Real Talk on the Fasted Cardio Topic

If you've ever wanted to lose body fat but didn't quite understand how to approach it, I'm sure at one point or another you've gone straight to Google to figure out how to get the job done. Upon searching time and time again, you may have learned about certain forms of cardio such as steady-state cardio, high intensity interval training, as well as fasted cardio. 

Many humans have a tendency to take the short and easy route a lot of the time. It's relatively painless, and requires very little effort, comparatively. In this article, I want to discuss the potential (keyword: potential) benefits of fasted cardio, as well as the consequences if not executed correctly.

SO YOU WANT TO LOSE FAT FAST

Don't we all? Hitting any sort of goal in an extremely short amount of time would be great, but that's just not how the world works, nor do our bodies. Losing fat is a slow process that needs to be done with consistent macronutrient tracking, clean eating, and patience. But, there HAS to be a way to speed it up, right? Well, yes and no. There are a lot of factors that go into fat loss during cardio sessions such as prior food intake, current well-being, genetics, etc. 

There are rumors out there that fasted cardio can actually help you target fat loss quicker because the body is in a fasted state after you've slept, thus it has no choice but to use stored fat. This is true, BUT only under certain circumstances as well as precautionary measures that must be taken in order to avoid the one thing we don't want: using muscle tissue as fuel. 

FIRST, SOME SIMPLE SCIENCE (kind of)

In order to transition into the necessary steps to almost guarantee fat loss, allow me to quickly discuss how our bodies operate under these conditions. Believe it or not, our bodies are much smarter than we think they are. They can adjust to certain environmental and behavioral situations without us even realizing it. It's quite fascinating. So what does that mean for fitness? Well, it means that our bodies are quick to enter survival mode (where it wants to hold on to a certain amount of fat), so at a certain point it will hold on to body fat and start using muscle tissue as fuel. When performing fasted cardio, our goal is to trick the body into thinking that it's not in survival mode, and it's free to use whatever fat stores it has for fuel. 

SO HOW DO WE TRICK THE BODY? 

When you wake, your body has nothing to work with. It's been feeding off of practically nothing for the past 6-8 hours. So, we must give our body something in order for it to feel like it's not in survival mode so it will utilize fat stores. Did you catch that? "Fasted" cardio that works isn't actually fasted cardio. Sure, your body has less to work with because you haven't eaten as many calories, but it must have some sort of carbohydrate to work with. This is because the intensity of the training can outweigh the body's ability to utilize fat stores as fuel. So at some point during the fasted cardio session, your body says away with the fat and on to the muscle.

There are studies performed that say those who perform cardio on an empty stomach are more prone to loss of muscle tissue over time compared to those who consume carbohydrates before their training sessions. Not good, because we want to conserve as much muscle tissue as possible. Anyway, we must fuel the body before cardio. Some good examples are carbohydrate protein shakes, fruits, and at the very least, branch chain amino acids. 

THE TAKEAWAY

If you want to maximize fat loss over a period of time, stick to fed, high intensity interval cardio sessions. If cardio fits into your schedule best in the morning, then do it. Just make sure you fuel up with a fast digesting carbohydrate beforehand. If cardio works better for your schedule in the afternoon, great. You will burn fat either way. There are no significant studies that say fasted cardio can significantly increase body fat loss. All we do know is that there is a chance that our bodies can use muscle tissue as fuel after a certain amount of time. So what's the tangible takeaway? Do what works for you. Track your body fat and your lean body mass over time and see where your plan takes you. If you do choose to do cardio immediately after waking, I do suggest getting some fast fuel in your system such as a fruit, carbohydrate protein shake, or branch chain amino acids.

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References

Blomstrand, Eva, and Bengt Saltin. “Effect of Muscle Glycogen on Glucose, Lactate and Amino Acid Metabolism During Exercise and Recovery in Human Subjects.” The Journal of Physiology 514.1 (1999): 293–302. Web.

My Top Five Cheats

This post is for all of my Fort Collins people. If you don't live in FoCo, it's all good. I recommend you read along anyway. Not all of these exquisite places are local to Fort Collins, so keep watch because you might have one of these places right across the street.

Before I dive into the details of my favorite places to indulge, allow me to put you in my world. But understand this: I do what I do because it works for me. It may not work for you, and it may not work for Joe & Sally, either.

