Sooo confused. Exercise before or after breakfast?

[cozmo999]

I like to exercise in the morning as it gets me awake, energetic and feeling brighter.

now, i have read exercising before breakfast is great cos your body will burn fat after the night's fast. I have also read this is a myth and that after the glycogen stores are metabolised, we start to metabolise muscle mass.

I tried going on the treadmill today before breakfast and experience fatigue and couldn't do as much or as long a workout as I usually do.


Then i read that whether you burn muscle or fat is more to do with the mode, intensity, and type of exercise and it is beneficial doing exercise before breakfast.

Now, can anyone help explain? I'd really appreciate it

 

[pleiades]

I like to exercise in the morning too. In my experience:
1) Any exercise at any time is better than none at all.
2) For me personally, I find that exercising in the morning regulates and reduces my appetite and cravings throughout the day. I eat less if I exercise first thing.
3) I have also experienced good results exercising at other times in the day in terms of weight loss and improved fitness, but I personally feel hungrier if I exercise in the afternoon or evening than if I exercise in the morning.
4) With the exception of swimming, which I can only do on a totally empty stomach or it makes me nauseous, I HAVE to eat something small - i.e. a slice of malt loaf, half a banana, before doing any exercise in the morning, whether it's cardio (i.e. running) or weights. Otherwise I underperform and feel very fatigued. I also eat a proper breakfast after exercising in the morning, within 45 minutes of finishing, around 300kcal with carbs and protein.

There is a lot of conflicting information out there about exercising at different times for different reasons, but as far as I understand it, I think as long as calories in < calories out and you are eating enough and exercising regularly, you ought to see results regardless of when you're exercising! And you WILL burn fat by eating less and exercising more - and hopefully, exercising while dieting will help you to preserve your lean tissue and encourage your body to burn mostly fat rather than mostly muscle. Don't neglect resistance workouts as well as cardio. Good luck and I hope this is helpful...any inaccuracies, do feel free to let me know. x

 

[HaileyJ]

In the morning, before you eat anything, your body is in a perfect state to burn fat, and sadly, muscle. The benefit is high, but the risk is high too.

If you're just doing cardio, you can reduce the risk by consuming a small protein-only meal (I like liquid protein) with no carbs. This is believed to suppress cortisol and prevent muscle-breakdown. High benefit, with moderate risk.

 

[PLB]

Hey cozmo,

There is definitely a lot of conflicting information out there regarding exercising before eating. I can't give you a definitive answer on this topic, other than until there is a more clear answer out there, it is mostly personal preference. Most of the studies that I've read have found that eating in a fasted state (usually before breakfast) does result in a greater proportion of fat calories burned. However, performance usually declines due to the lack of readily available glucose (from carbohydrates). This indicates that exercising before eating breakfast might be a good way to burn fat, but it is not a good way to train if you are training for an event, or trying to improve any aspect of your performance. It's quite common for people to feel fatigued or dizzy - this is from the reduce amount of 'quick' energy and could also be due to dehydration.

It is up to you whether or not you exercise before eating breakfast, but be aware that you may not be able to do the same amount as what you would normally do.