Should You Workout On Empty Stomach
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If you are new to working out or even you have been working out for some time you must have thought should you workout on empty stomach?
There are pros to working out fasted and probably there will be some cons to working out fasted, some of these cons can be avoided easily so we will also discuss how to avoid cons while working out on empty stomach.
I have been working out for several years and I had worked out in a fasted state for months and seen amazing results, so I will be sharing my experience on exercising in a fasted state so that you can decide on your own so that you can decide that should you workout on an empty stomach or not.
Here is what we will be covering in this article
- How your body reacts when you exercise on an empty stomach
- Pros of exercising on an empty stomach
- Side effects of exercising on an empty stomach
- Tips and foods to help you work out on an empty stomach
What happens to your body when you work out on empty stomach?
There are three macronutrients required by our body to function and they are protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
Our body needs energy to perform and the main fuel for this energy is carbohydrates.
Our body breaks down these carbohydrates into glucose and this glucose is stored as glycogen in our muscles and liver to supply us with energy for our workout and other intense activities.
So when you wake up the number of glycogen stores is low in your body which will result in your body use those fat cells to consume as fuel.
Using these fat cells can result in a faster weight loss too.
So let’s just work out fast and burn more fat, well it is not mandatory because fasted workouts can even affect your workouts like it can make you feel tired and dizzy tooWhen you workout on empty stomach your body is low on glycogen and it is forced to use fat cells from your body which can make your burn more fat.
Should You Workout On Empty Stomach?
Before deciding to work out on empty stomach you should see how it will affect your body because not every human is built the same.
So how do you decide to exercise on empty stomach or not to?
Well, we will help you with that to decide them lets us just go through some pros and cons of working out fasted.
Benefits of working out empty stomach
Working out in fasted state cab bless you with several benefits to your body. But keep in mind not everyone will get the same result because as you all humans are built differently.
So here are some of the very common benefits of exercising on an empty stomach
Burn fatter and faster
Working out in fasted state can result in burning more fat and at a faster pace.
In a study conducted in which 12 men were it was noted that men who were running before breakfast tend to burn more fat than the men who were running without fasting.
Another thing that was found that men who were fasting didn’t get needed to eat their skipped meals resulting in less calorie intake which is directly responsible for fat loss.
Keep in mind whether you fast or not calorie deficient is the most important thing or a fat loss.
Boost up your testosterone
Working out on empty stomach can be a good way to improve your testosterone and HGH levels too.
Exercising alone can boost your testosterone but combining it with exercising on empty stomach can increase its effects.
There was a study conducted that resulted that people who workout fasted show a spike in their testosterone levels.
It can help you build muscle and burn fat at the same time
Other than just losing fat fasted workouts have shown positive muscle gain results with decreasing some amount of fat too.
Increased testosterone can solely help you build more muscles and at the same time if your diet is on point it can also help you burn some amount of fat.
Also to gain muscle and burn fat at the same time you should probably focus more on compound lifts eating a healthy high protein diet.
This is generally possible for newbie lifters not for advanced lifters.
Improve your athletic performance
It is not a bro-science that more testosterone production and more muscle growth can also help you improve your athletic performance especially your endurance levels.
Fasted workouts are shown to improve muscle glycogen storage efficiency which basically means the body learns to make better use of its stored energy.
So when a body can function well without fuel in your system it will automatically perform better with fuel in your body.
It can improve your insulin sensitivity
Insulin sensitivity is basically the way how your body metabolizes sugar.
Insulin levels help our body absorb nutrients from our blood and helps it use as energy. When these nutrients are not absorbed they can result in more stored fat so making our body more prone to diseases like Type 2 Diabetes.
So what fasting does is that it makes our body produce insulin less often, which increases our body sensitivity and thus is a good way to avoid many health risks.
Side effects of working out on an empty stomach
As we had discussed some of the benefits of working out on empty stomach but there is always another side to a coin.
So here are some common side effects of exercising on an empty stomach
Workouts might be weak
Our performance is always based on how we fuel our bodies.
So if we are working out on an empty stomach chances are that our workouts might not be as effective as when we workout with food in our system. Without food, there are also chances that you will dizzy and lightheaded during your workouts.
All these effects might be responsible to decrease your working out intensity and can affect the quality of your workout.
But it all depends on your body so if you have a good diet and hydrate yourself well enough chances are that you might not have this side effect.
