Many people assume that to lose weight fast, you should exercise on an empty stomach. But that's not healthy. Besides knowing to not workout on an empty stomach, its important to know- what should you eat before exercise? What should you eat, after your workout? and last but not the least .. when should you eat before and after your workout?
Let's first tell you why you should have a snack before your workout and why its bad to exercise on an empty stomach.
The basic function of food is to provide energy to your body. To perform exercise, you need energy. So, if you exercise on an empty stomach, your body will not have enough fuel to power your workout. As a result, you will be weaker and more tired, and not perform as well.
It gets better. When your body does not have enough fuel and you make it exercise, its going to get this fuel from somewhere. There are two main ways for it to store energy in your body - fat and muscle. Both of them are energy reserves for your body. When you workout on an empty stomach, its primary source is the energy stored in your muscles. For long workouts, the body will even burn muscle to produce energy. Along with muscle, it will also use some fat energy stores. But the fact that it uses muscle to fuel your workout is actually detrimental to your fat loss goal. It almost acts like the side effects of crash dieting.
With lesser muscle, you will weigh less. But with lesser muscle your metabolic rate also slows down, so for the same food that you eat, your body will burn less calories. As a result, you will store more fat.
One more reason to eat before a workout- eating raises your metabolic rate. So, it helps to burn more calories and helps you lose weight faster!
So, whenever you do workout, make sure you get some food before you exercise. Now, the million dollar question is what do you eat before a workout? and how much to eat before exercise? Find out all about pre workout nutrition and timing.