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Home arrow Fitness arrow Walking arrow 7 Benefits of Fasted Walking and Why You Should Start

7 Benefits of Fasted Walking and Why You Should Start

Isabel-Mayfield-health-reporter
Written by Isabel Mayfield
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Fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
Last update: March 22, 2023
6 min read 1326 Views 0 Comments
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Wondering if fasted walking is the key to burning fat? Here’s everything you need to know about this cardio exercise, including 7 benefits you may not have known.

fasted walking

Two things come to mind when it comes to living a healthy life and improving overall well-being: diet and exercise.

What you eat matters just as much as your exercise routine, as it directly influences your body in terms of body fat percentage, energy balance and energy expenditure, and cardiorespiratory health.

Fasted walking may be the answer if you want to lose weight and improve your health.

There are many theories about fasted cardio. Today’s post discusses fasted cardio and why incorporating it into one cardio session is a great idea.

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What Is Fasted Walking?

Fasted walking (sometimes referred to as fasted cardio) is an aerobic exercise done in a fasted state. This type of exercise is beneficial when done according to your body’s circadian rhythm and should be timed accordingly.

When you fast walk, you take advantage of an elevated metabolism caused by not eating. This allows your body to be forced to break down glycogen stores for energy, helping you burn more calories.

That means you will be able to experience greater fat burning, improved metabolic health, and extra calorie burns, making it an excellent choice for weight loss or improved fitness levels. 

As an added bonus, studies have shown that fasted cardio can help improve insulin sensitivity in healthy individuals and those with a risk of diabetes or high blood pressure.

As with any type of workout, you do not want to push yourself too hard at the beginning. Instead, you want to start slow, easing your way into the exercise to avoid risking overuse injuries.

Likewise, since this workout program centers on exercising on an empty stomach, you need to familiarize yourself with intermittent fasting. That is where DoFasting comes into play.

DoFasting is an innovative new method for improving your physical health and mental well-being. It works by helping you implement a fasting routine into your daily life that can last from 16 hours to an entire month. 

By focusing on when you eat more than what you eat, DoFasting can help you become much more mindful of your eating habits and improve your overall fitness levels. Not only does it allow you to develop healthier eating habits, but it also optimizes body composition and gets closer to achieving peak fitness performance.

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Our rating:
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  • Useful progress tracker and calendar
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DoFasting features many tools, including a progress tracker, training routines, recipes, calorie tracker, and more, making your weight loss journey much easier. 

7 Benefits of Fasted Walking

As stated earlier, walking on an empty stomach can positively impact the human body. Let’s take a look at the top 7 benefits of fasted cardio.

#1 Improves mood

By completing an exercise in a fasted state, your body releases endorphins that act as natural mood enhancers and reduce brain fog. 

Additionally, fasted cardio helps enhance senses allowing you to respond well to stimulus –  whereas if you are not engaging in fasted cardio activities, this may be harder.

Research reveals that going for walks promotes cognitive improvements, including sharper attentiveness, improved energy, enhanced clarity of thought, and improved alertness. All of these results can have positive impacts on both physical and mental health.

#2 Restores energy levels

Metabolically speaking, this is one of the best ways to restore all the energy you need to keep going throughout the day. An important part of fasted cardio is that it forces your body to use clean energy sources like fat and glycogen instead of glucose. 

As a matter of fact, this is a predominant attribute linked with going on frequent morning walks. This helps reset your body’s metabolism and create a cleaner energy system to draw from all day. 

It can also have a calming effect on the mind, leading to better all-round performance and productivity. 

#3 Reduces stress

In general, exercises that are ambulatory lower the stress hormone cortisol due to the body’s increased production of noradrenaline and beta-endorphin

This combination leads to a steady reduction of stress and anxiety levels while releasing feelings of happiness and contentment. Additionally, with less stress and fewer anxious thoughts, overall mental clarity also tends to increase. 

