There’s debate about strategies for maximal fat burning. This being the case, it is not surprising at all that you are confused.

We will start by saying that since you are exercising, you are doing a great service for your health no matter the time of day.

Whether or not you wish to workout first thing in the morning or later in the day is usually determined by what fits best into your daily schedule and how you feel at that time.

To help clear up the confusion, it’s possible to accomplish your objectives of losing fat while maintaining lean muscle. Yes, exercising on an empty stomach permits for maximal fat burning, but it also causes maximal muscle loss.

Since you’re looking to preserve your muscle mass, you could want to consider the following suggestions that could benefit your early morning workout

• Drink two eight-ounce glasses of water upon waking to hydrate your body. This is important because when you first wake, you are dehydrated thus of your night’s sleep – you can lose water through sweating, and also from nocturnal urination (if this applies to you); and, for notwithstanding long you’ve slept, you have not had anything to drink.

• Wake up a little earlier than you usually would so that you can have a chance to eat a bit of food before you exercise. Then allow at least one-half hour to forty-five minutes to pass before you begin your workout.

Think about eating a light, 200 to 300 calorie meal containing some carbohydrates and protein. Examples of such a breakfast are egg whites, cottage cheese, yogurt, or a protein shake.

The body not only requires carbohydrates to utilize fat, but also by eating, your body will use less protein from your muscles.

The body requires a protein source approximately every eight hours (this exact period of time differs from person to person dependant upon one’s weight and athletic pursuits) or else it begins to use its own lean muscle mass.

By not eating after a night’s sleep, you are unknowingly aiding this process, and thereby losing the lean muscle that you have already worked hard to build up.

• When eating before your early morning workout, you may want to attempt food in a liquid form, like a protein shake or blending cottage cheese and yogurt together. By doing so, you can further eliminate or reduce the risk of stomach cramps, in particular if you’re going to run or do a similarly vigorous activity.

Early morning exercisers have an added advantage of having the rest of the day to eat, recover, and grow. Also, not eating right before going to bed can aid in muscle stimulus and growth.

In addition, consuming five to six small balanced meals a day maintains your metabolism and keeps its fires stoked.

When you eat too few calories daily or deprive yourself of energy, your body will begin to hoard the calories you do take in as fat so that it can survive the starvation it believes that it’s experiencing.

This action in turn makes it harder for your body to utilize these calories.

Even when you can’t workout in the morning, exercising later on in the day may be just as productive and beneficial.

If you stumble a bit along the way, it is okay; everybody does. You just need to jump back on the horse that is your workout regimen, watch what you eat, and get back to work.