Should you eat before exercising?
Some people exercise first thing in the morning, on an empty tummy, while others feel they have to eat something first.
A woman eating before gym. File photo
Eating before exercising
Few can agree if it’s best to fuel a workout with a pre-workout snack or feel the burn while running on empty.
Fortunately, science has an answer for those exercising with the aim of losing weight.
Walking off the weight
University of Bath researchers studied a group of overweight males who walked for 60 minutes on one occasion on an empty stomach and, on another occasion, two hours after consuming a high-calorie carbohydrate-rich breakfast.
The research team took multiple blood samples and adipose tissue samples.
They found that expression of two genes – PDK4 and HSL – increased when the men fasted and exercised and decreased when they ate before exercising.
What does this mean?
The rise in PDK4 is likely to indicate that stored fat was used to fuel metabolism during exercise, instead of carbohydrates from a recent meal.
This means that exercising on an empty tummy is one way to boost fat burning while you’re on the move.
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