Why is fat burnt quicker when you exercise first thing in the morning?

[Raoul Duke]

Anyone know?

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

It is because you do not have lots of carbohydrate stores as you have not eaten since the day before or at least not much, so your body taps in to the fat stores instead.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Can also tap into muscle depending on metabolism etc, but mainly low-intensity cardio on empty is fuelled by the Free Fatty Acids in the bloodstream, rather than glycogen stores (which are depleted after sleep, even more so if you had no carbs the previous evening/afternoon).

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

but make sure you do have breakfast for serious excersize. Right now my muscles can store enough carbs to keep me going for a few hours but one time after not cycling a few weeks i get on my bike and go for a normal hard ride. I had breakfast but for some reason took very little food with me and had ran out of energy drink so had to take water.

I was going strong the whole way and then 35km in i suddenly go form great to increadibly weak and with in 5km i passout for a while.

 

[Raoul Duke]

So is it worth eating breakfast before or after, say, a 3 mile jog?

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

just eat a bit before, as i would not try to excersize with out breakfast, make sure you have at least water with you, if you have a normal breakfast dont eat after unless its a hard run and oyu need the energy.

This may not be the most effective way but you do not want to start excerszing with out eating, if you can mange to, you are obviously not trying hard enough!

 

[Warboss Alex]

Are your goals to burn fat or improve athletic perfomance?

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
Are your goals to burn fat or improve athletic perfomance?

it does not matter which one it is because the more intense you excersize the more fat you burn, so either way it should be intense and for that you do not do it on a completly empty stomach.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Originally posted by check_mate_kid_uk
it does not matter which one it is because the more intense you excersize the more fat you burn, so either way it should be intense and for that you do not do it on a completly empty stomach.

I don't agree.

I asked the question for a reason.

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
I don't agree.

I asked the question for a reason.

well then why do you think it makes a diffrence, either way you should work as hard as you can, and there for either way you should eat before hand. I guess if its for psort you will try that extra bit harder but still if you are trying hard enough you need to eat before hand either way, if im wrong your going to have to give me a reason why because im pretty sure im right os just telling me im wrong isnt going to change my oppinion.

 

[harwell]

Originally posted by check_mate_kid_uk
well then why do you think it makes a diffrence, either way you should work as hard as you can, and there for either way you should eat before hand. I guess if its for psort you will try that extra bit harder but still if you are trying hard enough you need to eat before hand either way, if im wrong your going to have to give me a reason why because im pretty sure im right os just telling me im wrong isnt going to change my oppinion.

check_mate_kid_uk:

You eat a nice breakfast and that what your body's going to be using for energy. Why would your body burn extra fat stores over all that free glucose that's floating around in your blood or waiting to be polymerized (i guess that's the right word) into glycogen? That's why you don't eat.

This applys to a low intensity CARDIO session only (when you're not tearing down muscle that has to be rebuilt)! Lifting weights on an empty stomach is just muscle suicide plain and simple.

I also don't believe you have to be going 100% to get results doing cardio (unless your goal is performance, I was refering to lossing fat.) Just keeping your heart rate elevated for an extended period of time is enough. I mean that's all cardio is about, right? Heart rate?

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

you should always be going all out because higher intensity means more calories burnt means more fat lost.

Your body uses a high percentage of fat then glycogen at low intensity, as you increase intensity the ratio changes and more glycogen is used, but because the total expenditure rises so much you are still burning a higher absolute amount of fat at a high intensity.

Another good thing about high intensity is that for a few hours after excersize your motabilism is very high. Us cyclists call it 'the window' and use it to stock back up on those carbs we have just burnt, but in weight loss it is equaly helpfull for loosing weight.

If you look at things on an extreme scale, watching tv is a low intensity excersize because you are buring calories after all. So why not watch TV its because it does not burn enough! If you look in book or internet they will probably say cycling burns maybe 250 calories an hour making it better then the majority of other sports for weight loss, yet this isthe calorie loss at a normal pace, when i ride hard i am burning 700+ calories an hour, what is going to burn more fat then, cycling slow or cycling fast over x distance or x time.

 

[harwell]

Originally posted by check_mate_kid_uk
you should always be going all out because higher intensity means more calories burnt means more fat lost.

More calories doesn't equal fat calories... the more intense and longer your workouts last the more of a chance for your muscles to become your fuel. Lossing fat isn't about how many calories you can burn doing an exercise... its about your metabolism and keeping it elevated, which can be done just fine with a stationary bike and about 30-45 min. Of course the MAJORITY of your fat loss will be a direct result of your diet. It doesn't matter how long and intense your workouts last, if your not eating a reduced number of calories your not going to loss weight/fat period. (Eating 5-6x / day definitely helps keep the metabolism up when "dieting," compared to only 3.)

Your body uses a high percentage of fat then glycogen at low intensity, as you increase intensity the ratio changes and more glycogen is used, but because the total expenditure rises so much you are still burning a higher absolute amount of fat at a high intensity.

Another good thing about high intensity is that for a few hours after excersize your motabilism is very high. Us cyclists call it 'the window' and use it to stock back up on those carbs we have just burnt, but in weight loss it is equaly helpfull for loosing weight.

