If you ever tried losing weight, you know how challenging it can be.
You could put weeks or even months of effort into your weight loss journey without any results.
So it’s no wonder people are looking for shortcuts and magic bullets.
They believe that the secret to weight loss is to be found in some obscure training method or some super-complicated diet.
Fasted cardio is one of these “magic solutions” to weight loss that became popular in the last couple of years.
What is fasted cardio?
Well, the only difference between fasted and regular cardio is that you’re doing the former on an empty stomach.
You might do it right after you wake up.
At that point you don’t have any glucose in your blood because you haven’t eaten for 8 hours. (This does not include those with diabetes or insulin resistence. That's a subject for another day)
This means your body must use the energy reserves stored in your fat.
This should lead to more fat burning during exercise…
And ultimately, it should enable you to lose more weight than someone who did regular cardio.
But does it really work like that?
Unfortunately, the answer is NO.
You see, even though you’re burning more fat during the exercise if you’re doing it in a fasted state…
During the day, the rate of fat oxidation (fat burning) decreases…
So you end up burning the same amount of fat you would burn if you did your cardio session after breakfast.
The conclusion is that fasted cardio is simply not worth the effort.
Going for a run on an empty stomach can be quite uncomfortable, and it doesn’t hold any additional benefit.
Remember, the key to weight loss is your daily caloric intake versus your energy expenditure.
If you’re spending more calories than you consume, you’re going to lose weight.
That’s the only rule you should strictly follow.
All the other things, including fasted cardio, are completely optional and subjective.
If you enjoy fasted cardio, keep doing it.
Otherwise, don’t bother.
Just keep your calorie intake lower than your expenditure and you’ll be fine.
Stay fit my friend,
Michael
Founder & CEO