, it's better to train in a fed state.
Rather than worry about this, get your nutrition in check, such as by being in a calorie deficit and consuming enough protein on a daily basis.
If you want to ensure you get the results you want, tracking your calories and protein is crucial.
We have two mantras at Plan B Fitness:
1. If you are not assessing, you are guessing.
2. What gets measured, gets managed.
Do you feel like your results have stalled a bit recently, or worse, your weight/waist measurements are trending up?
My first question back to this comment is ALWAYS…
Can you tell me how many grams of protein you ate yesterday?
If you are not assessing you are guessing.
Let's chat…
If you would like to have a obligation free chat about how to improve your nutrition and do the right exercise for your goal… consistently, you can book in for a call using the link below:
https://planbfitness.co.uk/letschat
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P.S. How much protein was/is in your lunch today?
P.P.S. Is you are not assessing, you're guessing! 😉