Is lifting weights on an empty stomach better for burning fat / building muscle? How long since last meal?
Under a body-building and supplement program I followed a number of years ago (Cybergenics), I learned not to eat at least 12 to 14 hours before my workout under the theory that it would be the food currently in my stomach and circulating through my blood stream that would be burned off first versus the fat stored in my body when I lifted weights. Therefore, if the goal is to burn body fat and replace it with muscle, one should exercise on an empty stomach, according to this program’s theory.
But waiting 12 to 14 hours usually meant having my last meal of the day at 4 pm and then getting up to hit the gym at 6 am. It was a tough regimine to follow, particularly later in the evening or early in the morning when the hunger pangs would start to tug away. But it did produce results and I am considering following it again.
But that was 15 years ago and so much more has been learned in the field of exercise, physical fitness, and diet, I’m wondering if this theory should be updated.
Is working out on an empty stomach (for 12 to 14 hours) the right idea? I’m not suggesting chowing down before hitting the weight room, but others say that small meals spread out through the day is a better way to go. So would a small meal 3 hours before a workout still impede progress even a little in terms of burning fat / building muscle? What are the new guidelines (if any updates on what we knew 15 years ago is warranted)?
November 20th, 2009 at 4:31 am
On which book you read this or who told you this thing. You can eat your supplement or protein food before 1 – 1/2 from workout.
November 20th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Yes working out on an empty stomach does produce the best results in losing fat. However, instead of working out in the afternoon and having to wait 12 hours to eat is not healthy at all. If you really want to do that program again then just workout early in the morning.
Seven to nine hours of sleeping is enough time to use your glycogen supplies up in your liver. After the liver’s fat supply is gone your body burns body fat as well as muscle.
Eating something small in the morning before a workout is perfectly fine as well. Eating three hours before a meal is unnecessary since it only takes around 1.5 to 2 hours to digest carbohydrates. So eat like a banana in the morning before you workout or something.
Health specialists say that the best thing to do is to have five to six evenly spaced meals throughout the day. I am guessing that this is because it boosts your metabolism.
So your solution should be to do morning workouts. Eat something small about two hours before your workout, preferably less then 150 calories. Then space your meals out throughout the day to about five 400 calorie meals.
If you are trying to gain muscle then you should eat something with protein within a half an hour you work out. This is because your body would use that to repair the damaged muscles from your workout.
I hope I helped, whatever happens good luck!!
November 21st, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Just having extra muscle on your body will burn fat, the program you described seems too strict, that is way too long a time to wait before the workout, you need to eat 1 to 2 hours before hitting the gym, and the food should be complex carbo, like a blended cereal drink or pasta, for the energy boost. Reduce the amount of animal products you eat, especially dairy, and there will be no concern about weight.