Exercising is very beneficial for so many reasons of which are losing weight, increasing metabolism, increasing muscle mass, improving health and the general individual well-being…to name a few. The benefits are countless!
Many people choose to exercise while on an empty stomach and that is a valid practice since in such a case the body starts burning fat instead of glucose; so instead of only burning fat for 10 minutes in a 30 minute exercise (the 20 first minutes of exercise our bodies exhaust glucose), they burn fat for 30 minutes on an empty stomach. Alright, all this sounds really great! who wouldn't want to do that, in a shorter period you could be burning triple the amount of fat from your bodies. Even I got so excited when I first read about it a few years back.
I managed to pick up with time that the above was not a healthy practice and what sounds really great at first glance will probably end up not to be that great.
1- This process of fat burning is limited! After a certain time, the body begins to burn lean body mass (muscle) in order to supply energy to the activity.
2- During fasting, there is a reduction in blood glucose that causes the body to understand that there is a deficiency of carbohydrates and to prevent it. The body saves the glucose by keeping it in the blood instead of nourishing the cells and tissues. This process repeatedly can cause blood glucose levels to remain high, increasing the risk of diabetes!!!
3- This process accumulates more fat !!!! Why? Because when we fast for long hours the body stores energy as fat for when hunger hits because the body “thinks” you will not feed it!
4- Exercising without having eaten can cause blood glucose to drop so low that you can feel lacking energy, tired with blurred vision and even faint!
So we definitely don’t advice to exercise on fasting mode! The best way to do it is 2 hours after main meal or 40 minutes after a light afternoon snack!
Happy Day to All!!!!
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Samia Khoury Dietitian
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