By Corina Tan
A question that continues to linger and sometimes confuse the large population of people who want to get the most out of their workout, is whether eating should be done before or after their exercise regime. Many other questions surround the issue as well, like what’s a good pre or post workout snack, how long should you wait after exercising to eat, what is considered a fasted state and how will all of this benefit your goal of achieving more muscle mass or losing more fat? With so many questions, there’s sure to be many differing opinions from enthusiasts and experts alike, however two recent studies reveal the answer to this below.Research at the University of Bath in Newcastle analysed the energy expenditure of 12 healthy physically active men who completed three different trials – eating breakfast and then resting with no exercise, eating the same breakfast two hours before cycling for 60 minutes, and skipping breakfast completely before doing the same 60-minute exercise. The study revealed that when the men skipped breakfast, they had a greater calorie deficit throughout the day (150 calories on average), implying that fasting before exercising is the best for weight loss.
Another research conducted at the University of Bath had a group of overweight males walk for 60 minutes on an empty stomach, and then had them walk again the next day after eating a high-calorie, high-carbohydrate breakfast. The researchers collected multiple blood samples in both scenarios and also took adipose tissue (fat) samples directly before and after each 60 minutes of exercise. The results showed different gene expression of the fat tissue in both trials which showed that exercising in a fasted state burned off more body fat instead of fuel from food.
The explanation for this is that when working out on an empty stomach, the body does not have readily accessible energy from food, so it draws that energy from other sources like stored body fat. This means that exercising on an empty stomach is more effective at helping you to lose weight. Additionally, exercising in a fasted state keeps insulin levels low, allowing the body to produce more growth hormone which also burns fat. In other words, once you consume a meal, even if you exercise vigorously, you won’t be able to burn body fat until after two to three hours when your insulin levels drop.
As to the question of how long you have to forego food to meet the definition of a ‘fasted state’, the best advice would be to ensure that your last meal was four hours before exercise. Needless to say, exercising first thing in the morning would make this an effortless task.
Post-workout recovery would then include hydration and feeding the body to restore energy. Some of the best foods recommended by health experts are foods high in protein like protein shakes, protein bars, berries or berry smoothies, green smoothies, Greek yoghurt, coconut water, quinoa, apples with nut butters, oatmeal and pancakes made from protein powder.
