It is a question that
makes many people think. Exercising in the morning on an empty stomach,
does that bring more advantages or disadvantages?
Many people will soon
say that it is bad not to eat before exercise. Just like skipping
breakfast is unhealthy. But the opposite has now been proven.
Exercising on an
empty stomach has many benefits.
In this article you
will discover what these benefits are and what kind of sports they apply
to. With certain sports it is wise to have breakfast and exercising on an
empty stomach is therefore a disadvantage. It all depends on your goal.
What you will learn
in this article (and much more):
- How
our body handles energy during exercise
- What
intermittent fasting is
- How
sober exercise ensures a higher fat burning
- Why
sober exercise is good for your blood sugar level
- What
disadvantages do sober exercise entail
- How
to build up training on an empty stomach
Why exercise on an empty stomach?
Let's start at the
beginning.
Exercising on an
empty stomach seems impossible for many people.
They will tell you
that you:
- Getting
dizzy while exercising het
- Stars
will start to see
- Or
maybe even faint
Let me start by
saying that this is really not that bad. It may take some getting used to,
but you will soon notice that exercising on an empty stomach is fine. Your
body can regulate all this very well. Our bodies are even made for
it. You will read why this is the case later.
But the question:
“Which is better? Exercise on an empty stomach or have breakfast?” is
of course not easy to answer. It really depends on what you want to
achieve while exercising:
- Do
you want to perform better during endurance sports?
- Do
you want to lose more weight during cardio training?
- Do
you want to build more muscle mass during strength training?
Unfortunately, the
answers to the above questions are not all the same. Therefore, we will
deal with them separately in this article.
But before I get into
that, it's helpful to know what happens to your body when you haven't eaten for
a long time. This is also known as intermittent fasting. Only
when you know this, you can see what exercising on an empty stomach does.
Intermittent fasting
During intermittent
fasting, you don't eat for part of the day. Breakfast is often skipped in
this form of fasting.
You probably think:
“Skipping breakfast
is really not healthy, it kicks up your metabolism.”
But science has a
very different opinion on this. Study after study shows that skipping
breakfast has only positive effects on the body.
- Skipping
your breakfast has no negative effect on your metabolism at all.
- People
who didn't eat breakfast were found to lose the same amount of weight as
people who did eat breakfast.
Now that that's out
of the way, I've got even better news for you:
- It
turns out that your fat burning actually improves when you don't eat
breakfast
How does this work?
Your body actually
has two systems with regard to fat burning:
- System
1: Your fat burning is high during fasting
- System
2: Your fat burning is low when you eat, so you store nutrients
As soon as you start
with your breakfast in the morning, you switch from system 1 to system 2. So
you switch from fat burning to fat storage.
You really can't burn
fat in system 2. It has to do with the hormone insulin. Insulin is released by our body when we
eat a meal. As a result, sugars are absorbed and delivered to our body
cells. Our body cells can then use this sugar for energy.
So
your body has to be in system 1 for most of the day to be able to burn
fat.
And you make that
possible by fasting for a longer period of time. If you don't eat for a
large part of the day, you can burn quite a bit of fat. Fortunately, this
fasting period mainly takes place at night.
When I'm talking
about a 16-hour fast, chances are you're fasting for 8 hours while you
sleep. If you only skip breakfast and have your first meal at 12 noon, you
can eat until 8 p.m. Then fast for 16 hours again.
So it sounds worse
than it really is.
Where does intermittent fasting come from?
Why science knows
that intermittent fasting is very normal is because we as ancient humans did
not do otherwise.
Our
genes are made to not eat for long periods of time.
As a prehistoric man,
it often happened that you did not eat for a long time. As soon as an
animal was caught, it was also eaten immediately. So our metabolism works
optimally when you eat like we did in prehistoric times.
It is also assumed
that prehistoric humans did not eat in the morning. Men first had to hunt
to catch something or first to find food. Often these men only returned at
the end of the afternoon after which they had dinner together.
Even
prehistoric man was thus able to hunt (sport) on an empty stomach.
Our genes have not
yet adapted, because it takes hundreds of thousands of years for
that. This eating pattern is imitated with intermittent
fasting. People skip breakfast and eat the first meal of the day later in
the afternoon.
Benefits of training on an empty stomach
You now know the
principle of intermittent fasting. It may seem impossible, but I've been
doing it myself for a number of years and feel very good about it.
It has already been
shown above that intermittent fasting does nothing negative with your
metabolism. So it won't make you fatter. Skipping breakfast without
exercising appears to have many benefits. But what are these benefits of
exercising on an empty stomach?
#1 Higher fat burning
In the introduction I
already lifted a corner of the veil. Skipping your breakfast causes a
higher fat burning.
With intermittent
fasting you stay longer in system 1 (fat burning). When you then start
exercising, you will be able to release fat more easily (lipolysis).
During
exercise, your insulin level will drop even more. This turns your body
into a true fat burning machine.
Most bodybuilders
also train at the end of their fasting period. This allows them to make
optimal use of their fat burning.
