One type of exercise you’ve probably heard of is fasted cardio training. The idea behind this training is that you wake up and before eating something (fasting), you do a cardiovascular workout.
In theory, this is supposed to help amplify your overall fat burning rate because you won’t have to worry about burning calories from the foods you just ate for breakfast. Therefore, your body can begin to burn the stores of body fat that it has. But is this training the best for people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes? Or would it be better to broadcast it in full?
Here are some quick points for type 2 diabetics to keep in mind …
1. The level of intensity. The first thing to consider is your blood sugar level. You will most likely need to use a lower overall intensity level when doing fasted cardio, as your blood sugar will be below the best level for high intensity training.
Now won’t be the time to do those high-intensity interval sprints that you normally do. Instead, you’ll be stuck doing steady-state cardio training. If you don’t mind steady-state exercise, this might be fine, but for those who get bored quickly, it’s just not ideal.
2. The issue of blood sugar. You know that as a type 2 diabetic who takes medications to lower blood sugar, it is not advisable to go for hours without eating. In fact, when you wake up from your overnight fast, you may already find that your blood sugar levels are much lower than you would like.
Now if you exercise, this will only amplify the effect. For many type 2 diabetics, fasting cardiovascular training could potentially give them dangerously low blood sugar levels, making this type of training completely impossible.
If you’re going to try fasting cardio, be sure to speak with your doctor before doing so. You will also need to monitor your blood sugar level very carefully as you go through your exercise session.
There you have the two main points to consider about fasting cardio. Still, the fat loss benefits aren’t even that pronounced because the intensity of cardiovascular exercise does decrease. It will be just as beneficial for your body if you do a HIIT session later in the day after you have eaten some food and have the energy for the most intense exercise.