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Exercising before breakfast helps you lose fat

post #1 of 26
12/15/10 at 12:32pm
Thread Starter 
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/1...ore-breakfast/ I'm guessing it doesn't help with putting on muscle but what do I know.
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post #2 of 26
12/15/10 at 4:24pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by haganah View Post
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/1...ore-breakfast/

I'm guessing it doesn't help with putting on muscle but what do I know.

Interesting piece, I have done it both ways and now I eat a small breakfast before hitting the gym in the morning. I found I lift a lot better and cardio is about the same. I found I was dragging while working out on an empty stomach.

Breakfast for me is one slice of toast, small glass of OJ, large glass of water, one cup of coffee black and an orange.
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post #3 of 26
12/15/10 at 6:15pm
This has been well-documented for a long time. Generally, however, it pertains to aerobic exercise like running. I wouldn't lift early in the morning and on an empty stomach.
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post #4 of 26
12/16/10 at 12:18am
I have zero appetite when I wake up... I can barely stomach half a slice of toast let alone eat a meal... and I feel that way for the first 2 or 3 hours of the day... the only way I can wake up hungry enough to eat a breakfast is if I go to bead hungry. I'm curious to know how others can do it.
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post #5 of 26
12/16/10 at 12:34am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Svenn View Post
I have zero appetite when I wake up... I can barely stomach half a slice of toast let alone eat a meal... and I feel that way for the first 2 or 3 hours of the day... the only way I can wake up hungry enough to eat a breakfast is if I go to bead hungry. I'm curious to know how others can do it.

We do it by being normal mmmm an egg and cheese sandwich with a tall glass of orange juice...try it and you'll be normal too.
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post #6 of 26
12/16/10 at 4:43pm
This idea has been around for a while. It's kind of a fad idea though and most sensible nutritionists and trainers don't really support it.

Exercising on an empty stomach can easily result in more muscle loss than fat loss unless you're working at a very low intensity (no more than 120 bpm for most people). Working any harder than this will require more calories per minute than the body is able to supply from fat stores, and since you have little to no glycogen reserves first thing in the morning, your body will turn to the only remaining available source of energy: amino acids (muscle tissue). This will be especially true if you exercise for more than 30 minutes.

Not saying cardio before breakfast is a bad thing, but cardio done with some glycogen reserves will allow you to train at a higher intensity and for a longer period of time with less risk of tapping into your amino acid stores and burning off precious muscle tissue.
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post #7 of 26
12/16/10 at 4:53pm
I lift on an empty stomach (just a cup of black coffee) all the time. I haven't found any loss of strength when compared to when I used to lift after breakfast. It takes some getting used to though.
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post #8 of 26
12/17/10 at 12:29am
StyleForum always teaches calories in, calories out. I have been mislead.
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post #9 of 26
12/17/10 at 2:10am
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Originally Posted by AB01 View Post
StyleForum always teaches calories in, calories out. I have been mislead.

How so?
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post #10 of 26
12/17/10 at 2:23am
I don't like to eat before I work out. I actually do better with just coffee, as a poster above me said. Breakfast can make me feel sluggish and unmotivated. I don't have trouble building muscle, but I eat a lot of protein the rest of the time.
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post #11 of 26
12/17/10 at 2:29am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Joycehardin View Post
Usually, if you are try to lose weight, you should work on an empty stomach, so that your body uses your fat for energy instead of food that is in your stomach. Exercising before breakfast is nothing but, another tactic to increase the effectiveness of your workout to burn fat.

absurd re:before breakfast.

sacrifice muscle for minimal weight = fat skinny.

think about it - you have already deprived your body for ~8 hrs of H2O and nutrients...dont prolong the torture. this is assuming a logical diet the previous evening.

i fell to the hype and lost "weight" by AM cardio training on empty. the only thing i really lost was muscle. never again.

a scoop of whey w/ H2O or FF milk before AM cardio is the easiest way to go. add many carbs and at least 30 min. if you are hitting the iron first thing.
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post #12 of 26
12/17/10 at 11:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by shanker View Post
absurd re:before breakfast.

sacrifice muscle for minimal weight = fat skinny.

think about it - you have already deprived your body for ~8 hrs of H2O and nutrients...dont prolong the torture. this is assuming a logical diet the previous evening.

i fell to the hype and lost "weight" by AM cardio training on empty. the only thing i really lost was muscle. never again.

a scoop of whey w/ H2O or FF milk before AM cardio is the easiest way to go. add many carbs and at least 30 min. if you are hitting the iron first thing.

So much broscience in 1 post....

Your muscles are not going to wither away because you haven't fed it nutrients for 8 hours. That statement reflects a basic lack of understanding of protein synthesis but is one of the key tenets of broscience ' "I woke up in the middle of the night to have a casein shake bro... didn't want to starve my muscles for 8 hours..."

Morning cardio does work.. in fact Lyle's Stubborn Fat Solution has morning cardio (intervals) as a key component.

And you don't need to eat before working out. If that feels best to you, by all means do so, but it is not a requirement. Martin Berkhan recommends some BCAAs during his early morning fasted workout protocol, but he particularly warns against consuming anything else. And if anyone walks the walk, it's Martin.
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post #13 of 26
12/17/10 at 12:37pm
broscience...lol...do you read Alan Aragon? He uses that term a lot. I'm a big fan.

I think people that are proponents of eating before working out need to either read some physiology and biochemistry textbooks or read some published literature (I am referring to peer reviewed literature in reputable science and medical journals). Look up things such as human metabolism, glucose transport, insulin sensitivity, fasted state, fed state, and thermogenics to name a few. And once you read as much as you can about those, you'll have a better idea of what else to search for.

People need to educate themselves and break out of this "broscience" mindset that the uneducated propagandists push out. The body is an intricate machine. Learn how it works before regurgitating blanket statements that others pass as "science."

In short, working out on empty stomach > eating before working out generally speaking
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post #14 of 26
12/17/10 at 12:41pm
Tangentially related, but I do not like eating before participating in sports (touch football; hockey) if I can avoid it. Just feels gross.
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post #15 of 26
12/17/10 at 1:14pm
Well ya, most of those involve running from place to place. Gymbros loooove to eat before, during, after, throughout, and while working out because they mostly stand around doing curls or checking themselves out in the mirror.
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