Running on Empty

Should I run first thing in the morning before I eat to burn straight fat because my body is in a catabolic state?

This is a common belief and the catabolic state argument has been around for a long time and it has only been strengthened by low carb diet gurus. Some people like to run on an empty stomach me personally I bonk if I don’t eat at least a little something.

Carbs give us energy and it is true that our bodies burn a lot of the carbs while we sleep there is still a lot of potential energy left. It is also true that our bodies are always burning a combination of carbs, fat and yes even muscle. Everyone is different some people have metabolisms that are suited better for burning fat to produce energy and some people have trained their bodies to be more efficient at burning fat. That said, if you do your cardio before you eat you can expect to loose a significant amount of weight and not all of that weight will be fat. You also stand to burn a higher proportion of muscle than you would if your body were properly fueled.

In a properly fueled body during medium intensity cardiovascular exercise your energy is derived from a combination of carbs and fat, the fat side of this ratio increases as you continue your cardio. Exact numbers are difficult monitor and even more difficult to prove but the conventional wisdom states that after about 20 minutes of cardio your body reaches a fat burning state and continues to increase that amount of fat that it burns as the carb stores run out. This is one of the reasons that fatigue begins to set in about this time. Trained runners or other endurance athletes have peaked their bodies ability to perform while burning almost exclusively fat. This is also the main reason that endurance athletes consume high calorie energy boost foods and supplements during events.

I say proceed with caution and see how you feel, keep an eye on your lean muscle mass and if you decide that you are loosing too much of the wrong kind of weight stop and re-evaluate your program. Your body will not shrivel up and whither away in a matter of days or weeks, experiment, and see what works best for you.

I tend to feel that you have to keep things light hearted and enjoyable. Exercising with zero energy is basically torture and contains absolutely no enjoyment in my eyes. If you are looking for that kind of challenge go ahead.