by Anahad O’Conner

Fitness experts will say that eating first provides fuel for a proper workout. But according to one common belief, exercising on an empty stomach forces the body to tap into its reserves, burning off calories stored as fat and providing a more efficient workout. So who is right?

According to researchers, there is no simple answer. One study that examined the claim directly in 1995 found that a group of people did burn more calories from fat on days when they exercised on an empty stomach than on days when they had a small breakfast first. But the researchers found that the difference was negligible, and other studies have shown that fewer calories are burned in the long run because the workouts are shorter.

Dr. David Prince, an assistant professor of rehabilitation medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University in New York, said that when you exercise on an empty tank, your body burns through stored carbohydrates first, then protein, before it finally moves on to fat. In the meantime, he said, “you lower your blood sugar, causing ravenous hunger that in most people would lead them to eat much more than they would otherwise.”

THE BOTTOM LINE Exercising on an empty stomach burns slightly more fat but shortens your workout.

More at nytimes.com

ROE input:  ROE is about trail running, not weight loss or dieting.  I posted this article to try to encourage eating prior to running regardless of objectives.  Whatever the goals, it still seems that having enough energy beforehand to increase trail running performance, intensity, and durations, is better than not fueling before trail runs.   If time allows, trail runners generally like to be out on the trails a bit longer, or play a little harder.  It is my recommendation to fuel up for those goals.  Other incidental results will occur, but the concentration on those alone takes away a great deal of pleasure that we derive from trail running.

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