3492: Is it Better to Work Out and Exercise on an Empty Stomach in a Fasted State to Lose Fat and Build Muscle

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[00:01:00] It's another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik. Hey there, happy Friday and welcome to another Q&A edition of Optimal Health Daily, where I answer your health questions related to fitness, diet and nutrition, and lots more. You send me the questions and I answer them for you. Now, once a month, usually during the first Q&A episode of the month, like today, I do one of my least favorite things. I talk about myself.

[00:01:27] So I like to mention a little bit about my background and credentials so you can better understand where my perspectives come from. And given this is, again, the first Q&A of the month, it's time. Now, I've always been obsessed with Batman, but I wasn't always interested in nutrition, exercise, health, and wellness. You know, all the things I talk about on this show. But being diagnosed with a chronic disease at the age of 19 definitely changed my life's purpose.

[00:01:54] It was then that I decided to focus my attention on helping others so that no one else had to experience a chronic disease diagnosis like I did. But in order to do that, I wanted to be sure I had credibility. Now, this isn't meant to be a humble brag, I promise, but instead really gain your trust. I received both my master's and doctoral degrees in public health. And to really cover all of my bases, I also became a registered dietitian nutritionist, a certified health education specialist,

[00:02:24] and a certified exercise physiologist through the American College of Sports Medicine. And I'm currently faculty within the California State University System. I've also published peer-reviewed studies, presented at national conferences, and have been interviewed by over 70 different media outlets for my expertise on basically all the stuff I talk about on this podcast. And where does the name Dr. Neal come from? Well, in my experience, when I teach my classes, my students never remember how to pronounce my last name.

[00:02:54] So they always are like, Dr. Malik, Dr. Malik? So I just said, you know what, I'll go ahead and rip off Dr. Phil and Dr. Drew and just say, hey, call me Dr. Neil, make it easy. So all of this to say, when I provide my commentary after each episode and answer the questions you send in, like today, I hope you feel as though it's coming from a place of truth. My only intention is to help you feel your best.

[00:03:22] So with that nice long intro, let's finally get to today's question as we optimize your life. Today's question came via email. Anonymous writes, Is it better to work out on an empty stomach or not, especially when it comes to losing fat and gaining muscle? When I look it up, every website says something different and I'm confused. Thank you so much for your question.

[00:03:51] Don't you just love it when after spending precious, hard-earned hours trying to find an answer from a reputable source, you simply can't get a straight answer? Well, that's what I'm here for. So again, thank you for asking this question. Now, I'll start by describing what fasting is. Being in a fasted state simply means you haven't consumed any foods or drinks containing any significant calories for a while.

[00:04:20] Well, how long is a while and what about fasted cardio or fasted exercise? When it comes to a fasted state, it really depends on who you ask and the situation involved. For example, before you go in for routine blood tests, like getting your cholesterol and blood sugar levels checked, your doctor may recommend that you fast for at least eight hours before going to the lab and having your blood drawn.

[00:04:47] Now, before going in for a body composition analysis with one of those bod pod machines, which basically tells you how much fat versus muscle you're carrying on your body, they may tell you to fast for four hours beforehand. Then, in other cases, fasting may last days and even weeks. Most of the studies on fasting and exercise address fasting for anywhere from eight to 12 hours. This is sometimes called the overnight fast,

[00:05:16] since some of us lucky enough to get this many hours of continuous sleep technically won't be eating or drinking during these hours. Fasting for eight to 12 hours is usually what folks are talking about within this context. Now, why would working out on an empty stomach potentially be a good thing? Well, researchers are discovering that by not eating before you perform aerobic activity, like running or jogging, cycling, rowing, spinning, etc.,

[00:05:43] your body is forced to burn fat as its major source of energy. If, however, we eat something before we go for our run, our row, our bike ride, or whatever, we may burn less fat for fuel. Now, for most of us, one of our goals is to lose body fat, or at least keep it to a low percentage of our overall body weight. So burning more fat during a workout sounds like a great thing, and it is.

[00:06:10] Brazilian researchers recently performed a meta-analysis on how much fat was burned when exercising in a fed versus fasted state. And remember, a meta-analysis basically means that they looked at a bunch of studies that were already published on this same topic and tried to find what the overall consensus was. And sure enough, they found that the body burned more fat as fuel when individuals hadn't eaten over the past 8 to 12 hours. But, and you know there had to be a but somewhere,

[00:06:40] here's what the researchers also said, and I'm going to quote them here directly. Quote, So what does that mean? Basically, these researchers are saying,

[00:07:07] yes, by performing aerobic or cardiovascular exercise in a fasted state, will make the body burn more fat as fuel. But, they admit that before you go and try this for yourself, thinking it's going to help you eventually cut down on your body fat, think again. There are no studies that look at whether this actually translates to the loss of actual body fat. So far, researchers are finding that the body uses more fat as fuel,

[00:07:35] but fat doesn't always come from the stored fat in your fat cells. We have what are called free fatty acids. These are fats that are floating around in our bloodstream constantly. So who's to say the body's not using these free floating fatty acids as fuel instead? In fact, the researchers argue that this is likely what's happening. So rather than shrinking our fat cells,

[00:08:01] the body may just be burning the fat that's already floating around in our blood anyways. Now you may think, well, isn't that still a good thing? I mean, if we're removing fat from our blood, won't that reduce our risk for having a heart attack or stroke? Maybe, maybe not. We actually need some fat in our bloodstream. Plus, we have to weigh the potential risks and benefits of fasting before a workout. Now, when it comes to risks, can you think of any situations where,

[00:08:31] by not eating before a workout, the individual would be placing themselves at risk for some serious complications? The first thought that comes to my mind would be swimming. I would never recommend someone jump in a pool and start swimming laps after having fasted for 8 to 12 hours. Why? Well, when an individual's blood sugar gets too low, fainting happens. If you faint in a pool, you drown. I also wouldn't recommend this for those that are pregnant, or those with diabetes,

[00:09:01] or children and adolescents, or the elderly for that matter. In fact, I would be cautious recommending anyone try this. Having low blood sugar is actually far more dangerous in the short term than having high blood sugar. Again, this is because if the brain doesn't get enough fuel in the form of food, fainting, and even falling into a coma, can occur. Now, likely, even before fainting happens, the person may feel weak, nauseated,

[00:09:29] and may have difficulty speaking clearly. They may begin suffering from cold sweats, and on and on. So while studies in the short term are finding that we may burn more fat during our cardio workouts while in a fasted state, To me, I would caution anyone before trying fasted cardio themselves. At the very least, be sure you have some carbohydrate-rich foods nearby in case, you know, you do decide to try it and experience any of the symptoms I just mentioned.

[00:09:58] If you start to feel shaky, weak, nauseated, and you've been fasting, it could be because you just need a little bit of blood sugar. And remember, just because you're burning more fat during your workout doesn't mean you will actually lose real body fat. And that's again because you might be just burning the fat that's in your bloodstream. And remember, that's not me saying it. The researchers themselves said that.

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[00:12:24] quince.com slash OHD. Get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada and the UK too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash OHD. Thank you so much again for the question. Now, if you want to send me a question and have it answered right here on the show, you can email one to health at OLDpodcast dot com. Or, if you want your voice

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[00:13:23] Thank you for sharing this show with someone. I hope you have a wonderful start to your weekend, and I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.