Should You Eat Before Doing Cardio to Burn More Body Fat?
If you’re trying to burn body fat by doing cardio, it doesn’t matter. This includes HIIT.
Why it matters: Doing cardio fed or fasted theoretically could have helped people lose more fat than eating fewer calories alone.
Details: The theory that fasted cardio burns more body fat than fed cardio consistently hasn’t panned out.
Yes, but: Your body does actually burn more fat when you do cardio fasted.
But it doesn’t burn more body fat. Your body adjusts to burn different energy sources (carbs, fats, protein) as needed. It will even compensate for the fat burned during fasted cardio by burning more carbohydrate later in the day.
The big picture: The most important thing for fat loss is energy balance. Whether you do cardio fed or fasted appears to make no tangible difference in fat loss.
Why it matters: Doing cardio fed or fasted theoretically could have helped people lose more fat than eating fewer calories alone.
Details: The theory that fasted cardio burns more body fat than fed cardio consistently hasn’t panned out.
Yes, but: Your body does actually burn more fat when you do cardio fasted.
But it doesn’t burn more body fat. Your body adjusts to burn different energy sources (carbs, fats, protein) as needed. It will even compensate for the fat burned during fasted cardio by burning more carbohydrate later in the day.
The big picture: The most important thing for fat loss is energy balance. Whether you do cardio fed or fasted appears to make no tangible difference in fat loss.
