Will exercising on an empty stomach helps lose weight?

Answer 1

Well…as a personal fitness trainer and marathon runner, I can help you here.

But the answer is not as simply and straightforward as one might think.

So…….quick answer is: Yeah, it is usually better to work-out on an empty stomach than a full one. As a full belly does two negative things: It diverts blood AWAY from the muscles that you are exerting during your workout, as it needs this blood for digestive purposes.

TWO: a full stomach can slow you down and render you unable to perform to your maximal ability. This is pretty much common sense.

But we do have a couple caveats here. One is, you do not want to be so hungry during your workout that you begin feeling peckish, or jittery, or even have a growling stomach. These conditions will also inhibit performance.

Two…if your workout is an intensive run, say, a long run, a lengthy hike, even a Basketball or soccer game, being too bereft of nourishment will cause you to simply run out of fuel. You will enter a stage called glycogen depletion, where your muscles are not getting the fuel they need in order to to work. When food breaks down and is metabolized, it is converted to glycogen in the blood. This is an awful lot like gasoline for your car. In other words, your “engine” needs it.

But a regular, say, 45-minute or one hour gym exercise of your usual intensity and duration on an empty stomach will not harm you at all. It is a myth that your body begins to “eat muscle” during a workout if you are hungry. It takes a LOT more of a workout than an hour in the gym or a 30-minute run to do that. Rather, you would need to engage in a marathon-type endeavor. Which is 26.2 miles. Or think of it in time, about 3–4 hours.

So, like many things in life…moderation is the key. The middle way is the best! Have a light snack about an hour before your workout. This way you will not be hungry or interrupted by a restless belly, and you will also have sufficient fuel in your tank.

Then, After the workout, you pretty much have the green light. Go ahead and eat a good meal. A 2–1 combo of carbos to protein is best for most of us. And more good news” after a good workout, one where you have archived your target heart-rate (220-your age, then 75% of that number), you have a nice little “freebie” window of time. This, where your body’s metabolism is still ramped up a bit, and you will burn off calories at a faster rate than when you are sedentary after a meal. IOW: it is the ideal time to splurge on that banana-chocolate-peanut butter smoothie, or that foot long subway meatball sandwich!

Answer 2

No; however, working out on an empty stomach, will help your body to burn fat.