Benefits of Working Out on an Empty Stomach

Okay, so you may be scratching your head. Don't you need to eat before hitting the gym to make sure you have the energy to get through your session? Actually, working out on an empty stomach maximizes the body's ability to burn fat and produce testosterone and growth hormone -- two important chemicals your body needs to burn baby burn.

To make this happen, don't eat for at least one hour before you work out. Not a protein bar, a 100 calorie snack pack or even an apple. The calories from these perfectly healthy snacks will need to be burned off before your body gets to your stored body fat. And isn't burning the stored fat the point of working out in the first place?

So, what about your blood sugar? You're probably thinking that if you're hungry and then burn off more energy by working out that your blood sugar will drop. Actually, low blood sugar results when your body can't efficiently convert fat into glucose to feed the brain. Unless your doctor has properly diagnosed you with a disease, such as hypoglycemia, diabetes, or insulin resistance, a little hunger won't kill you. Not to mention that the longer you keep sugar out of your diet, the more efficiently your liver converts fat into glucose.
Bottom line is, working out on an empty stomach will turn you into a fat-burning machine! Optimally, you want to aim for a three-hour fast, but that's kind of difficult for many people to jump into right away. Instead, start slowly. If you're used to eating an hour before you begin your workout, start out eating less food. Next step is eating even less food further away from your start time.

To help boost your performance, you may want to check out branch chain amino acid (BCAA) supplements. Taking half a serving before and half after a workout helps preserve lean body mass (aka muscle) and control fatigue during training. Paul's favorite and the only one he recommends is USP Labs Modern BCAA. For those who want to know more, it get's technical, so Paul will be addressing it soon.

You know that if I'm writing to you about fasting before a workout, then I do it myself. That doesn't mean I didn't fight it. I would tell Paul that my head hurts, and I'm hungry, and I'll lose balance, and my blood sugar drops, and I get light headed, and...(insert complaint here). He didn't care, though, and made 
me push through it.

I've been told by those I know and love that I'm a tad bit high strung. I don't take his suggestions too well at times, but eventually I gave into Paul's prodding on this subject. And wouldn't you know it, I love it! You do have to push through the uneasiness, but when it passes you feel even better and more energetic. Everyone's "energetic" is different, but I'll take mine any day since energy is so hard for me to find.

The most important part about this training strategy is to know your body. Yes, you should be cleared by your doctor for exercise, but after that, you need to be your own advocate. There's the mainstream media and there's mainstream doctoring. They don't know everything, don't research everything and haven't tried everything themselves. Be your own health advocate, and exercise the best way for your body.