Are There Any Benefits to Exercising on an Empty Stomach?

by: Stefan Simonovic

Whether you just want to make sure you have that beach body when summer comes or you’re working out just so that you can date a cougar, it’s always a good idea to follow up on the latest exercise trends, right?

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As it is with many things in the fitness world, there has been a seemingly eternal debate on whether it’s better to eat before or after exercising. Both of these opinions have strong advocacies, but we’re here today to focus on the “eating after the gym” part of the dilemma in question.

The Experts have Spoken

Like we’ve already mentioned, gym-goes are pretty much divided when it comes to this questions. On the other hand, nutritionists and experts are more or less united in the favor of exercising prior to eating.

John Rowley, Wellness Director for the International Sports Science Association (ISSA), says: “It all depends on what type of training you are going to do and for what purpose. The less glucose you have in your system the more fat you will burn.”

With that being said, most professionals out there claim that exercising on an empty stomach is especially great if your goal is sheer weight loss. “Your muscles don’t have much sugar to draw from so you are more likely to tap into your stored energy, which means releasing and burning what I refer to as surplus fat,” Founder and CEO of Diet Free Life, Robert Ferguson says.

Rowley also adds: “I would expect a person wanting to improve their physical fitness to fall short of exercise performance for the sole reason of not being fueled to optimize their training session.”

How to Do It Properly

All things considered, we’re assuming a bunch of you is getting the idea that the hungrier you are while working out, the better the results will be, or in other words, the more fat you will lose. However, this is not exactly the case here.

While there is undeniable evidence that working out on an empty stomach has its benefits in terms of weight loss, it’s not exactly the best idea to force your body by doing exercises while eating very little to no food in the meantime.

This especially applies to those with diabetes or low blood sugar levels, even more especially if they’re planning on working out in the morning before eating anything. These individuals absolutely must eat something prior to exercising, while even snacks are allowed in this scenario.

Furthermore, even if you’re completely healthy but want to lose some extra weight, it’s not exactly the smartest idea to practice this technique for a prolonged period of time. Make sure that you have breakfast before working out at least once a week, if nothing else then to give your body that energy boost it will very much need after a few days of going to the gym on an empty stomach.

Remember – take everything in moderation, even if it’s the best weight loss method in the world.


About the author:

Stefan is a writer and a blogger in his spare time. He also works for First Beat Media, a company that mainly focuses on the online dating niche and similar services.