Might lead to muscle loss
If you are working out on an empty stomach and you don’ keep an eye on your nutrition then it might lead to muscle loss.
Whether you work out fast or not nutrition is king so if you don’t get the desired amount of calories for your body to function it might harm your body.
If you are trying to lose weight then don’t be too much deficit in calories, a maximum 500 calorie deficit will be enough to help you lose weight.
Also, keep an eye on protein, your protein intake is very much important to preserve muscle loss while losing weight.
Might not be able to build muscle
If you are trying to pack on some muscles then fasted workouts might not be a good idea for you.
If you workout fasted chances are that you will burn many calories plus you might be skipping a meal which both combined might lead to a calorie deficit and which will directly affect your muscle gain goals.
If you can consume 500 plus extra calories than you might be able to gain muscle but if you workout fasted these calorie number needs to go up because you will be burning off extra calories while working out fasted.
Tips to improve your workout on an empty stomach
You have read the pros and cons of working out on empty stomach but you are confused about that, should you work out on an empty stomach or not.
But if you do want o try this out and work out in a fasted state then here are some tips for you that will help to get through it.
Hydrate yourself
Water is the most vital element to keep us going whether you are working out on an empty stomach or not.
Even if you are not working out and you don’t hydrate yourself properly then you might feel dizzy and tired the whole day and so it can affect your workouts too.
Drinking enough water can improve your performance by boosting your energy and making you feel fuller.
Aim to drink at least 4 to 5 liter of water per day.
Sleep enough
Sleep is the most underrated fitness tip and it is one of the most important things for your body.
Getting enough sleep can drastically affect your workouts, also enough is necessary to keep you focussed not just throughout the workout but throughout the day.
Also, recovery is very important for the body and sleep is the best form of recovery so sleep well recovers.
Try to aim for around 8 hours of sleep.
Caffeinate yourself
Caffeine can help you improve focus and energy during your workouts.
So taking some caffeine before your workouts can be a good step. Black coffee is a good source of caffeine.
Also don’t overdo it as coffee can have some negative effects too.
Make better food choices
The better you fuel your body better your workouts will be.
One important thing is to have a high-calorie dense meal before going to sleep as it will directly help you with energy and focus in the gym in your morning workouts.
Try to make healthy food choices over packed foods they will help you improve your workouts.
Also, try to eat calorie-dense foods.
Although we have covered working out on empty stomach there are some FAQs related to working out on an empty stomach which we will answer now, but if you don’t find any particular question do comment so that e can answer that too.
Q 1. Is it OK to work out on an empty stomach?
Working out on an empty stomach totally depends on your goal and how your body reacts to it.
If you are looking to burn some fat or just want to drop some pounds it can be a good idea to give it a try.
Also, try to see how your body reacts to working out on empty stomach.
Some people can feel good while working out on an empty stomach while some people don’t have the energy to do it.
Also, see if you are feeling tired the whole day or if it do’t affects your daily routine then you are good to go.
Q 2.Will I lose muscle if I workout on an empty stomach?
No it is not necessary that you will lose muscles if you workout on an empty stomach.
It all depends on your nutrition to lose muscle or not.
If you have enough calories and enough protein to support muscle maintainence needs of your body you are not going to lose muscles.
But if are super low on calories than you might loose some muscle.
Q 3 .Will I burn more fat if I exercise on an empty stomach?
Yes you might burn more fat if you workout on empty stomach.
But it again depends on your calories intake if you are in calorie surplus chances are you will not burn fat.
But if you are on calories defeciet than you can burn more fat while working out on empty stomach.
Q 4. When should I eat after exercising?
You should have well balanced meal after working out which should have fast absorbing carbs and should be high in protein.
You should avoid having fat in post workout meal as it can slow digestion of protein.
But if already had some type of protein than it will be good idea to include some healthy fats too.
But if you can have one meal after workout than you should have some fats too but keep them low in quantity.
Conclusion
So should you workout on empty stomach, well it totally depends on your goal whether you want to lose fat or gain some muscle.
So it will be good to work out on empty stomach to burn that extra fat. But do keep in mind if it has some positive effects then there are also some negative side effects of working out on empty stomach.
Keep an eye on how your body reacts to working out on empty stomach. So if you are interested in a workout on an empty stomach try it for 2 weeks and see how your body reacts and use the tips mentioned above to make it easy for you.
Also, what’s your take from this article do let us know in the comments and share this article with someone who you think might get some benefit out of it.
