You Can Lose the Most Fats before Breakfast, Researchers Find

Rebecca Lewis January 25, 2013

Sure you can exercise early in the morning, in the afternoon, or at night. But if you want to burn more fats, you better do it before breakfast, a new research suggests.

In a study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, researchers from Northumbria University, found that exercising with an empty stomach lets you burn up to 20% more body fats than you would normally burn when exercising after breakfast.

Twelve physically active participants were recruited to join the study and perform a bout of treadmill exercise at 10 am regardless of whether they fasted for the rest of the night until morning or they have eaten breakfast. The experiment was so designed to know whether overnight fasting is undermined by an increase in appetite and eating more food later in the day.

After each exercising activity, participants were given a milkshake recovery drink. Later in the day, they were also served pasta dishes which they were asked to consume until they have felt ‘comfortably full’. The researchers recorded the fat and energy-intake of the volunteers, as well as the amount of fats burned during their morning physical workouts.

Researchers found that the volunteers who did not have breakfast prior to exercising did not consume additional calories and did not experience an increase in their appetite during the day to compensate for the strenuous physical activity. They also found that those who fasted the other night were able to burn 20% more fats than those who ate breakfast prior the workout.

Burn More, Consume Less

Javier Gonzalez, one of the co-authors of the study, and a post graduate student taking PhD in Exercise and Metabolism suggest that in order to lose body fats, we must consume fewer calories than what we can burn. She said exercising increases the total amount of energy we release, and a greater proportion of this energy comes from the existing fats.

The researchers noted that their findings simply show that exercising doesn’t increase a person’s appetite, hunger or food consumption later in the day.

The Best Time to Exercise

Many of us have been wondering what time in the day is it best to exercise. Well, unless otherwise countered by future research, this study gives us the answer: Do it in the morning, before eating your breakfast!

Are you the type of person who prefers exercising in the morning than in any other time of the day? If yes, what are the positive effects that you experience doing so? Share your comment below.

 

Dear Readers,

When do you think is the best time for us to exercise during the day?

Share your comments below!

 

Source of this article:

Breakfast and exercise contingently affect postprandial metabolism and energy balance in physically active males