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Originally Posted by Steve  I look forward to it. |
Still digging for the links on extra fat loss in the mornings....but here are some study results:
A study performed at Kansas State University and published in
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise showed that a kilogram of fat is burned sooner when exercise is done in the fasted state in the morning than when it’s done later in the day. The researchers measured respiratory gas exchange, caloric expenditure and carbohydrate and fatty acid metabolism, and found that the amount of fat burned during aerobic exercise amounted to 67% of the total energy expenditure in the morning after a 12 hour fast. This is substantially higher than the 50% expenditure achieved when the same exercise was done later in the day or after eating.
A similar study from
The Journal of Applied Physiology looked at the effects of aerobic exercise on lipid oxidation in fed versus fasted states. The researchers concluded, "our results support the hypothesis that endurance training enhances lipid oxidation in men after a 12 hour overnight fast." Yet another scientific paper,
Optimizing Exercise for Fat Loss," reports, "The ability of exercise to selectively promote fat oxidation should be optimized if exercise is done during morning fasted metabolism."
Again, this is one of those topics that for every study I show you in favor of, there are just as many experts that say what matters is the 24 hour calorie balance. My understanding is that the benefit of exercising in a fasted state in the morning is that one has depleted glycogen plus lower blood sugar which aids in burning more fat instead of carbohydrates. Correct me if I am wrong on this. However, I believe I have seen studies that have shown that those who workout on an empty stomach in the morning are less likely to have the same intensity workout as if they worked out an hour after eating lets say, and that would negate the conceivable more effecient fat burning on an empty stomach. I always went by the notion that if I was only doing cardio for a set amount of time, say an hour, it would be more beneficial to do it on an empty stomach. If I was doing something like weight lifting heavy weights or trying to do cardio as long as I had the energy for, then I could see how not eating before working out would not let me have as good of a workout.