DOES FASTED CARDIO MAKE YOU BURN MORE FAT?

during fasted cardio the primary source of fuel for the body is fat. but the research shows that people who use fat as fuel during their workouts, burn less fat during the day. on the other hand, people who exercise after a meal and use carbohydrates (glucose) as fuel, burn more fat post-exercise. this condition, when the metabolism stays elevated for several hours after a workout, is called the after-burn. so it's obvious that you are going to burn more fat during the next 24 hours than in 30-60min of steady stay fasted cardio. 

so not only fasted cardio is not convenient in terms of fat-burning, but it is also proven that steady stay cardio slows down the metabolism. and you'll say.. what about hiit on the empty stomach?! fasted hiit is an absolute no no.. first of all because your workout efficiency is compromised when the body doesn't have enough energies so you'll burn less calories for that reason. second, because your body will get those energies from muscle-breakdown since the glycogen stores in the muscles and liver are depleted from prolonged fasting.

the take-home lesson: if you must do cardio, go with short hiit session and always have a meal before. it can be a complete meal 90 minutes before or a carb-protein shake 20 minutes before. 

if you want to read more see these articles:

Zoladz JA, Konturek SJ, Duda K, Majerczak J, Sliwowski Z, Grandys M, Bielanski W. Effect of moderate incremental exercise, performed in fed and fasted state on cardio-respiratory variables and leptin and ghrelin concentrations in young healthy men . J Physiol Pharmacol. 2005 Mar;56(1):63-85. 

Stannard SR, Buckley AJ, Edge JA, Thompson MW. Adaptations to skeletal muscle with endurance exercise training in the acutely fed versus overnight-fasted state. J Sci Med Sport. 2010;13(4):465-9

Tanner JM, Kearns DT, Kim BJ, Sloan C, Jia Z, Yang T, Abel ED, Symons JD. Fasting-induced reductions in cardiovascular and metabolic variables occur sooner in obese versus lean mice . Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2010 Dec;235(12):1489-97.

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