PWO vs. Fasted State Workouts

[bpxdomino]

Hi there - have read ISWF, just finished The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, and am in the middle of a W30. I workout in the mornings - usually crossfit 3-4x each week at 5:30am, and a long run on the weekends. I had been having a hard boiled egg as a PWO but then read in Wolf's recommendation to train on an empty stomach.

 

So I gave working out a try without a PWO this morning and it was HARD. One day is certainly not enough to rule it out as practice, though. So I will see how it goes the rest of the week.

 

Just wondering what others thoughts and experiences on this are.

[LadyM]

I have generally tended to WO on an empty stomach first thing in the morning, and have had no problems since I became fat adapted (prob about two weeks in to my last w30). My trainer supported this for fat loss. I asked her about eating first thing to balance hormones as suggested in iswf, and her response was that, yes, eating first thing resets cortisol, and so does working out.

I don't want to buck the system here, and everyone is different, but I've done best WO first thing on an empty stomach. That's either a 30-minute Bootcamp followed by 20 minutes of cardio bursts, or a 90-minute yoga class, followed immediately with a template meal 1. Pre and post WO meals never made sense for me. But that's not to say they won't for you. I think you really have to experiment and discover what feels and works best for you and your goals.

[Physibeth]

The pre-WO and post-WO recommendations vary widely based on the source and are one of the things that I believe are highly individual. Personally I absolutely must eat within an hour of getting up or I have a miserable day. I also can't make it through a workout on an empty stomach. 

 

Whole30 has lots of recommendations for best practices based on what has generally produced the best results. We recommend you follow those practices but they are not rules. I would recommend trying it as recommended for 30 days and then experimenting but it is completely up to you. 

[Brewer5]

Hi there - have read ISWF, just finished The Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf, and am in the middle of a W30. I workout in the mornings - usually crossfit 3-4x each week at 5:30am, and a long run on the weekends. I had been having a hard boiled egg as a PWO but then read in Wolf's recommendation to train on an empty stomach.

 

So I gave working out a try without a PWO this morning and it was HARD. One day is certainly not enough to rule it out as practice, though. So I will see how it goes the rest of the week.

 

Just wondering what others thoughts and experiences on this are.

First of all, crossfit is very demanding, highly taxing, and I wonder if Robb actually recommended doing crossfit on an empty stomach first thing in the morning.  I doubt it.  Strength training can {usually} be done pretty easily on an empty stomach, or as John Kiefer suggests, just with your coffee and heavy cream (not W30 compliant), (but MCT oil, coconut oil, and ghee are).

 

Are you relatively new to the Paleo / Whole 30 world?  Probably a sugar-burner?  Once you become fat adapted, as said above, your body can switch back and forth between fuels with ease.  It can tap into stored body fat and you won't get the shaky blood sugar stuff anymore.

 

I recommend eating your pre-workout meal for now and experimenting with other options down the road.  Why would you continue to push your body through a situation it is telling you is HARD for it to do?  Personally, I like to feel confident, strong, alert during my workouts and like a beast.  If you aren't feeling that way, EAT.  If you still aren't feeling that way, REST.  

[bpxdomino]

Thanks for all of the comments! Good to hear how it works or doesn't work for others.

 

Brewer5, I would say I'm definitely a sugar-burner. On my 2nd W30, have been reading and researching paleo forever but finally committed to making the change this month. I'm on day 12 of my 2nd W30. Likely not fat-adapted... but how do you know when you are?

[Brewer5]

Likely not fat-adapted... but how do you know when you are?

I'm sure for each person it is different.  

 

Personally, I began to realize that I could go many hours between meals without even thinking about food, if I am busy.  I can do my strength training in the late morning with no breakfast, if I choose to, and I feel no different than I feel when I eat some eggs & ghee.  I am no longer starving right after a workout -- I eat because I know I *should* to take advantage of that magical post-workout window.  I don't get shaky, feel foggy, and have those ups and downs with my blood sugar unless I am consistently consuming carbs throughout the day.  I have recently gone down to ultra-low carb (under 30 net per day), and I have felt nothing but better and more alert, more clear-headed.  No "carb flu", no withdrawal, no negatives -- only positives.