Should I eat before a workout?

Should you eat before a workout? For those looking to lose fat or who don’t have an appetite in the early morning, “fasted cardio” has gained popularity. Now, as an athlete of 9 years and a marathon runner of 2, I’ve had my fair share of doing workouts both fasted and fueled. From these experiences and the research below, I can confirm: fasted cardio is just not worth it. 

A high-quality pre-workout snack is incredibly important. I believe in the pre-workout snack so strongly I even started this company to offer the optimal pre-workout fuel. Let me share more about why:

🫀 What is “fasted cardio” & how does it work? 

If you’re unfamiliar, fasted cardio is doing moderately intense workouts (think elevated heart rates for extended durations) without having eaten for a long window of time beforehand (think a morning workout without having eaten since dinner last night). Fasted cardio has gained popularity primarily with those trying to lose extra fat, as your body will resort to using stored fat as fuel instead of recently-consumed calories. But there are many consequences that make fasted cardio counterproductive.

👟 What are the consequences?

Without that quality, more immediate energy that comes from pre-workout snacks (like one of my Energy Bites), you’ll most likely start to experience these consequences:

1. Poor performance: Your workouts will not be as strong. The reps, sets, distance, speeds... your body will struggle to hit those numbers without sufficient fuel. This will set you back, besides being just generally discouraging!
2. Lack of progress: You need quality sessions to hit those PRs, but with poor performance, your trajectory will suffer. Whether it’s strength, speed, or endurance, you’ll struggle to get the gains you’re putting in the work for. 
3. Fatigue: Your body is like a machine, and its engine needs fuel to operate. When operating on empty, functions will start to go. In other words, aspects like form will start to suffer, and this increases risk of injury.
4. There’s a plethora of other symptoms of trying to run on empty, such as dizziness, passing out, and more.

⚖️ What about for weight loss?

Don’t get me wrong, you can add a pre-workout energy bite to your diet and still lose weight. Weight loss (and maintenance and weight gain, for that matter) is all about the “what” and “how much.” Diabetes.org recommends those trying to lose weight “stick with real food. It doesn’t need to be complicated." Agreed!!

That’s why I designed each Energy Bite to be approximately 100 calories, only 4-6 natural ingredients, and plenty quality carbohydrates for the perfect light but effective pre-workout snack. If you’re looking for extra energy or trying to up your calorie intake, you can easily scale to 2 or 3 Energy Bites.

🌟 Takeaways 

Before attempting fasted cardio—working out without eating beforehand—, be aware that it often backfires. Without quality fuel, you’ll likely sacrifice PRs, progress, and even increase injury risk. The key to fueling for your goals is choosing when and how you fuel, and a quality pre-workout Energy Bite is definitely worth it.