Fasted Cardio

How many of you have ever tried fasted cardio, in a strategic effort to drop some fat? The theory is that when you wake up, your body is pretty depleted, so if you go and do something active right then, your main source of fuel should be lipids, not glycogen. A lot of people think it's great, others think it's dumb, others even think it's too catabolic. So, what's the deal? Here's Kelly Baggett's take:

"Do your cardio whenever. It's a myth that AM cardio is superior. I've actually done experiments comparing AM cardio to PM cardio....same total calorie intake and same duration of exercise. Guess which one worked better? 

The body burns fat when you sleep. The less glucose and fatty acids you have floating around your bloodstream prior to going to sleep the less you have floating around to store as fat and the more fat you will burn during sleep. So with afternoon, PM, or nighttime cardio you basically burn more fat by storing less fat, if that makes any sense. You also stimulate your metabolism at a time when it would be slowing down. 

It's a lot easier for the body to burn off nutrients that are floating around in your bloodstream then it is to pull them out of storage and then burn them. 

Not to mention the endocrine aspects. People are already overstressed as it is particularly when they're on a diet......think waking up and busting ass on cardio is gonna help that?"

So, he's saying no to fasted cardio, and recommending that you'd be better off doing it later in the day.

Also, don't ignore the last thing he said, regarding the endocrine aspect of it. Dieting sucks. It's hard, especially when you're doing it right. It will screw with your hormones. Your body does not want to lose weight. It's job is to survive. Losing weight, to your body, is not conducive to survival, especially losing fat. It would much rather say "Peace," to all of your muscle mass before getting rid of the fat. So, when you're dieting, your body won't be producing Testosterone or any other really good hormones. It'll be stressed out, ACTH will increase, and then comes cortisol and other stress-related hormones. Those hormones are conducive to fat gain and muscle loss. And you thought dieting wasn't "that hard." Newsflash, it is. 

And, don't forget to forget the fasted AM cardio. Save it for later in the day.