Because I'm one of those people who can't function when I'm hungry (I get nausous, weak and grumpy), I always used to make sure I ate a small breakfast before exercising in the morning, but for the last few weeks I've been running on an empty stomach because I've heard it's more effective for burning fat, and because it means I can get out of bed a little later. The first few times I was surprised to find that I was still able to get through the run and didn't feel nauseous, but I still feel absolutely ravenous by the time I get home, and I don't feel I could go another hour without eating if I needed to.

I have a bit of extra fat I'd like to get rid of, but at the same time I worry about my muscles catabolising. I don't know too much about it all though, am I doing the right thing? Does your body get more and more used to functioning without food? (ie will I be able to exercise for longer without food the more often I do it?)

Thank you.

The short answer is never exercise on an empty stomach. The long answer, with someone explaining exactly why that is so bad, should come along eventually. It's too early in the morning for me to post more than three sentences.

Can you accustom your car to run on an empty tank?

I have a banana in the morning before I go running then have my breakfast when I get back. It works well for me.

PsychoMongoose posted this link http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=747976 in this thread http://www.bullshido.net/forums/showthread.php?t=45003 which seems to contain some info that might be useful to you.

i prefer to eat a good breakfast, let it settle, and THEN run, when i know my body is using the carbohydrate i just fuelled it with, NOT using the protein i need for muscle repair and keeping me feeling full, and not wasting away my muscle tissue.
For me, the fat burning comes with the fact that my heart rate and escpecially metabolism is elevated for up to 12 hours afterwards.
That works for me anyway, and i have quite a low body fat percentage considering the amount of food i eat.

I like to run before breakfast because there's less chance of spewage.

I like to run before breakfast because there's less chance of spewage.


Same here. The only thing I can stand before I run in the morning is a glass of orange juice.

i never heard of runnin after u eat a meal.......that equals vomitting an cramps....

i usually drink a lil gatorade an have somethin light like a power-bar with some Endurox tablets

Opposite for me. I ran once right after I got up. Before eating. Ran half a mile and almost collapsed. Then came the dry heaving.

If I eat, wait a few minutes, then go, I don't feel like hurling.

You ninjas are weird.

****, if I eat anything more than a bit of yogurt, I will certainly puke and/or not being able to run, roll or lift weights. When and if I work out in the morning, I drink a full glass of water and a pair of NO2 caps... or gatorade if I'm hungry.

If I'm too hungry in the morning it's because I fucked up my last night meal. When only I'm lifting weights, I drink water half an hour before the exercise. Then I drink a gatorade or some power-liquid **** during my workout. 10 minutes before I finish, I have my first meal in the morning (either 3 eggs rolled in pita bread or a myoplex shake.) 3 hours later I get my next meal.


Lothene, regarding your question. People react differently, so you'll have to experminent. For me, running or cardio alone doesn't help me get rid of extra handles. Lifting weights (lots) combined with cardio does the trick... starting with an empty stomach. I get through it with gatorade, and I don't have any real meals only after the workout is done.

You may also want to try an ephedra-FREE supplement, like Xenadrine or Hydroxicut... provided they are 1) the ephedra-free versions, and 2) you don't have any weird heart or blood-pressure condition.

Before I run I usually have something like a handful of nuts and some water, something light. Then when I finish the run I finsh breakfast with some milk, a piece of toast or and egg or two (no yolks).

I sometimes drink some chocolate milk like half an hour before I plan to lift. Just so I don't feel hungry at all while working out. I fucking rock.

I've run on both empty and full before and they both feel about the same except for after running with a full stomach I usually have to drop some serious bombs.

The only thing I would never do before running is fill my bladder. Running with 5986713476 gallons of piss in you hurts like a mofo. Also, I can't drink or eat anything acidy like oranges before running. Water is your buddy, but don't over do it or he'll **** you up.

Personally, how well I can run in the morning depends on what I ate the previous night. I know some folks who run marathons and they never fail to consume large amounts of carbohydrates several hours before training (and especially before the actual marathon).
Apparently fig bars and nutrigrain bars are where it's at. 26 grams of carbs and only 3 of fat.

I have never read anything that showed that the muscle catabolism in this case is worth the extra fat burn.

As a guy who would rather lose fat slowly than lose fat and muscle quickly, I have to agree with you there.