Sandhya Raghavan
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Written By: Sandhya Raghavan | Updated : November 20, 2017 6:49 PM IST
To eat or not to eat, if that is your question, here's news for you. Those with weight loss on their mind should try this neat trick which is 100 percent scientific. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism suggests that hitting your gym before a breakfast will make you eat lesser throughout the day. The researchers who conducted the study intended to explore the effects of fasting on workouts and weight loss. Although it sounds too fantastic to be true, here what the study says.
Twelve active young white males were the participants selected for the study. Each participant completed two trials, one week apart. In the study, the participants were asked to have the same foods they had the day before and avoid any heavy exercises 24 hours before the trial. They were also asked to have at least 500 ml of water at 8 pm and start a fast devoid of alcohol and coffee after 10 pm.
Some of the participants were given a breakfast of oatmeal and orange juice. The others were not fed breakfast. At 10 am, the men from both teams were made to run on a treadmill for an hour. After the run, they were given water and made to rest until lunch. Soon after the run, they were also given lunch and some food to take back home. The researchers asked the participants to eat only the food that was given and was instructed to record their food intake. The ones that was not consumed was returned to the lab the next morning.
Amazingly, the researchers saw that the men ate more on days when they exercised after breakfast. The participants had consumed 4500 calories on days when they had their breakfast and 3600 calories when they didn't. The study clearly shows a positive correlation between skipping breakfast before exercising.
If you want to try it out, err on the side of caution. Try it on a day when you don't have to go anywhere. In some people, working out on an empty stomach could cause swooning or sugar crashes.
Reference:
Bachman, J. L., Deitrick, R. W., & Hillman, A. R. (2016). Exercising in the Fasted State Reduced 24-Hour Energy Intake in Active Male Adults. Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism, 2016, 1984198. https://doi.org/10.1155/2016/1984198
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