I took this excerpt (left out the part about how he said to maintain a low-fat diet!) from an article on askmen.com by Ian Lee entitled "Fat Burning Morning Workouts." Just adding some more info on the positives of AM cardio on am empty stomach!

Now, here's why cardio training in the morning is a great way to blast fat:
Your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (also called stored carbohydrates) are normally very low when you wake up first thing in the morning. With depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar, you'll give your body the perfect environment to burn fat instead of carbohydrates.

Carbohydrates or glycogen are your body's primary and preferred source of energy. When they're low, your body will tap into your secondary energy reserve, which is your body fat. The idea here is similar to when the engine taps into the car's reserve tank because it's low on fuel.

Obviously, your body is way more complex than your car's gas tank. It always burns up a combination of carbohydrates and fat. However, the less carbohydrates you have, the more fat your body will burn.

Are you convinced yet? If so, great -- but expect an adjustment period. The same way you're jet-lagged after an overseas trip or drowsy when you suddenly have to switch from the graveyard shift to a regular 9 to 5 shift, training in the morning will require some lag time.

Normally, it should take approximately three weeks for your body to fully adjust to the time change. You'll start feeling fully energized; you'll wake up more easily and will generally be more alert.

Now all you need is a louder alarm clock to help you get up those first few weeks. Before you know it, you'll be a lean, mean, morning machine. Good luck and keep on pumpin'.

I'm so glad I found this board. And what a great thread this was! Thanks to all who contributed to it!!! Guess what I'll be doing at 6:30 am?

Tara

Welcome Tara! Glad you enjoyed the thread. Be sure to check out all the other forums. There is lots of good info to be found here!
Linda

LivJ, we were talking about morning cardio, not rolling out of bed when the day's half over! When you're really comitted you'll be springing out of bed at 5 and jogging out the door! Six thirty indeed.

Seriously though, this has been helpful to me, too. Fern and Dan were kind enough to check in regarding athletic performance esp. basketball. It turns out that while my wind is fine and I had no real problems with fatigue, I sure did have my head up my wazoo! I must have turned the ball over 6 times--stupid things, too. It was humiliating.

Anyway, I reached my goal of 200 and have begun mixing in some weightlifting after morning cardio. My time is limited so I can't do a lot of cycles, but I have been adding muscle already. I use a no-carb protein called Mega-Protein and I add a little l-glutamine.

Thanks to all for your suggestions and support--you really have a great thing here.

dwb, what exactly IS 5 am??? Can't say I've ever seen one of those I had read your post about the basketball game and wondered how it went. Sounds like it wasn't all that bad!

Thanks for the welcome, fern. I'm sick with strep throat and have just been sitting here pretty much all day reading. Yes, the other forums are loaded with info too. Great place!

My main focus for the last 2 months has been weights and now I wanna add cardio but wasn't sure how and knew too much could take away this great muscle I've accumulated. Now I know exactly where to start! Thanks again for all your insight.

Tara

Hi Linda,
I get my cardio done very early in the morning by walking at a very fast pace - I usually walk for about hour and a half. I have always drank 32 ounces of water before I walked. I recently started to drink whey protein shakes mixed with water. The whey protein powder I just bought "MICELLEAN PHYSIQUE ALTERING PROTEIN' which is manufactued by VPX (Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Dania Beach Fl.) contains 2 grams of total carb (1 gram of sugar and 1 gram of dietary fiber) per scoop which provides 20 grams of protein. I plan to drink 2 one scoop shakes a day.

My question is: will drinking a 1 scoop shake before I walk negate the benefits of doing empty stomach cardio (afterburn, fat oxidation, metabolic acceleration etc.?) or would it be better to drink my first whey protein shake after my early morning walk? Are you or Trainerdan familiar with the product I have begun to use? Thanks, Linda. dankar

Hey dankar!

Personally, I would do the cardio on an emptry stomach and then take the whey afterward ...

But, if the cardio makes you lightheaded, etc. then obviously you need to take in SOMETHING before your workout (it happens to some people) ... and a low-carb protein shake is the best thing to accomplish that.

As far as it disturbing burn, etc. I believe that once calories are in your system/nutrients in your bloodstream that they will be used for fuel by the body. That would partially negate the big fat burn benefit of AM cardio.

That's the school of thought that I subscribe to ... other people's opinions may vary ...

Thanks, Trainerdan, for the early morning cardio/protein shake advice. dankar

I have tried to do 30 minutes in the morning on an empty stomach but always end up nauseous and faint. This lasts all day and I am generally miserable until the next day. What could I be doing wrong?

Better late than never! Dan was on the board last night so I figured he could answer the question!! As far as the protein powder goes, nope....never tried it! I am kind of a protein powder novice. Up until I met Dan, I never thought about carbs and protein. He obviously has taught me so much!!! The kind of protein I use is Strawberries and Cream by MetRX.
Linda

Thanks, Linda, for the reply. You're not going to believe this - I just sat down at my computer with a bowl of strawberries! For the first time I tried something different on them instad of heavy whipping cream. I had a vanilla whey powder shake made up in the refrigerator and decided to try it on the strawberries instead!
I dumped the whole thing on them... its pretty darn good!

I must try the strawberries and cream protein by MetRx you mentioned. Many thanks to you and Trainerdan for the quick replys and solid info. dankar

Dankar-
Too funny! You are making me hungry! I love strawberries and I usually will have some during the week with some whipped cream. The protein is DELICIOUS! It doesnt have the aftertaste that I find some vanilla powders do. For breakfast I had oats mixed in with a scoop of strawberry protein! i Love the weekends!
By the way, Dan and I decided if we are ever in Maine/Florida we have to get together!!!! (and same goes if you're ever in PA or NJ!)

Linda

Hi Linda, I've sent you and Trainerdan some private messages. I think he got one. Please let me know if you did in fact receive them. I've never sent private messages before and am just getting the hang of it. In case you didn't get them though... Karen and I would be delighted and honored if he would like to use our story, photos etc. How could I possibly refuse after all you and he have done for my wife, myself and countless others here on this board.

I thought replying in this thread might be one way to get through if my private messages didn't. Apparently PMs are limited to approx. 700 characters and I had to keep editing them due to their being so long. I hope we hook up soon as there is something I would like to ask him that might not be suitable for an open forum such as this one. Talk soon - I hope. Dan - the "Dan" in dankar

Dan-
I did not receive your pm...I'll ask Dan later when I talk to him if he received one. I just sent you a private message with both of our email addresses. Feel free to email us with anything you would like to discuss!
Thanks for all your support of both Dan and I!
Talk to you soon!
Linda

hi all! don't mean to butt in but just wanted to add in my pennies worth.first of all,as stated in past posts,kudos to dan, fern,nat and everyone for taking their time on their post in this thread.all info has been extremely!!! helpful i have been walking on treadmill in am for a couple weeks now. originally,eating first thinking that i would then burn up what i ate. now i do an empty stomach walk(i work outside so i have a tv in front of my treadmill and watch the morning news and weather while i walk! really makes the time fly by!)i do an hour in the morning and try to do an hour at night at least 5 nights a week.The moning walks do REALLY get you going, i feel great going to work, and really enjoy and actually look forward to getting up at about 5 am to do my walks.ive been LC ing for 6 weeks now and have lost 18 lbs. and LOVE this WOE... thxs again for everybody taking time to help each other with tips and info to get over any and all obstacles! i love these forums good luck to all!!!

myobus