The TRUTH About Empty Stomach Cardio

Excellent post – scientifically makes absolute sense BUT even so I just cannot train that way – can still manage eating before weight training but no ways when I’m doing cardio. Have tried to eat before a cardio workout and land up having to give up half way – nausea, cramps, body feels heavy and unco-operative, feel sluggish and cannot peform optimally! Scientifically that probably doesn’t make sense but it’s what I’ve found works for me! I guess that is at the end of the day what counts – whatever works for you as an individual.

hi,
I always work-out before I go to work, because I play or train my sport/game (badminton) in the evening. This means getting up early and then I can’t eat and if I do I have to wait at least an houre before working out or it will come up again, so I work-out on a empty stomach. But I am depleted after that and I do have to eat right after the training. maybe I should get up around 04:00 eat breakfast, get 2 houres sleep and start my morning training then? what do you think?

@David – I like David’s comment – how he describes what happens during a cardio workout definately works for me – I never feel energyless doing cardio on an empty stomach in fact I feel more energised as opposed to when I’ve eaten something – once I feel “woken up” I’m good to go and feel my body coping well with the cardio session – I just seem to perform so much better on an empty stomach……

i have to say you got this one right,me and my sis go to the gym together and like your friend she thought empty was better than breakfast untill one morning she got dizzy fainted and was so embarassed when our gym instructor asked what she ate for breakfast and her reply was nothing.so she got a bollocking for being stupid and told of the dangers of exercising on empty.a lesson she learned very quickly,and glad to tell everyone since she started eating breakfast her stamina has improved and her weight loss more even.ann

Hi, i still do my weight my exercise in the morning on empty stomach ,because I get up very early and I feel good doing it that way, if I eat ,first of all it is too early for me to eat, second I get stomach upset . I do it A.M. otherwise I would never have time later, interferes with my family routine and I find this is the only way I can stay committed: it is my private time! I hope I have not being doing wrong all these years.
thanks
josephine

I tend to do cardio first thing in the morning so I find it difficult to fit breakfast in beforehand, especially as I swim and eating so close to exercise could leave me cramping up. I havent noticed not eating affecting my performance but I do have a stubborn final layer of belly fat that I cant shift so I’m now torn between carrying on as I am or trying pre-workout nutrition to help get me out of my plateau

Joel,

My issue with eating before workout is that I get up at 5:30 everyday and begin my workout which includes cardio. I workout for an hour then eat and hit the shower. I am at work by 7:30 and usually don’t get home from work until 7:00.

I do not have the extra 1/2 hour in the morning to wait for food to start digesting.

Suggestions?

Thanks

Rick

I pretty much follow these rules:

-Always eat prior to weight-training
-Always eat prior to HIIT (Although I don’t really do a lot of HIIT beacuse it increases the risk of overtraining)
-Low/medium intensity cardio is okay on empty stomach.

Advantages of empty stomach morning cardio (low/med intensity):
– I can start almost as soon as I get out of bed (thereby saving 1/2 hour)
– It’s a great way to wake up
– I won’t have to do it in the afternoon when I’m tired from work.

Disadvantages
-Intensity (as in heartrate) will probably be a bit lower compared to if I ate first.

I do cardio seven times a week, so some days I do both med-intensity empty-stomach morningcardio, and then med-intensity cardio after meal# 5 in the evening. Usually, I’m more tired in the evening, so eating first doesn’t really make any difference.

(Currently @ 148 lbs, 9% BF. Have lost 11 lbs of pure fat the last months, and gained 1-2 lbs of muscle.)

My first post here and only yesterday got your Cheat Your Way Thin package, so there is a lot to learn. Great post Joel. Some people are still saying to workout on an empty stomach for fat loss, so there’s some confusion about this out there. I’ve tried it and it doesn’t work for me, but perhaps it only works for the people that do their workouts very early in the morning. As I usually work out before lunchtime, there is no way I could workout on an empty stomach. The good news is that some trainers are changing from the don’t have anything before your workout to have some protein. However, I’ve found that I need some carbs too that I can easily digest like fruit and oatmeal.

Joel,

I have tried this and my tummy has always said “What are you doing?”. So I eat a small protein based breakfast at 4:45 and start working out by 5:15. After the workout, I cool down have some grapes, shower and I feel great when I am at work.

