Anytime of the day you choose to break a sweat is much better than never. So, don’t let this intimidate you from working out if you can’t do it at this time of day. However, if you have some flexibility with your day and can make this happen in your schedule, you may notice faster results in your fitness efforts!
Who doesn’t want quicker results from their workouts?
Researchers recruited healthy, active young men and fed them a bad diet for six weeks. A group of them that exercised before breakfast gained almost no weight and showed no signs of insulin resistance. What’s more, they burned the fat they were taking in more efficiently.
According to the New York Times:
“… [W]orking out before breakfast directly combated the two most detrimental effects of eating a high-fat, high-calorie diet. It also helped the men avoid gaining weight.
Studies have shown getting active first thing in the morning dramatically boosts your body’s fat burning furnace. If you can break a sweat before you eat breakfast, your body uses stored fat as energy to complete the workout. There are two major reasons why I love my morning workouts…
1. IT’S DONE AND I NO LONGER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT.
You know what I mean…you have those days too, right? Those days where you know you want to workout, you just
aren’t sure when. So, first you get some work done, run errands, take care of the kids, clean the house, make lunch, clean the house, make dinner, clean the house, and all of a sudden it’s 10pm, you’re exhausted and you never got your workout in despite the fact that it’s been in your brain haunting you all day long. At the end of the day you’re frustrated with yourself for not accomplishing what you set out to do, you feel crappy and extra chubby, and you start feeling down about yourself. Have you had one of these days? Maybe many days follow this pattern for you.
All of this could be avoided by breaking a sweat before breakfast. No matter what time your day starts, I would imagine it is very possible for you to wake up 20-30 minutes earlier to get in some good exercise. I understand that getting up before the sun rises just seems cruel. In that moment, you hate your alarm for screaming at you, telling you to enter into battle with your warm comfy bed. It’s tempting to let your down comforter completely capture you and to surrender to its perfect softness wrapping you tightly in its fluffy arms. I get in to trouble here too.
In this moment, I have a secret that really helps me to win the battle. I keep my eyes closed and sit up. I reach over to the folded workout clothes I put next to my bed the night before, and half-asleep, half-awake change from my comfy PJ’s to my workout clothes. By the time I’m done changing, I’ve usually forgotten about my comfy bed and am focused on my new goal of getting a good workout in. I walk to the kitchen to grab a glass bottle to fill with water, grab my towel, and either head to the gym or into my living room to do one of my Insane Fat Loss Home Workouts. I’m not a fan of marathon workouts, so instead I go for high intensity interval training and I’m able to get a sweat drenching workout in less than 40 minutes! Sometimes it only takes 15!
I then jump in the shower to enjoy the sweet feeling of success and get ready to kick a** in the rest of my day! Such a GREAT feeling!
2. BOOSTS METABOLISM, AWAKENS THE BODY, EXTRA FAT BURNING POWERS, STIMULATES DIGESTIVE SYSTEM, CLEANS OUT THE GUNK, AND GETS MY JOINTS & MUSCLES MOVING EARLY AFTER BEING STILL FOR 8 HOURS SLEEPING.
In addition to getting my workout out-of-the-way, there really are INCREDIBLE benefits to exercising first thing in the morning! I don’t know about you, but I LOVE efficiency! If I put the same amount of effort in a workout first thing in the morning as I do in midday, but I can burn more calories & fat by doing it first thing in the morning, that in itself is a motivation to wake up early!
Here are some of the top health benefits of getting in your exercise in the A.M.:
1. Improves your body’s glucose metabolism & insulin sensitivity during periods of high caloric eating, such as the holidays.
If you click the link to go to the study done proving the benefits of exercising in a fasted state, you’ll see that it showed in times of high calorie- high fat eating, by simply exercising first thing in the morning, the chances of you gaining weight, dramatically decreases! Hallelujah!
The authors of the above study concluded that:
“This study for the first time shows that fasted training is more potent than fed training to facilitate adaptations in muscle and to improve whole-body glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity during hyper-caloric fat-rich diet.”
2. Activates your SNS (Sympathetic Nervous System) which controls fat burning processes.
When in a fasting state (which we always are, in the morning after not eating for 8-15 hours since dinner) and we exercise, it forces our body to activate the SNS and breakdown fat and glycogen for energy. This is how exercising in the morning effectively forces your body to burn fat. When you exercise with food in your stomach and extra calories, your body can either be told to STORE extra energy instead of burn it, or your body can burn the food recently consumed before touching the stored energy reserves.
It’s important to realize that eating a full meal high in carbs before exercise activates your PNS (Parasympathetic Nervous System) which does the opposite as the SNS, as it actually promotes STORING calories & fat, which is the opposite of what you’re looking for! In fact, eating a carbohydrate rich breakfast before exercise can cause you to GAIN weight! Yikes!
3. Promotes insulin regulation.
Leading doctors such as Dr. Mercola believes that insulin resistance is the root cause of most chronic disease. Those are big words! Exercising in a fasted state can substantially decrease insulin resistance, having numerous beneficial effects on the body.
This May Not Be For Everyone…
For those very sensitive to changes in their blood sugar levels, they may feel faint or dizzy within 15-25 minutes into their workout in a fasted state. For those individuals, it is recommended to eat a small meal before working out, preferably low in carbohydrates. My favorite options that help stimulate workouts are:
- Sunrider “Meal in a Mug”: Nuplus, Quinary, Calli, Sunnydew stevia, & Fortune Delight.
- Mercola’s Raw Whey Protein Shake or another healthy protein powder option. (READ LABELS)!
- 2 organic free-range eggs
- 1 piece of gluten-free, low carb bread made with almond flour and topped with coconut oil
So, listen to your body and do what feels best. Once you get in a routine, you’re going to feel AWESOME because you ARE AWESOME! 🙂
MORE RESOURCES:
- http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx
- http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/10/05/exercising-in-fasted-state.aspx
- http://www.peakfitnesstechnique.com/peak-8-exercises/exercise-in-the-morning-to-achieve-peak-fitness/
XOXO,
I would LOVE to coach you through your fitness & health goals! Check out one of my holistic health programs and schedule a FREE consultation with me TODAY!
If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.
~ Ecclesiastes 4:10
2 Comments
Hi Beautiful PRIMA! I love leaning from your post. Thank you so much! You are so gifted!! I was so happy to read this and to know that I’m doing something RIGHT!! LOL I get up at 4:50 and do my insanity Monday – Friday. 🙂 I love it!! It’s quiet in the house, no phones ringing, and I feel so good the whole day!!!! I’ve notice a huge change in my energy level and I’m 5 pounds away from my dream weight. 🙂 now if I can get rid of my tummy. I’m praying that I could start ordering from sun rider. I need to!!! Thank you again you are a young beautiful godly lady that is super wise and absolutely AMAZING!!!! I love you! God bless you!!! I miss you!!
~Sophia XOXO
My amazing Prima!!! I am SO proud of you!!! Your commitment is inspiring! 5 pounds away is incredible!!! Great job! So amazing! 🙂 Whenever the time is right, I know the Sunrider foods are going to be an incredible addition to all of the wonderful things you are doing! Love you!!