Fasted cardio involves doing your cardio on an empty stomach (which usually happens first thing in the morning)
Now let’s discuss the answer…
There are two main points that support that you will burn more fat during your actual session…
The first is that insulin levels will be low which releases lipolysis and allows more fat to be burned during your session.
The second is that since your glycogen levels (stored carbs) are low in the morning, that makes it more likely to turn your stored fat into a source of energy during your cardio session.
These were both proven to be true during small-scale studies.
However, this did not account for a whole 24-hour day.
In another study, they measured the total fat burned within 24 hours and found that you burned more fat during the actual fasted cardio session, but less throughout the rest of the day than you would if you did your cardio fed
This study was proven in 2014 when 20 women were studied.
Half performed fasted cardio, and the other half performed fed cardio.
Both 1 hour a day, 3 days a week for 4 weeks and were in a 500-calorie deficit.
The results found that they burned the same amount of fat over that one-month time frame.
There has not been a ton of long-term research, but from what is out there….
The research shows that you can do your cardio whenever you want and you will burn the same amount of fat.