Home > Good Form > Archives > 2006 > October > 23 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USWeight Loss and Fitness Myth #8: Exercise on an Empty Stomach in the Morning will Help You Burn more Fat
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A while back, a study demonstrated that cardiovascular exercise on an empty stomach in the morning can help you burn more calories. The only problem is that the “extra” calories used was so minimal that it was really considered to be invalid evidence. (Unfortunately, this lead to another myth that stated your metabolism is higher in the morning than any other time of day. Well, that’s not true either. If anything, it would be at it’s lowest considering you have been sleeping for a few hours. I’ll talk about this more another time.)
Here lies the other problem. Nothing was mentioned as to where do the calories come from. If you recall in myth #4 (aerobic exercise will burn the most fat), you can potential utilize muscle protein as a source of energy. (I bet you remembered didn’t you?) This is what you want to avoid, as muscle is the only physical location that utilizes fat as energy. The only way to insure this doesn’t happen is to eat.
This is the reason why we call our first meal in the morning- breakfast. You are breaking your fast from sleep. It is important to eat to sustain muscle and give you the energy you need to get going for the day.
Now, if you are thinking you have to eat a gigantic breakfast before exercise that is not the case. If you have to do your exercise in the early morning hours, all you have to do is eat an easily digestible carbohydrate such as oatmeal or cream of wheat. After you are done exercising, be sure to eat again and combine it with a lean protein source such as chicken or turkey bacon. If it needs to be faster than that, then consider getting some protein powder or reevaluate your lifestyle.
For some extra motivation for you, studies demonstrate conclusively that eating first thing in the morning helps you regulate meals and snacks better throughout the rest of the day. It also demonstrates that you are less likely to have those latter day food overloads. So, please, for your own sake eat breakfast.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: General Fitness
Comments
By Fall Line
October 23, 2006 09:03 AM | Link to this
The absolute key to weight loss is metabolic shift. To lose weight and keep it off you need to increase muscle mass through exercise and diet. There is no other way. That means weight training for body strength and aerobic exercise (moving the large muscles) for endurance. I notice that the gym is most crowded on Monday mornings. Where are you the rest of the week? You need lots of protein to build muscle mass and carbohydrates for stamina.
By muffin
October 23, 2006 11:21 AM | Link to this
i can’t eat breakfast. it makes my stomach hurt if i eat within a couple of hours of waking up. don’t ask me why.
By Lisa
October 23, 2006 12:14 PM | Link to this
I have also read that breakfast can “jump start” your metabolism. I can’t eat right away, but always eat a source of lean protein and complex carb within 2 hours of waking. Fortunatley, I don’t exercise right away. Regarding the “metabolic shift”, I had always believed that to be true. However, while attending a conference this past summer, I brought that up to a dietitian who also happens to be an exercise specialist (works at Cooper Clinic). She said that the amount of strength training needed to achieve that is actually quite large, meaning the average public will not be able to achieve it. This surprised me, but it was corroborated by all the speakers. I have always believed that the best way to lose weight is to create that boring old calorie deficit.
By Jason
October 23, 2006 12:15 PM | Link to this
I use to skip breakfast most days. I just didn’t have time in the morning to eat before heading off to work. At best I might grab a breakfest bar before heading out the door but it never seemed to do much good. More often I ended up buying whatever was in the vending machine at work.
Two things that helped me get breakfast everyday: 1) I got a job near home. Work is a five minute walk and a five minute MARTA ride away. Not spending two or more hours per day in the car commuting has given me time to eat breakfest, get some exercise, and enjoy life with less stress. 2) I bought a fuzzy logic rice cooker with a timer feature. These things not only will cook rice but they also do oatmeals and porridges. I throw all the ingredients in before bed and when I wake up in the morning there is a hot breakfest waiting for me with no time spent fixing it during those important “getting ready” minutes.
I started a diet around the time I started eating breakfest everyday. I’ve lost close to twenty pounds (mostly fat) and am on track to make my thirty pound goal by the end of the year. I could have never made it if I was starving at lunch (leading to poor food choices and portion control) and spending time stressing in traffic instead of using it to make a healthy meal for dinner.
By frank123
October 23, 2006 12:27 PM | Link to this
If I eat in the morning, I have the desire to eat again at 10 am. If I don’t eat I can wait until 12 or 2 pm.
By nutri gal
October 23, 2006 12:32 PM | Link to this
I love all this traditional wisdom from nutrition know-it-alls. For me, I can end up binging my head off after a very nice and healthy breakfast, and on a day without breakfast I can eat a perfectly normal lunch and dinner. I eat when I’m hungry but I do not force myself to eat if I’m not. I exercise at any time without paying attention to what I have/haven’t eaten and still lose weight. The key is actually DOING it. If I’ve overindulged, I underindulge for a while. And I ALWAYS stick to my exercise routine. And I’m 58. I do NOT buy into the myth about getting fat after meno. At least one doesn’t HAVE to; IF one is willing to exercise and change at least a few of her eating habits.
By swimgym
October 23, 2006 02:55 PM | Link to this
Kelly, you are over-analyzing this. Why don’t you just do your own real-time comparison? I did, and I was surprised.
I’m a lifelong afternoon-evening exerciser who has never been a morning person. In Jan. of 2005, for a period of about 90 days, it became necessary for me to bite the bullet and do my workouts at 6:30 a.m. four days a week, instead of at my usual 6:30pm or 8:00pm times on four evenings a week. My workout routine (running and swimming laps for total of 1 hour each day) did not change.
I was not trying to lose weight, and my diet did not change. What happened? I lost five pounds by “accident!”
The only explanation I could see was that exercising in the morning did seem to “jump-start” my metabolism, or somehow made it easier to burn some excess fat using the same amount of effort it took to just maintain my weight with evening workouts.
So you should do your own experiment. You will benefit no matter what your “test” determines.