If you follow a intermittent fasting dietYou may ask, “Pre-workout breaks a fast?” Let’s find out.
One of the advantages of intermittent fasting is its simplicity. It contains nothing: no calories, carbs, no grains of salt. All you do is watch the clock, then plan your meals so that at regular intervals you don’t eat anything. The timing varies—some people skip healthy eating days, others fast during set hours each day—but the concept is the same:
- Eat for a while.
- So, during your fasts, stop.
Inevitably, though, people have questions — especially when their fasting schedule contradicts other fitness-boosting practices like consume enough protein or feed your body with adequate carbohydrates.
Or take a supplement like Beachbody Performance Energize before a training session.
So let’s break it down: does the pre-workout break a fast? And, if so, how should you incorporate it into an intermittent fasting schedule?
What is a Fast?
“Fasting, in its simplest definition, is abstaining from food or drink,” says Krista Maguire, RD. Water, plain tea and black coffee are good during a fast because they have zero calories. There is some debate diet colabut technically no-calorie drinks don’t break your fast. All the food is out.
“Fasting comes in many forms,” says Maguire. “Intermittent fasting (IF) can refer to certain days with little or no food or in the form of what we call time-limited food, which spends a certain number of hours without eating every day.”
Intermittent fasting, unsurprisingly, usually leads to weight loss, mainly because over the course of a given week, you eat much less than usual. For example, in a 16:8 fast (fast for 16 hours, then eat all your meals in the remaining eight-hour window), most people eat much less in their eating window than they should. on a day when his food was not. limited time. For weeks and months, you end up eating less than you normally would – and weight loss is the obvious result.
IF adherents claim that this approach confers benefits beyond what can be achieved by simply eating a little less at each meal. Some argue that long fasts improve our ability to access fat stores or improve our ability to remove sugars from the blood. However, these larger claims remain speculative.
“In terms of heart health, blood sugar management, intestinal healthand other health benefits, the jury is still out,” says Maguire.
The main attraction of the diet is that it is relatively foolproof: don’t eat, lose weight. It’s still good news, though. Some people trying to lose weight prefer an IF approach over the more standard practice, and the science suggests that both methods work.
Will Beachbody Performance Energize break a fast?
Technically, yes.
Beachbody Performance Energize it contains 20 calories per scoop, so taking a serving – or even part of a serving – means you’re no longer fasting. Here is the short answer.
The longer answer, however, is a resounding yes, but…
Is breaking a fast really such a bad thing? Not necessarily. As noted, most of the benefits of IF come from the fact that, over time, you eat less than you usually do – the other benefits are speculative.
“There’s not a lot of hard and fast data showing that a certain number of calories during this fasting window will help or hinder any health benefits,” says Maguire.
Probably, if you are hungry from a long fast, a pre-workout drink before your gym session could give you the energy you need to put in a good workout. When powered by Beachbody Performance Energize oh pre-workout snackyou will be able to burn more calories that are contained in the pre-workout snack or supplement itself.
Plus, you’ll have the fuel and energy you need to lift heavier and possibly build more muscle. The net result is a much more productive session than you would have had if you hadn’t consumed a few calories beforehand.*
If you really want to do IF by the book, though, consider it working at the beginning or end of a fasting window, why take a pre-workout supplement in advance – or a nutrient post-workout meal then – do not break a fast that you prefer to extend.
Alternatively, choose a workout mode – like walking o low intensity cardio – which relies less on stored carbohydrates, and your performance does not suffer during training.
Finally, you know that even some pros will probably let a quick average portion of Beachbody Performance Energize slide. “Some experts say that eating a low-calorie food or drink under about 50 calories or more is fine during a fasting window, as long as it’s not. it raises your blood sugarMaguire says.
Ingredients in Beachbody Performance Energize that won’t break a fast
Some of the ingredients in Beachbody Performance Energize contains calories – mainly carbohydrates – and therefore breaks a fast: organic cane sugar is a carbohydrate, which provides about four calories per gram.
But the other ingredients in Beachbody Performance Energize – including beta-alanine, quercetinsilica, citric acidand others – contain little to no calories at all.
Big picture: If losing fat, building muscle, and becoming healthy and strong are your fitness goals, the small number of calories in Beachbody Performance Energize shouldn’t stop you from taking it. In the long run, you can reach these goals faster by fueling your body with a pre-workout supplement than extending your fast for another hour or two. The pros far outweigh any cons.*
Finally, remember that it’s always a good idea to consult your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