For maximum fat
burning, do not eat immediately after training . I
understand that you are ready for a good meal. But your glycogen stores
are then completely empty, so your body runs only on fats at that time. If
you can keep this up for a few hours, you will see fat disappear like snow in
the sun.
#2 More build-up of lean muscle mass
If you skip breakfast
and therefore engage in intermittent fasting, you will gain more muscle.
There is in fact an
increase in human growth hormone (HGH) of up to 2000% in men and up to 1300% in
women.
When you exercise at
the end of your fasting period, the amount of human growth hormone is
highest. When you then do intensive strength training, you will get even
more production of the human growth hormone.
The increase in human
growth hormone ensures greater endurance and faster muscle recovery after a
sports session.
In fact, exercising
on an empty stomach has a double positive effect on building muscle
mass.
For many bodybuilders
there is a fear that they will lose their muscle mass as soon as they fast for
a longer period of time. Fortunately, that's complete nonsense. Only
when you fast for 72 hours do you have to deal with muscle
breakdown. So those 16 hours can't hurt.
#3 Boosting Testosterone
Testosterone is an
extremely important hormone for the production of muscle
mass. Testosterone is nothing but a growth hormone. Ideally, it
should be as high as possible.
And let it be the
same that exercising on an empty stomach ensures a higher testosterone
production.
Research shows that
intermittent fasting causes the luteinizing hormone to rise 67%. This
hormone is responsible for testosterone production. The same research
shows that your testosterone level increases by 180%.
The conclusion you
can draw from this is that food actually lowers your testosterone
level. When you eat a meal of 300 kcal (small meal), your testosterone
level will be lowered for the next 3 hours.
If you take breakfast
before exercising, you will therefore be able to make less use of your growth
hormones that ensure muscle building.
#4 Increases insulin sensitivity
If the above tips are
not enough, then the following tip should convince you.
When you exercise on
an empty stomach, your insulin sensitivity will improve considerably.
“What
is insulin sensitivity again?”
After all, insulin is
the hormone that causes fat storage, so when it is high you will not be able to
release fat. This is the whole idea behind intermittent fasting, only
through this mechanism is it possible for your insulin level to drop.
The more insulin
sensitive your body cells are, the less insulin your body needs to process
sugar. This is a good sign because it will lower your insulin level.
Now there are a
number of things that increase your insulin
sensitivity :
- sports
- Intermittent
fasting
- A
low-carb diet
The first two points
in particular apply to this article. Exercising in itself therefore
improves insulin sensitivity. But when you combine this with skipping
breakfast, your insulin sensitivity will increase even more due to intermittent
fasting.
Why is it good to become more insulin sensitive?
When your insulin
sensitivity is low (insulin resistance) you increase the chance of:
- Type
2 diabetes
- Cardiovascular
disease
- Cancer
Exercising on an
empty stomach will therefore keep you healthier in the long run.
#5 Improved performance for endurance athletes
Many people think
that you have less strength and energy when you run on an empty
stomach. Fortunately that is great.
When you eat, right
before you exercise, your food will have to be digested. As a result, a
lot of blood goes to your gastrointestinal system. And believe me, it
takes a lot of blood to keep your stomach and intestines working.
When you then plan to
go for a run, this can actually work against your stamina .
While running, you
need a lot of blood to move oxygen. If your body is currently digesting
food, you have less oxygen to use while running. This will decrease your
performance.
Running
on an empty stomach will therefore have a positive effect on you.
Sounds pretty logical
right? ;)
If your goal is to
lose weight, running on an empty stomach can be very useful. After all, it
increases your fat burning. Your glycogen stores are lower when you have
not eaten so that your body can switch to fat burning faster.
Note that your energy
decreases sharply when you run more than 10 to 20 km. Then your
performance can suffer.
Do you want to
eventually run a marathon? Then you would be wise to eat. You will
learn why in the next tip.
Disadvantages of training on an empty stomach
So there are many
benefits to exercising on an empty stomach. Your fat burning increased,
you can build more muscle mass and your insulin sensitivity increased. So
you could almost say that no one needs breakfast to be able to exercise
properly.
But that's not quite
true. There is a group of athletes who would be wise to just have
breakfast. This group does not do it to build muscle mass or burn more fat. This
group mainly wants to perform.
#6 Extreme endurance athletes must have breakfast ontbijt
If you are a real
endurance athlete who wants to perform, a carbohydrate-rich breakfast can do
you good. And when I'm talking about endurance sports, I'm talking about
sports where you exercise at the same pace for a very long time.
Think
about:
- running
- Cycling
- Swimming
And the first one is
especially important. Research has shown that if you run further than 10
to 20 km, it is better to have breakfast.
Your body sometimes
has to deliver a consistent performance for hours. What is needed for this
is energy. The fastest source of energy are
carbohydrates/sugars. Your glycogen stores must therefore be well
replenished before you start such a grueling marathon.
Eating
a lot of carbohydrates the day before a marathon will significantly decrease
the time. A good carbohydrate-rich meal on the day itself, before a
marathon, also ensures better performance .
