Fasting Workouts

[Steve91]

Evening all!

I go to the gym after work fairly often (mainly cardio with some resistance thrown in) but a change in circumstances mean it's now more practicable to go before work, kinda around 6am. I've been toying with the idea of going before breakfast and eating at work, to try and encourage fat burning (as that's mainly what I'm working towards) but I've seen plenty of contradicting information on the net as to the benefits of working out on an empty stomach. I just wanted to know if anyone here has any experience of doing it or advice of their own?

Cheers!

[Pickled Piper]

Yep, I used intermittent fasting (I.A) over a period of several weeks. I would skip my conventional breakfast, but have plenty of fluids; black tea and coffee. I would then work out in a fasted state. The body fat loss was very noticeable during each workout. I couldn't identify any down sides. I would then have breakfast around mid day.

I found some youtube videos by Dr Berg very informative.

I will be back on the IA and gym routine once I've kicked the flu.

[Scabutz]

I've used fasted workouts as part of training for triathlon and weight loss. After a while you can go for ages. I can do 3 hour bike rides and 2 hour runs on an empty stomach now.

Have lost a lot of weight. No idea whether its down the fasted state or just calorie reduction but I get the result I want so who really cares why.

[LordGrover]

Fasted cardio probably okay.
Fasted weights not so much.

[rk176]

If i'm in the gym before work its fasted. If its the weekend I'll have a light breakfast as it opens at 8. don't notice much of a difference between the 2 but I'm only doing 45 minutes to and hour

[V8mate]

LordGrover said:

Fasted cardio probably okay.
Fasted weights not so much.

Spot on.

I actually enjoy cardio on an empty stomach (and I really hate cardio!)

But try deadlifting on an empty stomach and you'll have a head full of stars!

[dojo]

I go to the gym and do Cardio at 6am (10 hours in to my 16hour fast)

Works well. I normally have a black coffee with MCT oil about hour 13/14

I find works really well with a Keto diet.

[Halb]

Steve91 said:

Evening all!

I go to the gym after work fairly often (mainly cardio with some resistance thrown in) but a change in circumstances mean it's now more practicable to go before work, kinda around 6am. I've been toying with the idea of going before breakfast and eating at work, to try and encourage fat burning (as that's mainly what I'm working towards) but I've seen plenty of contradicting information on the net as to the benefits of working out on an empty stomach. I just wanted to know if anyone here has any experience of doing it or advice of their own?

Cheers!

I have a 14/10 eating window and train with an empty stomach all the time. It's fine.

[grumbledoak]

I'm keto and intermittent fasting, so 12-8pm eating window. I run 10km at 6am after only a coffee to help the, er, digestion. I haven't noticed any downside in the gym first thing either, though I'm not lifting huge weights.

[Halb]

OP, you may find this interesting.

Thomas DeLauer & Dr. Berg Collab: Health & Fitness Review of the Ketogenic Diet

24 mins
they chat about best exercises on keto and best time to eat etc
https://youtu.be/KUDNGOQaDaI
[/quote]

[quote=grumbledoak]I'm keto and intermittent fasting, so 12-8pm eating window. I run 10km at 6am after only a coffee to help the, er, digestion. I haven't noticed any downside in the gym first thing either, though I'm not lifting huge weights.
[/quote]

keto and IF, you must be a machine! How many grams of carbs are you on daily?

[dojo]

Halb said:

keto and IF, you must be a machine! How many grams of carbs are you on daily?

Keto lends itself to IF very well.

I'm on under 30g net carbs... Basically get your carbs from leafy greens and you're golden.

[grumbledoak]

Halb said:

keto and IF, you must be a machine! How many grams of carbs are you on daily?

Probably about 20g. I track it on and off, but mostly i just aim for none.

[bigweb]

I train reasonably early most mornings and then unless I have done legs I don't eat anything before 12pm. In the few weeks I have been doing this I have dropped a fair bit of fat from my belly.

Before this I would have always had a protein shake directly after which you would think wouldn't make much difference but it seems to

[Halb]

grumbledoak said:

Probably about 20g. I track it on and off, but mostly i just aim for none.

Do you ever have fruit or desserts?

[grumbledoak]

Halb said:

Do you ever have fruit or desserts?

Almost never. I don't miss the fruit. Most deserts are unpleasantly sweet to me these days, though I had a good panna cotta with raspberry coulis a few months back.

[ambuletz]

Steve91 said:

Evening all!
.....to try and encourage fat burning (as that's mainly what I'm working towards) but I've seen plenty of contradicting information on the net as to the benefits of working out on an empty stomach. I just wanted to know if anyone here has any experience of doing it or advice of their own?

Cheers!

It's all broscience nonsense. we are warm blooded and expend energy through acitivies and keeping our body warm enough to function and stay alive, its basic thermogenics. you want to lose weight then you burn more calories then you consume. the time of day you do your exercise is largely irrelevant. . if cardio in the morning on an empty stomach works for you then so be it, if it doesn't then try something else.

The thing to take home is do whatever works for you and you can do consistently as part of calorie defict.

[V8mate]

ambuletz said:

Steve91 said:

Evening all!
.....to try and encourage fat burning (as that's mainly what I'm working towards) but I've seen plenty of contradicting information on the net as to the benefits of working out on an empty stomach. I just wanted to know if anyone here has any experience of doing it or advice of their own?

Cheers!

It's all broscience nonsense. we are warm blooded and expend energy through acitivies and keeping our body warm enough to function and stay alive, its basic thermogenics. you want to lose weight then you burn more calories then you consume. the time of day you do your exercise is largely irrelevant. . if cardio in the morning on an empty stomach works for you then so be it, if it doesn't then try something else.

The thing to take home is do whatever works for you and you can do consistently as part of calorie defict.

I think you're over-simplifying the process. You're completey ignoring how the body chooses its energy source, based upon what is available and how quickly it is required.

[Crumpet]

V8mate said:

I think you're over-simplifying the process. You're completey ignoring how the body chooses its energy source, based upon what is available and how quickly it is required.

Definitely. And also hormonal factors which vary with time of day, whether you’ve eaten and whatnot. There’s way more to it than calories in, calories out.

[ShampooEfficient]

For me, no breakfast, little or no carbs before teatime, works for me - Ive lost half a stone over the last few weeks.
Whether that's down to the science of it, or because my overall calorie count is lower, couldn't say.

Usual day is black coffee for breakfast, tuna salad for breakfast, then spag bol or similar for tea. Very few sweet things, only a protein shake after my morning workout, usually.

[Halb]

Crumpet said:

V8mate said:

I think you're over-simplifying the process. You're completey ignoring how the body chooses its energy source, based upon what is available and how quickly it is required.

Definitely. And also hormonal factors which vary with time of day, whether you’ve eaten and whatnot. There’s way more to it than calories in, calories out.

And that's it in a nutshell, calories in/calories out is fine for heating a glass of water, not for the complex environment like a body.
We are our hormones, and our hormones are what we eat