In the past it was always believed that when you exercise before having breakfast you can burn more fat
. This is true in terms of relative energy. Yes when exercising at lower intensities and in a fasting state you will burn more fat, not carbohydrates. However in absolute terms (in total energy)you will burn less.
How does this work? When we are in afasting state our metabolism is still reduced from being asleep for 8 hours. There has been no fuel in the system to fire things up, so it runs slower. It's at this fasting stage where there is no carbohydrates in the system, fat is predominatly being used as a fuel source. This is not the optimal state in which our body likes to function.
Take for example a car in the morning, you need to warm it up before driving. When you don't it's sluggish to take off until you have been driving for at least 10min. The same principle applies with our metabolism. You need to put fuel/food in the system to fire up our engines to get us moving optimally.
Our body loves carbohydrates as it's fuel. So untill you put carbohydrates in the system everything will run really slowly. Recent research has shown that you actually burn 15% more total energy when exercising in the morning if you eat breakfast before exercising. This must be a breakfast that containscarbohydrates in it like cereal and milk.
There are 2 reasons why firstly the metabolism is fired as previously mentioned, secondly you can do higher intensity workouts and last longer. High intensity exercise relies on carbohydrates for fuel. By eating a high carbohydrate breakfast you will be able to burn more energy as a whole. You will alsoget better physical adaptations for building muscle and a healthier heart if you work at a higher capacity. Higher intensity exercises would include things like running, skipping, swimming etc.
If your walking to lose weight and get fit, your dreaming- that is unless your 60years +
Take home messageeat breakfast before you workout in the morning. This is better for weight loss and your workouts.