Today I thought I’ll answer a question I get asked a lot, which is “should I eat before I workout in the morning?
There is research into both fasted and unfasted training and the effects on both fat loss and performance. The results often contradict each other, making it hard to reach an evidence-based conclusion.
I personally feel like the differences between training fasted and unfasted are negligible. I recommend that instead of trying to make a decision based on what someone else says you should do, try making a decision based on how you feel.
I find that often people focus on small details about training and nutrition, thinking that they are the key to success. They assume that training fasted will be the game changer in their fitness routine and make them get results 10 times faster.
I hate to break it to you, but that isn’t the case.
Rather than asking yourself “should I eat before I workout?”, I suggest you focus on training in general.
What kind of training are you doing?
Do you enjoy it?
Are you doing it consistently?
How do you feel when you train?
Are you making progress?
The fact that you’re training consistently and that you’re challenging your body is much more important to your results than asking yourself “should I eat before I workout?”.
The long and short of it is that I suggest that you find what works for you.
Try training fasted for a couple of weeks, try training unfasted for a couple of weeks.
How do you feel during the sessions?
Does the food sit well and energise you or does it make you feel sluggish?
Does eating different foods make you feel different in the gym?
Note down how you perform during your workout in both fasted and unfasted states.
After you have experienced both, reflect and make a decision about what you would like to do into the future.
The reality is, there is no one-fits-all approach to anything in fitness and nutrition.
If I said that you have to train fasted or you have to eat exactly 90 minutes before a session… those recommendations might be appropriate for a small fraction of us, but for others it may not work. It is all about trial and error and learning about your body and how best you function.
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