Training fasted or fed?
Do whichever you prefer!
Ok I’ll expand a little more, as this is one of those myths that just won’t die. That’s that you will burn more fat if you do fasted cardio, as opposed to doing the same exercise fed.
Where this may come from is when you train fasted, there is an increase in fat oxidation. That means you are burning more fat as fuel. But a review by Schoenfeld et al. found body composition changes were similar when calories were matched, regardless of whether you fasted before training or not.
They noted, “fat burning must be considered over the course of days — not on an hour to hour basis — to meaningfully assess its impact on body composition”. So again we are back to your overall energy balance being the decisive factor, and how you achieve that being personal preference.
For me personally it depends on when I train. I don’t like eating close to high intensity training as I feel more sluggish or heavy (not a concern for RT, but it is for cardio). So if I train in the morning I tend to eat afterwards. But that is because of how I feel and the impact on the quality of my training. Not because of any misconceptions I have on it being more effective for losing weight.
How do you feel when you train fasted? How do you feel training after eating? Maybe you need a bit more energy so the latter is better. Go with what is better for you, and whichever optimises your training.
References: Mac Nutrition Uni, Schoenfeld et al 2014
(Reposted from Instagram)
