Body pulls energy from where ???

R

RhiannonW

Cathlete
Cathe and Educated Crowd,
If I carry excess body fat in my belly, love handles and bra area, is that where the fuel is pulled from first during my workout? I don't have but maybe 5 pounds of fat to lose, but it won't go away. Why not? My regimen is good, I think. I do 4 hard cardio(MIC, IMAX, Powermax, Bodymax), and 2 total body weight workouts each week.
For 3 1/2 years I've been working out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. I thought my body would pull any energy it needs from the excess fat first. True or Not True?

Also, I have a flat butt so I'm doing many squats and lunges with weight. If I'm working out on an empty stomach, will my body take muscle from my butt to use as fuel, thus literally work my butt off making it flatter? Or will it take fuel from my belly and love handles to make the puffy butt?
 
Hi, Rhiannon! This is a good Maribeth question - she's got the physiology of the production of energy down to a science!

However, in general terms, the first energy source during any workout, especially a cardio workout, is glycogen, which is essentially sugar stored in the muscles and tapped first to start combining with oxygen and fuel the workout. Depending on the duration of the workout, what then generally happens is that the fuel source becomes a combination of glycogen and stored fats, which again are oxidized and provide fuel for continued work.

Exercise for the purpose of management or reduction of fat stores is not simply a question of exercising in such a manner that fat is "burned" first, last or exclusively during the workout. What counts is caloric expenditure more than the substrate used, and caloric expenditure can be achieved both by exertion (exercise) and by maintaining lean muscle mass that is "hungry" and needs calories to sustain themselves.

You've probably heard this or read it a million times, but I'll suggest that if you've reached a plateau, perhaps it's time to change your weekly / monthly routine; I notice you do a great deal of step workouts, and perhaps it's time to bring kickboxing, jogging / power walking, swimming, or any other different mode into your cardio routine. Further, it may also be time to re-evaluate the structure and scheduling of your strength training program, with the understanding that you cannot selectively lose fat stores in a given area - you can only selectively strengthen areas.

And beyond that, perhaps you are at the size / shape / body fat content that you were meant to be.

Hope this helps, and hope Maribeth chimes in in case I've misstated the energy production stuff.

Annette
 
Just chiming in with an exercise suggestion: I recommend walking lunges for building, firming and lifting the butt. I added those to my regimen and after a few weeks my husband noticed the difference. I did too with the way my clothes fit. :)
 
Thanks for responding! I hope Maribeth gives her advice too. How many step workouts should I replace with running or kickboxing? I want to maintain my current endurance level.
I might also mention I've only been doing weights for 3-4 weeks, up until then it was 5 days cardio. Is my body still adjusting to this rotation such that I should keep the current for another 3-4 weeks, then change it up with KB and/or running? Or go ahead and change it up now?
 
Rhiannon,
This is where it can get tricky. If you keep this one fact in mind, it will be very helpful. The body is never in a totally aerobic state nor totally in an anaerobic state. As long as there is glycogen available, the body will use a combo of glycogen and fat to fuel all activity--whether doing cardio work, weight lifting, or at rest.

When the body is in a primarily anaerobic state, the predominant fuel is glucose, which can come from what has been recently eaten or come from stored sources, known as glycogen, in the liver and muscles. When the body is in a primarily aerobic state, a significant portion of the fuel will come from fat. The body can only use fat as a fuel when there is oxygen and glucose present. The percentage of fat utilized is dependent on oxygen supply. At rest, when we have plenty of available oxygen, most of the fuel that our body requires to maintain itself is derived from fat stores. As the intensity of activity increases, the percentage of fuel coming from fat decreases.

This doesn't mean that we need to work less intensely to lose fat, though. Higher intensity exercise burns a greater total number of calories, so although the percentage of calories from fat is lower, the total number of fat calories burned will be higher.

Also, the higher the intensity of the exercise, the longer the body takes to return to its resting state, meaning that the metabolic rate stays elevated for a longer period of time after more intense exercise than it does after a less intense session. Higher metabolic rates=greater fat loss.

Sadly enough, the places the body tends to store fat in the greatest quantities are determined genetically. In general, once you reach adulthood, you don't gain or lose fat cell numbers--they just increase in size. The first place you put it on will be the last place you take it off because the first place you gain it is where you have the greatest storage capacity for fat.