Anyway, it's just any other day. I wake up, and go through my morning routine. Coffee, journaling, and looking through my execution list (no, I'm not an assassin). Once I have finished my routine, I get ready for the day and check my calendar (fun fact: cheat meals aren't on my calendar, nor are they set in my mind). As I see my schedule, it's white. No blue or green blocks. That means it's a day of blogging, marketing, programming, etc. I don't have any meetings or classes to teach, which means it's time spent at home hustling. So I begin to write, market, develop, program, make calls, etc. And then a text comes.

I feel the two vibrations on the table as my phone buzzes. I look over hoping it's text from one of a few people that I consistently communicate with around lunch and dinner hours. Why? Because I know what they're going to ask.

"WANNA GET SOME FOOD?"

Heck. Yes. Heck freaking yes I want to. If anyone knows my heart, they know that food always makes it happy, regardless of the situation. As begin to thumb my way though a reply, the wheels start turning and I ask, "where you wanna go?" Most of the time, I get the same response.

"IDK. YOU PICK."

I have now become the freaking dictator of this relationship. I am in control for the next couple of hours. I have the freedom to make the ultimate decision. Now, my day has begun.

HERE IT IS...

So here we go. In the mind of Poe, ready to make the ultimate daily decision, we find ourselves ready to approach the top five cheats list. 

1. PIZZA CASBAH

*image belongs to respective owner*

If you know me well, you know that pizza is up there on the list of favorite foods. It's so incredibly simple, yet so incredibly delicious. That's what I love about it. Located near downtown Fort Collins, Pizza Casbah is a small, locally owned pizza shop that has some of the best NY style pies out there. Not only are they known for the size of their pies, but the quality of the ingredients as well. I wish I could explain the difference of taste into words, but you'll just have check it out yourself. 

2. CAFE MEXICALI

*image belongs to respective owner*

With the opening of their first restaurant in Fort Collins, Cafe Mex has expanded and now has two other locations in Colorado. If I'm dying for some Mexican-style food, it's always Cafe Mex. Although all of their ingredients and menu items are fresh and to die for, it's crucial that you try their specialty sweet pork smothered burrito with their creamy habeñero sauce. Aside from the flavor, my favorite thing about a good cheat meal is feeling like I have a massive food baby. You'll never come up short at Cafe Mex.

3. STUFT

*image belongs to respective owner*

If you're a fan of a high quality burger in the Northern Colorado area, you know all about STUFT. Burgers and fries are my absolute favorite when it comes to cheat meals, and there is no better way to satisfy the craving than to hit up STUFT. Aside from their great menu of pre-selected burgers, they have a unique custom order style that will give any sort of twist to your typical burger. From the type of protein to the style of bun, you have the choice to make any burger you want from TONS of different ingredients. And when I say different, I mean DIFFERENT. What's so different about it you may ask? Well, let me tell you this: my absolute favorite burger to make at STUFT consists of two beef patties, honey, strawberry preserves, cream cheese, and peanut butter, with a side of sweet potato fries (I have yet to try better sweet potato fries.. they're killer). Sometimes, I'll even have a donut as my bun. Why? WELL WHY NOT? I know, I know, you may be thinking that combination sounds absolutely disgusting. That's what I thought too, until I said "screw it" and gave it a try. Go out of your comfort zone, people. It usually has a positive outcome. 

4. & 5. THE FIVE GUYS & MARY'S COMBO

*image belongs to respective owner*

You may be thinking, how can numbers four and five be together? Do they have an entree and dessert on the same menu? Nope. Numbers four and five on my list are two completely different places, but believe me when I say this: they are a match made in heaven. If you are close friend of mine, you know what my response is going to be when you say "you pick." 99% of the time, I will respond with: "Five Guys and Mary's."

I would assume that most of you know about Five Guys Burgers & Fries. It's phenomenal. In my opinion, it's somewhere in the middle of fast food, and STUFT. More towards the STUFT side, because the ingredients are soooo freaking fresh. The beef is quality, too. If you've been to Five Guys, you know that you can't walk in or out of that door with any sense of shame, because you're going all in on a big ol' greasy burger. Although the burgers at Five Guys are extremely fresh, they are ridiculously greasy and I absolutely love it. They are also known for making you feel like you have a brick inside of your stomach. They're dense. I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I'm out of commission for a couple of hours after I eat there. And when I say out of commission, I don't mean that in any way related to eating.... because it's time to take a few more steps.

