- How to make
- Advantages and disadvantages of fasting aerobic exercise
- Does fast aerobic training lose weight?
- What is the best way to lose weight?
Fasting aerobic exercise, also known as AEJ, is a training method used by many people in order to lose weight faster. This exercise should be done at a low intensity and is normally done on an empty stomach right after waking up. This strategy has as principle to make the body use the fat reserves to generate energy, since during the fast the glucose reserves were depleted.
This type of training is still under study and is widely discussed among professionals, as it can lead to an imbalance in the body, such as discomfort or hypoglycemia, without necessarily losing weight. Even the breakdown of proteins and, consequently, the loss of muscle mass can happen. To solve this issue, some people choose to take some type of supplementation, such as BCAA, which is a supplement consisting of amino acids capable of preventing muscle loss, but this can disregard fasting.
How to make
Fasting aerobic exercise should be done early in the morning, fasting for 12 to 14 hours, without consumption of supplements, such as BCAA, and should be of low intensity, with a walk of about 45 minutes recommended. It is important to drink water before, during and after exercise and to avoid doing it every day or for an extended period, as fasted aerobic exercise loses its long-term efficiency.
Advantages and disadvantages of fasting aerobic exercise
Fasting aerobic exercise must take into account several issues so that it can be beneficial to the person. In order to have satisfactory results, the type of diet, hypoglycemic tendencies, cardiovascular conditions and physical conditioning must be taken into account.
Some advantages are:
- Food is processed more quickly, as there is a decrease in production and an increase in the body's sensitivity to insulin; Increased muscle mass, as there is a stimulus in the production of growth hormone, GH; Increase in caloric expenditure; Loss of fat, as the body starts to use fat as the first source of energy.
Although it has several advantages, it is important to avoid performing fast aerobic training every day, as it is an inefficient method in the long run, since the body can be taken to an energy-saving state, in which there is a decrease in expenditure of energy during exercise. Thus, some disadvantages are:
- Demotivation during aerobic exercises; Decreased performance in exercise; Imbalance in the body; Greater chance of developing diseases; Feeling; Fainting; Dizziness; Hypoglycemia; Loss of muscle mass due to increased protein breakdown, in the case of fasting exercises with high intensity.
It is also important to keep in mind that not all people will have the same benefits of fasting training and, therefore, the ideal is that it is indicated by the physical education professional so that strategies are created to enhance the effects of AEJ.
Does fast aerobic training lose weight?
If training is performed at low intensity, on alternate days and with professional guidance, yes. Fasting aerobic exercise is based on the fact that in fasting the body uses all the glucose stores to maintain the body's functions, making it easier for the body to use fat stores to generate energy for physical activity early in the morning.
However, this type of training is more effective in those people who have a low calorie diet, already have physical conditioning and the body can naturally use fat as a primary energy source. In addition, in order to actually lose weight with exercise on an empty stomach, it is important to drink water before and during exercise and perform low-intensity activity, such as walking, for a period of about 40 minutes.
If the exercise performed on a fast is of a very high intensity, such as interval running or HIIT, there may be loss of muscle mass, dizziness, fainting or feeling sick. Learn more about HIIT.
Watch our nutritionist's explanations of fasting aerobic exercise in the following video:
What is the best way to lose weight?
It has been scientifically proven that weight loss is directly related to a balanced diet, duration and intensity of exercises.
Fasting aerobic exercise, despite having the potential to increase the use of fat to generate energy, is more associated with the loss of muscle mass, than in fact with weight loss, as many people end up doing this type of exercise without proper guidance.
See what are the best exercises to lose weight.