If you choose not to
eat anything before a long running session of, for example, 2 hours, there is a
chance that your body will break down muscle mass to provide itself with
energy.
#7 It increases your cortisol level
The second
disadvantage of intermittent fasting is that your cortisol level rises.
When your body does
not have enough sugars in the blood, glycogen is converted into glucose in the
liver. In this way, your body regulates your blood sugar until you run out
of sugar reserves.
Subsequently, the
anti-stress hormone cortisol will be released into the blood, with the result
that the liver converts proteins into sugars. Your body can also regulate
your blood sugar level in this way.
If you do not eat for
a longer period of the day, your blood sugar level drops
sharply. Subsequently, more cortisol is released into the blood. This
raises your cortisol level. Fortunately, this effect is not very strong.
But
why is cortisol bad for your sports performance?
Where testosterone
ensures muscle building, cortisol ensures muscle breakdown. Cortisol is
produced under the influence of stress and when you are exercising, your body
recognizes this as stress.
Mainly cardio
training and endurance training lead to a significant
increase in the stress hormone in the blood. This is exactly why running
is not ideal for weight loss. Do you want to read more about
this? Then read this article:
Tips to make training on an empty stomach easier
Okay, you have now
learned that training on an empty stomach has more advantages than
disadvantages. Unless you're planning to run the New York Marathon, of
course.
But how should you
start now? I'm going to help you with that.
#8 Build it up slowly
Are you the one who
has never actually exercised and is also completely new to intermittent
fasting?
- Then
it is very important that you build it up slowly.
You will then feel
decent for the first time. Your body has to get used to this slowly.
So start exercising
before you even think about skipping a meal. If you have been able to
sustain this for a while, you can slowly start intermittent fasting.
The least strict form
of fasting is that of 12 hours . So you should not be
able to eat or drink anything for at least 12 hours in a row (apart from water,
tea and black coffee).
“Why
does fasting start after 12 noon?”
This
has to do with the fact that only after 12 hours of fasting, your glycogen
stores are empty and your body will switch to fat burning.
This is of course
dependent on person, so this is an average.
Ideally, you can also
benefit from that fat burning for a few hours by fasting even longer. For
example, consider a time window of 14 or 16 hours.
It
is important that you do not consume any proteins and carbohydrates / sugars
during those 12 or more hours.
These trigger a
metabolic reaction that raises your blood sugar level and therefore your
insulin level. And that while you want to keep your insulin as low as
possible.
You absolutely cannot
get away with smuggling. Even a small sandwich will break your entire
fasting period.
#9 Drink coffee and tea
I already mentioned
it in the tip above. You should not eat and drink carbohydrates and
proteins.
But
black coffee and sugar-free tea are allowed. And believe me, this is quite
a relief.
Both black coffee and
tea contain caffeine. Caffeine is that substance that gives you more energy. But
caffeine also has a positive effect on your hunger. Caffeine suppresses
your hunger for a short time. This can give you just that push in the
right direction.
In addition, black
coffee and tea contain no calories. So you can easily drink them before
exercising.
Finally, caffeine
also appears to speed up your metabolism by 3 to 11%. It therefore has a
positive effect on your fat burning.
#10 Use a healthy fat to fill your stomach
This tip might be a
little crazy for you.
There is one
macronutrient that has absolutely no effect on both your blood sugar and
insulin levels, and they are fats !!
This means that you
can eat fats. But you should not eat these fats in combination with
proteins or carbohydrates. That is why many high-fat products lose weight.
What it really comes
down to is that you can only take butter and oils.
I
can hear you thinking: “Nice, but what the hell is that to me?”
There is one way
where you can really put this to good use. And that is also called a
bulletproof coffee. This has nothing to do with a police diet ;)
No, with a
bulletproof coffee. drink your black coffee with grass-fed butter and
coconut butter. It sounds really gross now, but trust me, it's delicious.
Fats also suppress
your hunger without increasing your insulin.
In addition to
suppressing your hunger pangs, coconut butter and grass-fed butter also have
positive effects on your fat burning.
In other words, you
drink fats to burn fats.
It's definitely worth
a try.
#11 Be aware of the man with the hammer
There is one thing
you should be aware of…
…when your body
switches to burning fat when your sugar reserves are depleted, it can feel
quite heavy. This is because your blood sugar level is very low.
You
can recognize the following symptoms:
- Dizziness
- Headache
- Blurred
vision
- Light
in your head
- To
be hungry
If you are already used
to eating low-carbohydrate and exercising a lot, this will not be the case.
But when you just
start intermittent fasting and you skip breakfast and then start exercising,
the above symptoms can occur.
Then be aware of the
fact that it is due to intermittent fasting. Sit down and drink some
water. You will soon notice that things are getting better.
After a few weeks you will see that everything is much better. After a long time you will even reach a point where you can't get a bite down your throat in the morning because you are not hungry at all. That is, of course, the effect you ultimately want to achieve.
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