No, Running on an Empty Stomach Is Not Conducive to Weight Loss.
The logic seems to be reasonable: if you didn’t eat at all, and then started doing aerobics like jogging, your body will have to burn more fat and lose more, right? While yes, you tend to use more fat during exercise, prolonged fasting cardio alone has no additional effect on weight loss.
The guys from Examine.com conducted more than a dozen studies that have examined the effect of exercise on an empty stomach or after eating, and came to the conclusion:
Exercising on an empty stomach, regardless of the number of calories consumed, may not provide any additional fat burning or weight loss effects over a period of time, despite the increased percentage of fatty acids used for fuel.
This does not mean that fasting cardio is dull or unnecessary.
Jogging or any form of aerobic exercise using nothing more than black coffee or water is just a matter of preference and convenience for many people (who wants to wake up two hours earlier for those quick morning runs anyway?).
As with any health and weight loss issue, personal preference is more important than any headache-inducing “optimized protocol” because what you love to do or eat (within reasonable limits) will help you maintain healthier habits for a long time. Want to run up your ass early in the morning but don’t want to upset your stomach by eating first? Rampage. Want to eat a delicious sandwich before your run? Sounds great. Either way, it seems to have little effect on your weight loss, so just do what you need to do.
Follow the link below to learn more and read the research analyzed by the Examine team.
Is it better to do aerobic exercise on an empty stomach? | Examine.com