Knowing what to eat to keep your weight in check and body working at optimal levels can be so confusing.
Here’s something else you may be confused about….is it possible to burn more fat by doing cardio on an empty stomach? Some fitness professionals have given out advice stating that if you exercise on an empty stomach your body will rely on it’s fat stores for fuel. Well, this sounds great and you may think that would make sense, but what actually happens is your body will utilize it’s proteins (or lean muscle tissue) for energy. Why would we want to lose precious muscle tissue since that is what helps us stoke our metabolism? Forgoing food before a tough cardio session can be risky for some, since fasting (after sleeping all night) or eating inadequate calories can cause your blood sugar to drop. Diabetics would fall into this category and have to be careful with the timing of exercise and food to keep their blood glucose levels steady. Even if you are not diabetic, having low blood sugar can cause dizziness, fatigue and will make your workout less effective since your body wont have the glucose available for energy.Research done on cyclists has shown that the body burns the same amount of fat whether they were given a small meal 45 minutes to 1 hour before high intensity training or after their workout. What they did find was that cyclists who ate a carbohydrate rich snack were able to work at a higher intensity for a longer period of time, thus burning a greater number of total calories. Have a small snack that is easily digested one hour to 30 minutes before your cardio session. A good rule of thumb is to plan your snack further out if you are doing a very intense workout.
Here’s something else you may be confused about….is it possible to burn more fat by doing cardio on an empty stomach? Some fitness professionals have given out advice stating that if you exercise on an empty stomach your body will rely on it’s fat stores for fuel. Well, this sounds great and you may think that would make sense, but what actually happens is your body will utilize it’s proteins (or lean muscle tissue) for energy. Why would we want to lose precious muscle tissue since that is what helps us stoke our metabolism? Forgoing food before a tough cardio session can be risky for some, since fasting (after sleeping all night) or eating inadequate calories can cause your blood sugar to drop. Diabetics would fall into this category and have to be careful with the timing of exercise and food to keep their blood glucose levels steady. Even if you are not diabetic, having low blood sugar can cause dizziness, fatigue and will make your workout less effective since your body wont have the glucose available for energy.Research done on cyclists has shown that the body burns the same amount of fat whether they were given a small meal 45 minutes to 1 hour before high intensity training or after their workout. What they did find was that cyclists who ate a carbohydrate rich snack were able to work at a higher intensity for a longer period of time, thus burning a greater number of total calories. Have a small snack that is easily digested one hour to 30 minutes before your cardio session. A good rule of thumb is to plan your snack further out if you are doing a very intense workout.
BODY WISE FITNESS 