#4 Reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases 

Doing fasted cardio is a fantastic way to improve cardiovascular health, helping to lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of heart-related diseases. 

Not only does fasted cardio help your body become more efficient at fat-burning during early morning exercises, but it also regulates your hormones in ways that make you less prone to metabolic disorders while helping your body better manage its glucose levels. 

#5 Promotes fat loss

Fasted cardio is an effective method used to burn fat and promote fat loss. Exercising in a fasted state allows your body to burn more fat than when you exercise after eating. 

This is because your body has already shifted to burning free fatty acids for energy because of the calorie deficit caused by not eating. 

Fasted cardio is not just great for keeping your body mass index in check and getting rid of stored fat but can also provide you with better muscle definition and improved overall performance. 

However, when it comes to packing on muscle mass, strength and resistance training should be a huge part of your routine. That is because they are better at muscle breakdown and buildup, which is the science behind bodybuilder-type muscles.

#6 Anti-inflammatory

Fasted cardio is a powerful tool for developing healthier habits and reducing the risk of developing major chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, sarcoidosis, atherosclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis. 

Research suggests that fasted cardio is highly anti-inflammatory and can reduce the risk of developing major chronic diseases. This exercise helps regulate the hormones associated with inflammation while also helping reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines. 

#7 Improves sleep

Studies highlight the fact that being active during the day leads to better sleep quality. You do not even need to walk long distancesresearch shows that a 30-minute brisk walk daily significantly improves the quality of restful, restorative sleep. 

Furthermore, fasted walking can also help with daytime fatigue and alertness. It increases your heart rate and oxygen consumption, which helps to promote relaxation while also helping you fall asleep faster. 

Lastly, it can reset your body’s natural circadian rhythm, helping you keep a consistent waking and sleeping pattern even if your lifestyle demands irregular hours. 

Should I Walk Before or After Breakfast?

Going for morning walks is one of the best things you can do for your body. However, with this workout schedule, the issue of walking before or after breakfast tends to arise.

When it comes to fasted cardio, the ideal option is to walk before breakfast. That is because it encompasses everything this workout pattern stands for. You go through an overnight fast, go for a walk, and have your first meal afterward.

Walking before breakfast helps jumpstart your metabolism, helping you burn through your body fat and glycogen stores throughout the day. It also improves energy, and your body absorbs oxygen better

Still, walking after breakfast does have its perks. It provides more energy to go about your walk, especially if you are on to go on long walks. It also aids food digestion, absorption of nutrients, and sugar level balance. 

A Word From Our Coach

Walking, in general, is a great workout for anybody, irrespective of your fitness level, age, and gender. With fasted cardio, you take things to the next level, withholding the negative effects of overeating and obesity and living a sedentary lifestyle.

Regardless, with any workout routine, it would be wise to enlist the help of a personal trainer. That is because they possess the knowledge mixed with years of experience to bring your workout goals to fruition, whether that be fat loss, body transformation, or simply overall wellness.

Conclusion

If you are like most people, chances are you could benefit from adding fasted cardio to your routine – even if you already exercise regularly. 

This low-intensity workout is a great way to develop healthy habits, particularly for those who tend to eat frequently. It also stokes fat loss, increases energy levels, enhances brain health, and brings about musculoskeletal strength.  

So, give it a try!

dofasting logo
Our rating:
4.7
stars
  • Useful progress tracker and calendar
  • Calorie tracker to track daily caloric intake
  • Over 5,000 nutritious recipes
Start DoFasting Quiz
Written by Isabel Mayfield
Isabel Mayfield is a certified yoga instructor with over 10 years of experience in the fitness industry. She is passionate about self-improvement and loves to help people improve their sense of self-worth through education and support in meeting their fitness goals.
The article was fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
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Isabel-Mayfield-health-reporter
Written by Isabel Mayfield
HR_author_photo_Rosmy
Fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD
Last update: March 22, 2023
6 min read 1326 Views 0 Comments
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