After my big fat greasy burger, I head to the south door, open it, take a few steps to my right, and find myself in sweet-tooth heaven. It's time for dessert. I don't really have a lot of absolute favorite foods, because I eat and love everything. But if you were to put me in a pressure situation in which I had to pick, I would take Cookies/Milk and Ice Cream over anything else. I can't choose between the two, though. Here's the best part: I can get both of those things at Mary's Mountain Cookies. Mary's Mountain Cookies is a Colorado shop with several locations. I believe they just opened one in Missouri, too. Anyway, the cookies are massive, and out of this world. Beyond cookies, they have ice cream and cookie dough that will knock you off your feet.

If I'm really feeling the ice cream that day, I get the sandwich that has a bottom layer of cookie, stacked with cookie dough, about an inch of ice cream, and another cookie on top of that. IT. IS. AMAZING. You might be asking yourself, "how is this kid not sick by this point?" The answer to your question is: I don't know. I really have no clue. At this point I should be puking but I'm ready to down that ice cream sandwich in 120 seconds or less.

If the ice cream isn't an option for me that day, some of my favorite cookies there are the C.O.W., the Monster, and the Caramel Sea Salt. And no, I never get one cookie. That's lame and for the birds. I always get two or more because it's more cookie to eat, and it's more punches on my card toward a free one. 

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'm not a saint, and neither is any other personal trainer you've met. We all have our "things", and these are mine. We just have to make sure we treat them as cheats, and not habits. 

So next time you're out on the town, or looking for a new place to indulge, refer to this article and pick one of my favorites. Heck, try more than one if you think you can handle it. 

For articles, posts, videos, and tips on things that will actually improve your health, follow me on Instagram and Twitter. Give my Facebook page a "like" too when you get a chance. 

I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. I will probably be eating a cookie within the next 15 minutes. 

Thanks for reading!

Why Whey?

Whey protein has been all the buzz for quite some time, and it should be for many reasons. Why, though? With all the other kinds of protein on the market like casein, soy, milk, and egg, what makes whey so special? In today's blog I'll keep it short and sweet. Here's why you need to have some whey protein in your diet.

WHAT IS IT?

When making cheese, there is a watery portion that separates from the curds. Curds is such a gross word to me. Curds...

Anyway, the watery portion is whey, and whey protein is taken from that. The protein is made up of all nine essential amino acids and has very little lactose. Over the years, we have been able to develop filtering systems to create more high-quality whey concentrates.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Whey protein is used for many reasons, but the place it is used the most is in the fitness realm. And no, I'm not just talking about meatheads that train biceps every day of the week. A lot of people use whey and here's why. 

Whey protein aids in maintaining and increasing muscle mass. After training, your muscles are in a catabolic (muscle depleting) state. In order to keep our body away from that state, we need to feed it amino acids and proteins to put it in an anabolic state. Whey is perfect for the reason I discussed before. It has the nine essential amino acids, and your body absorbs/uses it much faster than other forms of protein like casein.  

But what's so special about the protein powder itself? Why can't any other form of protein be consumed after a workout? Well, any form of protein can be consumed after a workout, but whey protein exceeds all other forms in that it is absorbed by the body much quicker. When mixed with water, it is easy for whey to travel to our muscles and keep them from staying in that catabolic state. This is why I have all my clients take whey protein with water in between their resistance training and their cardio. The cardio and increased blood flow will aid in shuttling the protein throughout the body. 

Whey has also been shown to aid in weight loss. When I say "weight loss", I'm talking about good weight loss. A loss of body fat. Protein aids in boosting your metabolism as well as calories burned because it takes the most amount of energy to digest proteins in comparison to carbs and fats. 

COOL STORY, BRO

The information is good to know, but you still need to make a decision when you go to the store. So what whey protein should you buy? To be honest, I think most products are the same across the board. It might take you time to figure out what you like most. There are a lot of factors that will influence your decision like taste, ability to dissolve, etc. My one piece of advice is this: AVOID proprietary blends. Another word for proprietary is: SKETCHY. Proprietary blends don't tell you exactly what's inside, and that should raise a big red flag for you. Make sure that the product lists every single ingredient as well as it's amount. If you see something like, "monstrous post-workout matrix... 700mg", that's freaking sketchy, and you shouldn't trust it. Do your research, educate yourself, and make good choices.

BOTTOM LINE

If you're not including whey protein in your diet and training regimen, I highly recommend doing so (with your doctor's approval). It could make a big difference in the overall composition of your body at the end of an exercise program. 

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