Hey Wittenweights family, we've got another Q&A for you today. I was going to call it weird Q&A, but these are actually not very offbeat questions. These are really important questions people ask all the time related to fat loss, so hence the name Fat Loss Q&A Link is in the show notes and then ask some question there, because then I can answer it directly and I can also do it live in our Q&A in the group and or I can do it on the podcast. So you kind of get a bunch of options. If you just want to have a question answered on the podcast, hit me up on Instagram at Wits and Weights, instagram at Wits and Weights, and there we go.

Let's get into today's questions. The first one is about timing. The question is is there a best time of day to workout for fat loss or does it not really matter? So the short answer is always it depends. But what does it depend on? It depends on your schedule, your consistency and your personal preferences. In other words, it has nothing to do with metabolism or fat loss. You know, oxidation, fat oxidation, anything like that.

From a fat loss perspective, the most important factor is always, always, always, creating that calorie deficit period, burning more calories than you consume. Again, I know it's easier said than done. There are a lot of things that lead up to successfully doing that or not, but that's not what I'm talking about today. The time you work out, the time of day that you work out, has a minimal direct impact on fat loss. Direct impact on fat loss compared to your overall energy expenditure and your diet. Now, that said, there are some nuances. There are always nuances and I did want to touch on those. Research on morning workouts show that it may help with consistency, and that's kind of obvious, right, because you have fewer distractions that are going to arise if you just say I'm getting up at 5.30 and then I'm working out. Boom, you work out. The rest of the day is yours. If you work out later in the day, all the things can get in the way and can throw you off from being able to do that.

Some studies also suggest that exercising in a fasted state, such as before breakfast, may increase fat oxidation during the workout. However, however, this doesn't translate to greater fat loss, because it's still. It just switches the mode of where your energy is coming from at that time. The rest of the day still matters and your total energy balance still matters. So that's why this idea of like fat burning, carb burning it doesn't matter. It's still energy being released from your body, and that gives you freedom and flexibility to do what makes sense for you.

On the other hand, if you work out in the evening, we do know that that could benefit performance. Your body temperature, your reaction time, your muscle strength tend to peak later in the day, and so better performance in your workout might give you more intensity, it might give you more reps and be able to perform a little bit better for your strength program, and now that could indirectly then support fat loss. But what I've noticed is that our bodies adapt really well whenever we work out. So if you work out in the morning, the evening benefit kind of goes away after a few sessions of just getting used to that. So ultimately, the best time is the one you can stick with consistently. That's right. Whether you're an early bird or a night owl and, by the way, don't assume you're one of those you can always change your habits and actually become the other. Believe it or not. The key is finding a routine that works for you and aligns with your lifestyle. Always, always, always All right.

Question number two does your body absorb fewer calories from raw vegetables compared to cooked ones? I think this is a great question, because then it's like should I be eating more raw or eating more cooked? Yeah, so the answer is yes, with a caveat yes, your body may absorb a tiny bit fewer calories from raw vegetables. And the reason is we know that cooking vegetables, or cooking anything, it breaks down. It basically pre-digests the food. So when it comes to plants, we've got cell walls right that are being broken down, and now the nutrients and calories are a little bit more bioavailable, whereas in raw vegetables, some of that energy remains locked in the plant structure itself and it may get digest or, you know, may essentially pass through and get less broken down, and then your body expends more effort to digest and extract the calories, in which case the difference may be minimal to non-existent.

And if you take something like carrots, right, raw carrots are going to be harder to digest than cooked ones, because the heat from cooking them softens the very tough fibers. It makes their natural sugars more accessible and therefore you might extract fewer calories from a raw carrot than a cooked one. And also nutrients, right? This goes past calories, because bioavailability of nutrients, like beta carotene in carrots or lycopene in tomatoes, might be enhanced when you cook and it may be reduced. Other things may be reduced, like the vitamin C, which is sensitive to heat, so I wouldn't overthink it Again. It's going to come down to like what do you enjoy, and having a variety and diversity of these things. Right? I think the differences are so small that they almost shouldn't factor in at all. That's my opinion. A mix of raw and cooked vegetables probably gives you the best of both worlds, right? You get the crunchy texture, the heat sensitive nutrients of the raw vegetables, and then you've got the greater digestibility and the nutrient availability of cooked vegetables. Unless you have an intolerance or a digestive issue or autoimmune condition where raw is disruptive to you and you're sensitive to it. That's a totally different factor. I don't think it matters. Just eat a mix of both and you'll be good, all right.

And then question number three is exercising on an empty stomach, aka fasted cardio, better for burning fat, or is that a myth? So I briefly touched on fasted training in the first question, but exercising on an empty stomach, known as fasted training or fasted cardio I'm going to focus on cardio specifically here. It does increase fat oxidation. I mentioned that earlier. Cardio specifically here, it does increase fat oxidation. I mentioned that earlier. When your glycogen stores are lower which is going to happen after an overnight fast your body shifts to using more stored fat for energy, which has led to this belief that fasted cardio is somehow superior for fat loss. But the catch, the very important catch that we all have to understand, is fat oxidation during a workout does not lead to greater overall fat loss, because what ultimately matters is your energy balance, how many calories you burn versus how many calories you consume during the day. And fasted cardio, even though it shifts the fuel source during exercise, it doesn't increase the fuel burned, the total fat burned over 24 hours, compared to fed cardio and I'm not even going to get into fed training, because that has fasted versus fed training that has even more disadvantages when you try to train like strength train fasted in terms of your performance, your recovery, your stamina.

Right Now for the cardio side of things. You may feel better doing fasted cardio. It may fit better in your morning routine to just get up and go for a walk, right, and that will improve you doing it, improve your adherence and allow you to do it more often and that's more important than anything. Ultimately, could that lead to more fat loss? Absolutely In an indirect way, because you're simply moving more. On the flip side, training in a fasted state, if you're doing something in higher intensity, might reduce performance, especially because the glycogen is your body's preferred energy source for higher intensity activities and now you've just shortchanged yourself in that department.

So fasted cardio is not inherently better for fat loss period it's a myth. But if you enjoy it and it helps you stay consistent with your routine, it can be a very helpful tool, absolutely, just like intermittent fasting. I've talked about it before. It is a myth that it has any benefit over non-fasting other than for a tool for adherence, for your schedule, for your enjoyment, et cetera. So remember, fat loss depends more on what happens over the course of the day with the energy balance than any single workout or fasting or anything like that. All right, that is the questions for today. Again, if you wanna ask your own question, best thing to do is join our free Facebook group Link is in the show notes or search Wits and Weights on Facebook. Enjoy your weekend and I'll talk to you next time here on Wits and Weights.