fasted cardio

How many of you do fasted cardio? How many of you do it because you've read that it burns MORE fat?

I have done fasted cardio in the past. I bought into a program that assured me it would burn up to 300% more fat to do my cardio in a fasted state - or, first thing in the morning.

Well, you better believe I jumped on that bandwagon! Even though I hated it. I don't particularily care for cardio. And I really don't enjoy it on an empty stomach. But I tried it. And never saw any measurable results from it.

I had read yet another book that suggested not only should I do cardio fasted, but that I should even do my weight training first thing in the morning on an empty stomach! This seemed incredibly absurd to me. How could anyone train heavy without eating first?? Well, I tried that too. Once. And I didn't even make it through the whole session.

Fasted cardio was supposed to be such a great way to burn fat. It was thought that because you don't have carbs readily available to burn, your body would take energy strictly from fat stores. Not the case, according to an article on Bodybuilding.com.

Not only do the benefits of eating before training out weigh the so-called benefits of fasting, the logic of cardio done in a fasted state seems flawed. Many factors determine which fuel stores the body will tap into at any given time. It's not simply one source or the other.

As far as studies go, research has suggested that unless you are planning to do cardio for an hour and a half, your fat loss will be no greater on an empty stomach than a fed one.

From an exercise perspective, it's far better to eat before workouts. If you try to do high intesity exercise on an empty stomach, your performance will suffer. And if your goal is muscle growth, eating is especially important. Fasting just sets you up for muscle loss.

I eat when I get up in the morning so I get my metabolism fired up right away. And an hour later, I hit the gym. In fact, I eat breakfast, then I drink a protein shake on the way to the gym and have another one immediately following my workout. And I have tons of energy to make it through my workouts.