Conventional wisdom has been that exercising on an empty stomach forces the body to dip into existing fat stores for fuel, instead of the carbohydrates readily available from a pre-workout meal or snack. However, recent research indicates that this strategy doesn’t offer any benefit... and may even work against you.
A report published in Strength and Conditioning Journal concluded that the body burns roughly the same amount of fat whether you eat before a workout or not. Also, you’re likely to lose muscle by exercising in a depleted state without fuel to aid the workout. One of the studies reviewed in that report looked at cyclists. When they trained with nothing in their stomachs, about 10 percent of the calories they burned came from protein, including lost muscle.
In a separate study published in 2002, scientists found an additional benefit from a pre-workout meal: Healthy women who consumed 45 grams of carbohydrates before their workouts ended up eating less throughout the remainder of the day. Check out FitFlax for a delicious source of protein with golden roasted flax seed and chia seeds.
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