Key point here--exercise on an empty stomach is counterproductive if the goal is long term fat loss. The body has to have glucose to work and if you are glucose depleted, it will rob amino acids from the protein stores (ie, muscle tissue) to build glucose. Yes, some glucose can be made from fat, but the body prefers to use amino acids, so any fat lost due to making glucose will be accompanied by a significantly greater loss of lean muscle. You will also not have the energy to exercise as intensely nor for as long because the body is having to build the glucose as it goes. When your glucose supplies run low, so does your energy.

I know this gets complex, so if you have any questions, fire away!
Maribeth
 
Thank you SO much for responding Maribeth. I was hoping you would. Complex is right!
Yesterday I began drinking 4 oz orange juice before I workout.
Would changing the time of day I workout make a difference? I hope you say, 'no', but tell me the truth. I have 2 kids and have to workout before they rise or I don't get it done.

What is your take on my flat butt issue? Am I literally working it off making it flatter? Are the butt muscles getting eaten up as fuel? It sure appears to me it's getting flatter...
 
Maribeth, I have a question!!!

First off, thank you for asking this, Rhiannon, and thank you, Maribeth, for answering! this applies to me strongly, because i enjoy working out *first thing* in the morning on an empty stomach. I always figured that if my body was feeling just fine (i.e. no low blood sugar dizzies or what have you) then there was no problem. My problem is I really can't take food before a workout. Could I use something like a sport gel? how about Gatorade? Does the food/fuel have to have protein?

All kinds of questions!!! :)

Kathy
 
RE: Maribeth, I have a question!!!

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-13-02 AT 06:08PM (Est)[/font][p]Exercising on an empty stomach? I do this as well. I get up so early to workout there is no way I have an appetite until at least an hour after my cardio. To me, doing 30-45 minutes of step or kickboxing in the morning is what I would consider a moderate workout so do these rules apply, or is this for a really hardcore exerciser who's hitting the pavement and running like crazy for 7 miles? On weekends I work out much later in the morning and then, yes, I do eat before I hit the gym,I also workout much harder cos I don't have to think about getting to work on time. Cardio in the morning and weight work at night is how I personally work my body, would this make a difference??
 
RE: Maribeth, I have a question!!!

The rules apply to anyone who engages in a workout program first thing in the morning. If eating doesn't appeal or if it is impossible, try the 4 oz of OJ or apple juice mixed with 4 oz of water to prime your pump.

Without a refueling of glucose, you jeopardize lean muscle mass and the intensity of your workout suffers. Try the juice trick about 20 or so minutes before you start your workout.
Maribeth
 
RE: Maribeth, I have a question!!!

The sports gels designed for endurance athletes will work. Gatorade will, too. The food doesn't have to have protein at all, just a shot of a carb to refuel your engine. And it doesn't take much--just enough to provide the glucose you need to spare muscle protein.
Maribeth
 
If you have been working out on an empty stomach for an extended period, you may be noticing an appreciable amount of muscle loss. It may also be a loss of some body fat in the area, but if you are training with squats, lunges, hip extensions and hip abduction exercises, the muscle growth should show.

I would definitely make sure you're not doing the empty stomach workout thing. And, no, time of day doesn't matter as far as your workout goes. Do it when you feel your strongest or when you have time. The only negative for doing it at night can be you'll be revved and find it difficult to sleep. This happens to me, but I know others who sleep like the dead after a hard workout.

Take care! Let me know if the glute training doesn't progress as you would like. There are a few techniques that you might find helpful to add to your program.

Maribeth
 
RE: Okay - I am confused

I aways read that fitness competitors do cardio 1st thing in the morning because they don't have any fuel in their stomachs so they are burning their own fat stores. I have worked out in the a.m. on an empty stomach for like 5 years now! What in the world! Should I change this? Only on weight training days, or both cardio and strength days? Thank you so much for answering!
 
RE: Okay - I am confused

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Aug-13-02 AT 08:21PM (Est)[/font][p]Hi, Jillybeans,
Some of the female fitness competitors do this, more out of misunderstanding than anything else. Believe it or not, there are lots of genetically blessed people that know very little about how the body works and look good despite their ignorance rather than because of their knowledge.

What they do is deplete glycogen stores, and with the glycogen, goes water. For every 1816 calories of stored glycogen (equivalent to 1 pound), they also lose three pounds of water. The loss of water weight gives the appearance of being more "cut". It is this that gives them the impression that they lose extra body fat by exercising on an empty stomach.

