Day 25: Fat Matt Throws a Temper Tantrum

I lost it a little last night.  It’s exhausting getting up so early every morning and I was tired.  Fat Matt decided he had enough of this exercise non-sense and it was high time I listened to him.  He went rambled on about how stupid it was to feel so tired and I should just sleep in.  He even picked up my phone twice with full intentions of changing my alarm clock. 

He hated running, hated trying to go to bed early, and most of all he hated getting up in the mornings. We had massive thunderstorms and he tried to convince me that it would just be raining when we are supposed to be running. I fought him with all my might last night but he put me in a foul mood when he would not shut up.  In the end I did the only thing you can do when the fat person inside of you throws one huge temper tantrum, I ignored him. 

Amazingly it was easier to get up this morning when the alarm when off.  After all the rain the night before there was a thick blanket of fog suffocating the neighborhood.  It was so thick it cut out much of the light from the lamps at the end of the street.  I ran anyway.  Fat Matt was too tired to argue with me. 

I have done some more digging as to the benefits of AM cardio and, in particular, running on an empty stomach.  It seems that a study published by the “International Journal of Sports Medicine” concluded that those who exercised on an empty stomach burned more fat during their workout that those who had breakfast.  It seems that because you insulin is so low your muscles break down higher amounts of fatty acids for energy.  In order to bottom out your insulin you should wait a minimum of six hours after you eat to exercise.

Two big cautions for running on an empty stomach are:

One: Drink plenty of water beforehand. With no fuel in your body (unless you count my fat storage, then I have enough fuel to run a small country) you can easily dehydrate.

Two: Never exercise more than about 30 minutes.  After that you go catabolic and your body will tap your muscles to get the energy it needs to keep going and that’s bad.

The additional warning was you should stop running if you get dizzy or vomit but I thought that was a given.  If you are the type of person that needs that warning maybe you shouldn’t exercise, maybe a less dangerous hobby would be more suitable for you, like stamp collecting.

Do I think this will work for everyone?  No, I don’t.  We are all made so completely different that what works for me may not work for you and vice versa.  I always balk at any exercise guru or nutritionist that tries to sell me a bill of goods that states they have the answer for me.  They sell it but I don’t buy…. Anymore.

Daily Recap:

Matt: 30 Min AM Jog Empty Stomach

Kelly: 120 Min Walk