Should I Workout on an Empty Stomach?

I was recording the audio version of my book, The Resiliency rEvolution, and I came across several tidbits that made me go “Oooh! People need to know this!”

Watch and learn whether you should workout on an empty stomach or not and get the most out of your workouts!

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COOL NUTRITION TIDBIT FROM BOOK

Many of us exercise to burn excess calories and build muscle mass—in addition to building resiliency to better deal with stress. Exercising on an empty stomach does the opposite. When we exercise without adequate glucose in the bloodstream, our primary fuel source becomes muscle mass. That’s right—we lose muscle and hold on to fat. Let’s do a quick refresher about why.

Without adequate glucose, the body goes into survival mode, which is fat-storage mode. As we already learned, the body wants to conserve precious energy during times of famine, and fat is a valuable source of stored energy. In order to preserve fat as a critical energy source, the body goes elsewhere to find energy when glucose is not available. The liver begins to break down muscle tissue into amino acids that can be reformulated into glucose (gluconeogenesis), providing fuel to the brain and body.

Being in fat-storage mode also means that when we do finally eat something, it’s more likely to be stored as fat so the body is prepared for the next famine. A study conducted by Dan Bernardot, PhD—professor of nutrition and director of the Laboratory for Elite Athlete Performance at Georgia State University—found that female runners and gymnasts who went long periods of time without eating had the highest percentage of body fat. They weren’t overweight, but they had more body fat than those who ate at more regular intervals. The longer they went between eating events, the higher their body fat tended to be, especially if they exercised during these periods of calorie deprivation. His research also found that athletes with erratic eating patterns experienced poorer performance and worse concentration than those who ate at regular intervals.

We need to realize that exercise increases the demand for energy. Large, sustained movement requires an increase in calories to provide adequate fuel for the muscles. Without sufficient energy, the body cannot perform at its best—it can only function in a state of stress. This translates to not being able to work out as hard as we want or as long as we want, which means we burn fewer calories and our exercise sessions lose efficiency and effectiveness.

IF WE’RE GOING TO FIND THE TIME TO EXERCISE, IT’S CRITICAL WE FUEL OUR BODY TO GAIN THE MAXIMUM BENEFITS FOR THE TIME WE INVEST!