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Is Fasted Cardio Better For Fat Loss?

20 February 2023 Nutrition


You've probably heard about fasted cardio, and you may have also heard that it's a great idea. In this article, we'll cover everything you need to know about fasted cardio including how it works and if you should look to incorporate it into your programme or avoid doing it at all costs.

A question we often hear asked “Is fasted cardio upon waking better for fat loss, than doing cardio after you’ve eaten?”

First of all, lets understand the meaning of fasted cardio. 

 

What is fasted cardio?

Fasted cardio normally refers to doing cardio on an empty stomach upon waking, before having your breakfast.

The idea behind fasted cardio is that it will help you burn more body fat because when you train in this state, your body has to use its stored energy (fat) as fuel instead of relying on the food you have just eaten.

Meanwhile, fed-cardio would be classed as similar cardiovascular work done but after having something to eat.

Fasted cardio benefits

We don't want to burst your bubble but unfortunately the benefits of fasted cardio are exactly the same as fed-cardio and the difference between the two is pretty much zero!

Researchers found no significant difference between the two groups at all! The fasted cardio did not produce greater losses in body fat or weight compared to non-fasted training, when everything else was equal. 

There has been a large amount of research into this and it’s shown that although fasted cardio increases the amount of fat burned during exercise, this is however compensated for by reduced fat burning during the rest of the day.

In contrast, fed-cardio indeed burns less fat during exercise, however this is compensated by increased fat burning for the rest of the day.

It is therefore important to note that fasted cardio can work, as can fed-cardio just as well… as can doing no cardio at all.

Should I be doing cardio on an empty stomach?

It’s important to note that both methods of cardio can work, so you should just choose the one that suits you best, or even use both depending upon your schedule.

Whatever allows you to build this into your lifestyle and stay consistent.

The only scenarios where fasted cardio would be recommended is if someone is focusing on getting better at training on an empty stomach, as the body is very good at adapting.

If your goal is endurance focused, then there may be some benefit to eating before you train as you will ensure you will have readily available energy and you will more likely have fully saturated muscle glycogen stores.

This will be more important if you are training for endurance events, compared with training for muscle and strength, as the reality is that if you had enough food the day before and you’re simply training before breakfast, then you will have sufficient muscle glycogen from the previous day’s food.

However, this again is underpinned by personal preference and your digestive capabilities, meaning that if you’re training at 6am and you normally need a couple of hours to digest food and feel comfortable training then eating beforehand won’t be a viable option.

As always, what actually will influence whether someone loses body fat is the key principles we preach at FACTR:

  • Is the person in an energy deficit? I.e. are they burning more calories than they consume
  • Is that person consuming adequate amounts of protein? (approx 1.6g/kg bodyweight)

  • Is the person doing regular exercise that they enjoy? (especially strength training)

  • The method suits that person’s needs/wants/circumstances