Best Time to Go to the Gym Is... Before Breakfast, Study Shows

  • 3 min read

If you’re contemplating whether to prepare a quick breakfast smoothie before hitting the gym, this article is for you!

What's your morning routine like?

If you manage to squeeze in a few minutes of exercise after breakfast, good on you! After all, morning exercise can do a lot to improve your long-term health.

But believe it or not, a simple change in your daily morning routine can lead to some pretty fantastic results.

gym

Here's the thing:

The best time to go to the gym, according to a recent study, is before breakfast.

If you were to lift weights before eating a bowl of cereal or oatmeal in the morning, your heart, kidneys, eyes, and nerves will have a lot more to be thankful for.

Hit the Gym BEFORE Breakfast!

The research team led by Dr. R. M. Edinburgh of the University of Bath took a group of thirty willing participants – all males and classified as either overweight or obese – to assess the effects of physical activity on their bodies before and after nutrient ingestion on intramuscular lipid utilization and glucose metabolism.

So basically, they wanted to compare how fat and blood sugar are affected by exercise when done before and after breakfast.

What they found after the six-week trial was the exercise-before-breakfast group had burned twice as much fat despite performing identical exercise routines and having the same morning meals as their breakfast-before-exercise and control (those who made no modifications to their morning routine during the entirety of the project) group counterparts.

weight loss

But that’s not all they found!

The exercise-before-breakfast club also showed improved signs of insulin response. The pancreas creates insulin which then commands the cells in our bodies to let glucose in. Glucose is either immediately turned into energy or stored for later use.

By postponing breakfast until after jogging or lifting weights in the morning, our bloodstream won’t retain as much glucose since it is used more efficiently to supply our bodies with energy when we need it most.

And the scientists behind this study think there’s more to it.

Weight Loss, Lower Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease

I know what you’re thinking:

By doubling the amount of fat burned during exercise, weight loss is a sure thing.

And indeed, it is! Maintaining a longer overnight fast – in this case, refraining from eating until after exercising in the morning – leads to a drop in insulin, and the longer we go without replenishing carbs, the more energy is released by fat cells to fuel our bodies.

However, the participants in Dr. Edinburgh’s study didn’t feel a significant drop in weight, mainly because the study only lasted six weeks. On average, it’ll take a little more than 12 weeks, though it varies from person to person, to look and feel thinner.

Based on their findings, Dr. Edinburgh and crew are optimistic that exercising on an overnight-fasted state has the potential to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease later on.

Before a sugary breakfast and during exercise, our yearning-for-sustenance bodies use more glucose to provide us with energy to lift an extra rep or run an extra mile. As long as our bloodstream and fat cells aren’t retaining sugar for extended periods of time, we’ll be able to keep blood sugar levels in check.

How Molecular Hydrogen Can Help

So there’s a clear link between eating breakfast after exercising and controllable blood sugar levels, but how can you take a step further without doing harm to your body?

A busy person can only fit in so much exercise in the morning, right?!

Well, we have some good news for you! The solution may be in a supplement or a fortified beverage.

Molecular Hydrogen has received a lot of attention lately due to being a “miracle” supplement that boosts an athlete’s stamina and endurance and helps in warding off Alzheimer’s disease. But what Molecular Hydrogen is most well-known for is fighting against oxidative stress.

Oxidative stress, an imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals in the body, can exacerbate obesity and contribute to diabetes. Molecular Hydrogen, either in pill form or as a beverage, can stimulate energy metabolism, thereby improving metabolic diseases.

It never hurts to conduct a two-pronged attack to ensure high blood sugar doesn’t haunt you during your golden years. Try our molecular hydrogen tablets risk free today!

To Wrap Things Up…

The best time to go to the gym is before eating a hearty, carb-filled breakfast.

pre-workout breakfast

Postponing when you eat in the morning not only helps you burn twice as much fat doing the same exercises you’re accustomed to, but you also have the added benefit of keeping your blood sugar well in control.

Your present-self won’t thank you for working out on an empty stomach, but your future-self’s organs will definitely benefit from the simple lifestyle modification.  

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