Which is better ???????

[flora_300668]

I have read many different things about when to do your cardio training for the most optimal fat loss......Well I keep hearing that it is to be first thing in the morning before you eat breakfast.

What I would like to know is.......Does this rule apply to people that are on a low carb (ketogenic diet).....or is this advice for the people who burn glucose???

If this is not the best way for someone on a low carb plan could you tell us when the optimal time of day would be............or if the time of day even matters.................:D

[Sherrie]

I remember Jesper posting about cardio on empty stomach once.
Going by memory I think his post came to the conclusion that it is optimal but does'nt make a huge difference. Still always best

Just remember 1hour low intensity is the key. Still always good to do it in the morning as it kick starts your metabolism for the day.

[Jesper]

It is of less importance on the low-carb diet :)!

[Rossana]

Physiologically - all the things that have been said are good info flora.
Here's my bit to add:
Psychologically - getting your cardio over and done with first thing is a great way to start the day. It energises you and flushes out any left over demons (if you're a bit of a grumble bum like me :) )

Practically - getting up early is not for everyone BUT I think that our bodies are designed pretty much to move along with the sun. However we train ourselves to go to bed late . And once you have your eating sorted out, you will find that you sleep much better.

I have been having some wonderful sleeps lately!!!! And I was up at 5.25am this morning before the alarm. And what a morning it was too...:) Good luck with your training :)

[Leesha]

I read something just last night in the Aussie mag, Fighting Fat (put out by a body building mag). The article I was reading stated that doing your exercise first thing on an empty stomach got your body used to burning fat rather than carbs which is what it will do if you exercise after a meal. Supposedly, the first 20 minutes or so of your exercise in this case is spent burning carbs rather than fat, hence the reason to exercise longer.

In the Body For Life book, Bill Phillips says to exercise 20 mins on an empty stomach first thing in the morning for optimal fat burning. I think 20 mins is too little. I exercise every morning for 45 mins on an empty stomach and I see results faster when doing this. But I also think people can get bent out of shape about it. Sometimes, if I've had a bad night and slept badly, I might be running late and just can't do the exercise. So I don't beat myself up about it and do it later.

There is still a lot of success stories revolving around peeps who have exercised at night for 30 mins and still lost weight. I think doing what you can do to optimise fat loss is good, but not always possible.

[Sherrie]

Whilst low carbing your body is already used to burning fat. I think whats more important for us is making sure it keeps burning fat whilst exercising by keeping it low intensity.

I do my cardio before I have breakfast but that is more because I need to wait 2 hours after taking my supplements. Straight after I finish exercise though I have my breakfast.
Alot of people say to wait an hour after cardio but I just can't see how some POH cereal is going to make a difference.

[Jesper]

I used to be an aerobic instructor (many years ago), teaching classes both in the morning and evening. Overall, just based on my observations, people in the morning seemed to get better results.

But that is when carbs are available for energy. On the low-carb diet it matters less when you exercise.

[Leesha]

Yah that's for sure. The bonus there in the low carb eating is that you don't have much glucose to burn so you can virtually do it anytime of the day.

I find that doing it first thing of a morning means it out of the way for the day. My motivation sucks big time in the afternoon and night *lol*