Additionally, these women don't do this all the time--instead it is done just prior to a contest or photo shoot. Occasionally they overdo it, too. These are the ones that are described as coming into a contest "flat". The loss of muscle mass they sustain combined with the dehydration detracts from their appearance.

It does get confusing, especially with so many conflicting messages from those supposedly in the know. But the science wins out here. From a physiological standpoint, exercise in a glycogen depleted state guarantees one thing only--protein will be used to make more.

Did this make sense?
Maribeth
 
RE: Okay - I am confused

That is really wonderful advice Maribeth! I sure am glad that you and Annette are here to dispel the myths!! I know that the logic with women is if they can get rid of all the carbs, or glucose in your words, that there will be nothing there to use as energy and therefore, more fat can be burned because that is all that is left hanging around....other than protein (as you reminded us). I think this is where the confusion comes in. People really need to understand how the body processes all the macronutrients and how they breakdown. I learned along time ago that fat cannot even be "burned" without the presence of atleast some carb. Is this true?? I think this is where Ketosis comes in, yes??

I just love these conversations, because everyone always thinks it is just about not taking in carbs, but it is really about taking carbs, protein and fat in at the right proportions to enable maximum fat loss. Please, keep on with the info...(I think you have found your niche here!!:):)

Janice
 
RE: Okay - I am confused

Janice,
Just to clarify--there is no truth to the idea that all the carbs have to be expended before fat can be burned. The body burns a combo of fats and carbs all the time, just in varying proportions. What the body can't do is start the process to utilize fat as a fuel for exercise without two things--adequate oxygen present and a supply of glucose to start the chemical process that allows fat to be aerobically metabolized.

If the glycogen stores are inadequate, the body will make glucose from protein and fat--primarily from protein, though. So even though a bit of fat is utilized to make glucose, substantially more protein is used, resulting in a loss of lean muscle mass when it comes to exercise on an empty stomach. Asking the body to work in an unfed state sets off a survival mechanism that encourages the breakdown of metabolically active tissue (muscle) and saves the metabolically inactive tissue (fat) to preserve life.

One of the conditions in which ketosis occurs is when fat or protein is broken down to make glucose. A by-product of the process is ketone bodies, which can come from either fat or protein breakdown. This makes it impossible to determine what is happening based on the presence of ketone bodies in the urine alone. It does tell you that gluconeogenesis (the making of glucose from protein or fat)is occurring, but that is all that it tells you. Contrary to Dr. Atkins and gang, ketosis isn't indicative of the burning of lots of fat, but if ketosis is happening, you can be sure that protein is being broken down since it is the body's preference for use in making glucose from non-carb souces.

Makes your head spin, no?
Maribeth
 
My sample of one...

Maribeth, I have really been paying attention to your posts and put some things into action over the last few weeks. I have been struggling with the last 10 lbs for well over a year. So I mixed up my cardio work (added swimming) and the lbs are coming off! I have only 2 left now, I feel great about it. Also, I get up at 4:20 and start working out at 4:30 and go until 6:00. And yep, I've done this for about 3 years on a empty stomach because I read that's the way to get the fat off (hmmm, but it sure wasn't working, was it?). I never realized that if I was running out of gas, then I wouldn't expend as many calories. I could always finish and never thought about how it might feel different if I ate something. So after reading your posts, I started eating something and IT HAS MADE A DIFFERENCE. I feel much more powerful for that last 30 - 45 minutes. I always do weights first then cardio (maybe I would've noticed if it was opposite). I didn't even realize that I was dragging. Now it's full energy to the end.
Thanks! I love the results! Keep the tips coming!
Meredith
 
RE: My sample of one...

Maribeth -
I just have to add...I've been called your name so many times in my life...I had to smile when I first started seeing your posts.
Meredith
 
Can I ask one more question......?

This is a very interesting thread. I have always worked out in the mornings - on an empty stomache - and I always make it through. But I realize that I could do much better with fuel. The one problem I have is when I run. My favorite breakfast is a bowl of whole grain cereal. I have tried eating this two hours before a run and it just doesn't work. Evidently, it is not digested enough because I feel like I just ate. Can you tell me what would be good to eat two hours before a run? I get up at 6:30 and usually start workouts at 8:30. I have to admit that one reason I don't eat before is that it makes it harder to stay within my calorie limits for the day. (I can eat like a field hand).

Thanks so much for all the advice!!!

Susan
 
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