I, for the most part, agree with what you're saying but you do get the same elevated metabolic rate with low intensity exercise hours after your workout just as you do with high intensity, although it might not be as long.

If you look at things on an extreme scale, watching tv is a low intensity excersize because you are buring calories after all. So why not watch TV its because it does not burn enough! If you look in book or internet they will probably say cycling burns maybe 250 calories an hour making it better then the majority of other sports for weight loss, yet this isthe calorie loss at a normal pace, when i ride hard i am burning 700+ calories an hour, what is going to burn more fat then, cycling slow or cycling fast over x distance or x time.

First off, watching tv is not exercising in ANY sense of the word.

Secondly, you do burn calories wathcing tv, but then again you're always burning calories. If you're alive...your burning calories.

Once again I think your confusing burning calories to fat loss. Just because your working out hard, doesn't mean your burning/losing fat. Fatloss is about your metabolism, which you control mostly through your diet. I know tons of people who play sports/workout all the time. That equals a lot of calories being burnt, yet none of them have a six pack. Why? The only thing I can conclude is that the percentage of those fat calories they were burning wasn't that high after all....

 

[diablo]

DR NICK CARR: If you increase the size of your muscles, you'll burn more calories every moment of the day. And can we get a fat burning advantage by selecting what time of day we exercise? Does getting in a jog or a few laps before breakfast make a difference?

DR DAVID CAMERON-SMITH: The time of day you exercise does impact on what you burn, but it doesn't impact a great deal. If you exercise in the morning, you don't have a lot of glycogen, that's glucose, stored in your muscle, so you do burn a little bit more fat. But if you can't get out of bed and you can't exercise 'cause it's cold, dark and wet, then that's not the best form of exercise for you. The best form of exercise is one that you can do every day.

DR NICK CARR: And is there a time of day we should eat that will help us to burn fat?

DR DAVID CAMERON-SMITH: We've evolved from hunters and gatherers who ate when they could get their food, so it doesn't matter what time of the day you eat, you store it just as efficiently and you metabolise it just as efficiently.

- http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_health/Transcripts/s917465.htm

 

[Warboss Alex]

DR NICK CARR: And is there a time of day we should eat that will help us to burn fat?

DR DAVID CAMERON-SMITH: We've evolved from hunters and gatherers who ate when they could get their food, so it doesn't matter what time of the day you eat, you store it just as efficiently and you metabolise it just as efficiently.

That's as may be - but that's talking about eating, not cardio: low intensity cardio before breakfast will burn more fat than the same cardio in the evening say, simply because of glycogen depletion.

Check_mate_kid, going all out on cardio will destroy fat, recovery times AND probably muscle mass. I'd rather keep my muscle and 'cut' over a longer period of time than going all out and having to drop 50% of my squat weight.

I also agree with the poster who suggested that an elevated metabolism throughout the day through food, activity, green tea, eating protein first, whatever, will help determine fat loss. We bodybuilders should have an overall goal of turning our bodies into food processors.

Furthermore, I'll reiterate what I believe I've posted somewhere on these boards before: weight loss is NOT the same as fat loss. You can be in a calorific deficit and gain bodyfat, and be in a calorific surplus and lose bodyfat.

I personally would NOT want to burn 800 calories a day through cardio, that might be 20% of my daily energy needs, therefore I'd be operating at 80% efficiency in my working life, daily activities and workouts. I'd rather keep my 'balls-to-the-wall' intensity for the weights room.

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

harwell although you are right high intensity excerise burns muscles it will still burn more fat then low intensity.

35-40 min of light excersize will not raise your motabilism by much at all, for a start it takes at leats 1 hour and secondly that is refering im quite sure, to higher intensity excersize.

I must remind you it has been proven in labs that although the % of energy used form fat falls as intensity rises, the total amount used from fat increases.

These people who play sports, well maybe htey eat a lot i eat a lot, and maybe they do not excersize there abbs as it does take some excersize to make them show.

 

[Sh0t]

It's mostly a "legend" but the glycogen depletion idea is plausible, but it's not really that simple.

HOwever, one serious benefit to do exercise early in the morning is it raises your metabolism for the rest of the day. So instead of 8 hours of a raised metabolism by doing it at noon, you get 14 hours by doing it at 6am, etc.

Slo-mo cardio only elevates your metabolism seriously for about an hour or two after the exercise, but something like wind sprints would do this for about 8-12 hours.

You can easily prevent exercise from burning muscle by consuming protein during the exercise to keep your amino acid pool full.

Overall, the amount of calories burned DURING the exercise is not the critical issue. The all-day effect is what should be considered primarily.

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

Originally posted by Sh0t
HOwever, one serious benefit to do exercise early in the morning is it raises your metabolism for the rest of the day.

Yes if you went to sleep right after excersize your motabilism will be as high but assuming you are not going to and it is a choice weather to do it at 5pm or 11am then that will not make a diffrence because your motabilism will drop down to normal with in a few hours.

 

[Sh0t]

That depends on the activity, as i mentioned

 

[check_mate_kid_uk]

Originally posted by Sh0t
That depends on the activity, as i mentioned

whilst intense excersize will defintly increase your motabilism for longer it will not be much higher for 10 hours maybe still slightly higher as muscles are being rebuilt but it will be near normal with in a few hours.