Running in the morning on an empty stomach okay?

[GoldenArmKid]

I usually run 6 miles a day at my local track. Recently it's become harder to fit my cardio in later in the day so I was wondering if running first thing in the morning (if I woke up EARLY early) on an empty stomach would be fine. On one side of things I hear it promotes fat loss due to low levels of glycogen in your body in a fasted state/empty stomach. On the flip side I also hear that it promotes muscle breakdown.

Thanks in advance

[TigerStealth]

i think running in the morning on an emtpy stomach definitely burns muscle (and fat). But the gain to fat burning is not worth the loss to muscle. Much better in my opinion to at least have 20g of carb and 20g of protein before going out for a morning run

[fightingfalcn91]

I agree with Tiger.. Get a little something in there.. Half of a banana maybe. Something is better than nothing

[USMCMiguel]

I would recommend you take Optimum Nutrition's Casein Protein when you go to sleep, and right when you wake up. You can also toss some Quaker Oats in for a good source of carbs. Casein is slow digesting so that it delivers protein smoothly throughout 6 hours. only 120 calories a scoop, 24g of protein, 32g scoop, 75% protein.

[allergic2rice]

I would pop a few BCAA's at least

[ironwill2008]

.... I was wondering if running first thing in the morning (if I woke up EARLY early) on an empty stomach would be fine.

If you have the energy to do so, go ahead. Most guys who train fasted will at least pop a few BCAAs though, as suggested above; it can't hurt.

On one side of things I hear it promotes fat loss due to low levels of glycogen in your body in a fasted state/empty stomach.

That's not exatly true; it takes a lot more to "deplete" your glycogen stores than just jogging a few miles. Maybe running a marathon might do it though.

On the flip side I also hear that it promotes muscle breakdown.

Not really likely, unless you were fasted the day before. Bodybuilders tend to exaggerate how quickly catabolism occurs after a meal; the human body doesn't turn on itself that quickly. If it did, we never would have made it as a species this long.


Bottom line; eat when it's convenient for you to eat. What's much more important than meal timing is to simply eat your day's requirement of P/C/F by the end of the day. Every day.

[PMW]

try and get something in before you run because it will burn muscle and fat espescially running 6 miles.

[allergic2rice]

just as an extension to Ironwill's post,

the whole "carbs post-wo" thing is nonsense. You're glycogen stores are fine.
1 or 2 hours of heavy lifting will be nowhere near enough to deplete said stores.

a lot of bodybuilders run in a fasted state in order to promote fat loss...
that being said, my expertise does not extend to the regions of conditioning/getting shredded
but hey, taking BCAA's and running won't hurt.

in the long run, however, a calorie deficit will be the major cause of fat loss. eating 300-400 under maintenance every day should suffice.
although if you want speedier results, you could look into carb cycling, intermittent fasting, blah blah blah

[fightingfalcn91]

You don't want to get into the mindset of "eating when it's convenient" Eat to fuel your body. I think people get into trouble when they eat to satisfy the urge. Allergic2Rice is right. Just be careful with the intermittent fasting. It could leave you with close to nothing in the tank and you might not be able to run as far or as long as you want. And if you do it for too long, that could lead to nutritional deficiencies that could cause your body to burn muscle for fuel.

[doyoueveneat]

Do it on an empty stomach or eat something before hand, w/e u want. Im guessing you are not on a low carb diet and you will most likely be still absorbing nutrients from your last meal.

[ironwill2008]

You don't want to get into the mindset of "eating when it's convenient" Eat to fuel your body. I think people get into trouble when they eat to satisfy the urge. Allergic2Rice is right. Just be careful with the intermittent fasting. It could leave you with close to nothing in the tank and you might not be able to run as far or as long as you want. And if you do it for too long, that could lead to nutritional deficiencies that could cause your body to burn muscle for fuel.

You're aware that there are many successful trainees posting on this site who only eat once a day, aren't you? If not, you might want to take a look at this thread. Martin Berkhan started the original thread 5 years ago. The topic is still running in another long-running thread to this day:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=3587831




Berkhan also has his own site, which has a great deal of good nutrition information. It can be found here:
http://leangains.com





I'm not a proponent of IF, btw. But I'm open-minded enough to have seen that there are many ways to get to the same place, and that outmoded ways of thinking can hold back progress and/or create unneeded stress in regards to 'missing' meals, etc.

[SteveGolds]

OP, I used to run in the morning on an empty stomach every other morning back when I was cutting. It worked good for losing some weight but honestly I always feel tons better if I run a little later on in the day when Ive already had a couple small things to eat.

I'm sure it depends on the person though. Some might feel better running on an empty stomach.

[jammyo40]

Lulz at you guys and your catabrolism.

OP, if you ate normally the day prior to your run and you're not running an ultra marathon, you're fine. It's really just personal preference.

[daryl831]

running in the morning on an empty stomach has alays done wonders for me. I used to lose 10 pounds in a week by doing this, im currently running in the afternoon now and have weighted myself and results are not the same. im going back to running in morning on empty stomach..

[fightingfalcn91]

Eating once a day wouldn't be considered fasting now would it? Yes the thread is about running, so try and follow along. Sorry but your still wrong about "eating when it's convenient." RUN RUN RUN

[Engineer_Guy]

You'll be fine. Your body is not completely devoid of nutrients in the morning. I would not want to to go run right after eating anyway.

Do what's most convenient for you.

[WatchTheThrone]

Protein, aminos, or a small fruit snack...



my 2 cents

[Jdex2336]

I run at about 5:15am every other day. Our patrols start at 7-8am so I have no other time available to do it. It's a little cooler as well and really jump starts your day so I am with you on that. Personally, I have some oatmeal and a scoop of protein about a half hour before I run and I haven't seen any loss in the 3 months I have been doing that.