I never used to do any cardio on an empty stomach. I waited about an hour before exercising. Wasn’t that stupid!

@karen – Try drinking a cup of OJ before your workout. It’s good to consume fast digesting carbs especially in the morning before your workout :)

Telling you based on what I read and my experience. It doesn’t let you gain weight at all. It will help since you get up really early in the morning.

I’m shocked! I’ve read a lot about diet and excercise from some really smart people (i.e. Jon Benson and Tom Venuto) who both advocate early morning cardio on an empty stomach. I’m going to experiment on myself and see what happens. I was a firm believer running on empty.

yo joel!

Man this is a wake up call! I have always done my morning workouts on an empty stomach (these are always usually cardio ones) believing that this is the key to getting the most fat burned off!

I try to avoid recistance traning in the mornings as i feel i train with more intensety with a few meals under my belt!

It can be so confusing with so many fitness gurus telling you that empty stomach cardio is beneficial.

mike.

I actually feel better working out on an empty stomach (Although I usually have some coffee (either hot or iced). If I eat a significant amount prior to working out it actually decreases the intensity of my workout. That being said if it makes a positive metabolic difference I can certainly add some whey protein to the cofee. When I am engaged in prolonged exertion ie surfing for hours or 50+ mile bike ride I usually bring something to eat after an hour or so to prevent running out of energy, however whether or not I eat seems to make no difference. I starting doing weight training on an empty stomach first thing in the am quite a few years ago. I was embarked on ship and working out with someone who purchased the “Cybergenics” package. We got goodresuls but I suspect the main thing was the intensity (negative failure drop weight by half and negative failure) and consistency of the workouts. The literature he had said that weight training after an overnight fast (nothing since dinner evening before) increased growth hormone levels which in turn should help wth muscle growth and fat burning. I do not know if this was based on solid clinical studies so if anyone knows more please share.

I always have a scoop of whey and some amino acids and a cup of coffee before morning cardio, and then breakfast.

I always eat something before my workout, I would pass out if I didn’t. This morning I had 1 1/2 eggs on gluten free toast & a small slice of roasted red pepper. Thanks for putting this info out there!

I swim 3 times per week on an empty stomach. I just take 5g of BCAAs about 30 minutes before, but i dont’ wanna get up any earlier than 5, so eating is tight, but i’ve noticed that i get side cramps something horrible when i eat, and nothing when i have an empty stomach, so the choice was always made easy, i just workout better on an empty stomach, not sure why, so its always what i’ve done for early morning. When i heard it was better for fat burning i was a bit excited. The annoying thing is i cant find any specific scientific studies done on it. It is always just hearsay and opinions shot back and forth around fitness “guru’s”. It has always worked for me, thus i do it. Personally how can another body tell me what is good for my body? i think the most important thing is just figuring out what works for you and doing it as hard as possible. :)

I’m a cyclist and it doesn’t work for me. I have a bana before I start and will have a onother bana,fruit bar or energy bar for every hour of the ride.

Most of these posting are surprising me with the type of questions they are asking. Look, if you are getting results on an empty stomach continue on your path. If you are not try and switch it up a little. Do it until you get the type of results you want to get. I do agree that research ISN”T very credible anymore, so you have to use your own discretion. What works for some doesn’t always work for others. My 2cents.

Hey Joel,

I perform two types of cardio training: steady-state and high impact interval training. When I’m trying to cut the last of stubborn belly fat, I will do 20-30 minutes of stead-state cardio (e.g. light jogging or inclined walking) on an empty stomach because performance is not my priority. Later in the day, after a solid pre-workout meal, I either lift or do my HIIT for gains.

In theory, I agree with you because in your example, the morning cardio session sounded pretty intense. In that instance, I would never come to the gym on an empty stomach. I surround any workout focused on performance and gains with two quality meals.

Thanks for your insight and advice.

I don’t eat before any of my workouts. I get up anywhere from 4:30 – 5am to workout (depending on what’s on the agenda for the morning). I feel that if I eat, I won’t have time to wait the 30 minutes to digest whatever I eat and will end being nauseous. However, I have noticed that if I workout in the afternoon, after a full day of eating, I have more stamina. I was wondering if maybe eating something as small as a banana or having some oj before my morning workout will be of benefit. Oh and on top of everything else, I have a carnitine deficiency and Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism which already makes it difficult for my body to go to those fat stores :-( But I haven’t given up!