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Check this out from  Evolved Living Blog on working out fasted.

I have always been a fan of working out fasted (first thing in the morning) I usually wake up, browse the net and drink a cup of black coffee and then have a workout, which is often a jog if the weather is nice out. This article is going to run over some of the benefits of training this way;

• AM exercise magnifies a positive hormonal response, working out later in the day will enhance cortisol and this is not a good thing before you hit the sack.
• Food releases insulin which blunts fat burning. When you wake Insulin is at its lowest allowing the most fat to be burnt.
• Cardio in the morning wakes you up and gets your body in action for the day, flushing out your lymphatic system and ensuring a flow of energy.
• It will activate your lean and hungry adaptive mechanism which will burn fat and build muscle, especially if you have a fasted weights workout which hits your back and shoulder area.
• Insulin sensitivity is further improved and fasting is prolonged which can have great health benefits….

Those are reason enough and with summer you have no excuse to hit the park/road and have a morning workout.

From my own experience I find that doing weight training when totally fasted should be done but be careful not to go too hard as it can compromise your mood and well being. Try a short and intense weights workout without too much volume that does not take longer than 30 minutes.

Some good take home points. I know everyone’s schedule is different, so here are some strategies to try to take advatage of a fasted state for fat loss (and muscle).

• Try AM workouts fasted. Your liver glycogen is very low so you can get to burning fat quicker than later in the day. Do any strength training first and make it short and intense (under 30-40min). Or start off with some intervals for 10-15min (go hard/easy every min). You are trying to increase the GH output and deplete glycogen in that period.
• Add some additional lifestyle activity after (cardio is the term I don’t like using…but that is what it is) a glycogen depleting workout. Hopefully you have gone at enough intensity to start freeing the fat from storage and now you have the ability to burn them in the muscle with no muscle loss. Go for a walk, bike ride, etc., nothing too highly strenuous otherwise you could be just wasting muscle, after your AM resistance/interval workout for another 30-45min (again this is now slower paced to take advantage of the fat burning environment you have just created)
• Because the intensity at which people workout/do intervals will vary, many will need additional activity (aka cardio) to help burn the fat. Not everyone can just get superior fat loss on high intensity training only unless they can really push themselves to that level to benefit from the EPOC window of burning calories post workout. When in doubt, add in some more activity and burn that fat pwo.
• If you workout later in the day, just try to eat as little as possible a couple hours before the workout. Remember that for fat loss we are trying to use weights and high intensity to drain glycogen and start burning fat afterwards.
• Do not eat for an hour after your resistance/interval training (which includes the time spent doing the additional lifestyle activities pwo). So for example, if you do lifting for 30min, and then another 30min of walking…wait another 30 min before eating a meal of mostly protein and some fat/veggies. Don’t flood your body with sugar as that will just shut off fat burning for the next 3 hours. If you are feeling too low on energy (low blood sugar), then have some fruit pwo.
• If you are feeling lightheaded or low blood sugar before a workout and can not do it, then you can add in some simple fruit 30min before to give you the energy to get through it (as we want our resistance and interval based training to be intense to get the full benefit)

Find what works for you and your schedule…and the fat should come peeling off little by little. Also a trick to add in some caffeine may help especially in the AM while fasted (as it stimulates a noradrenaline response to help signal those harder to burn fat cells with the A2 receptors…aka your trouble spots). Make sure you can tollerate it of course and take it slow and steady (may not be suitable for people with high BP or other issues, always check with a physician if you have any concerns). So to sum up:

• Do Workouts (resistance/intervals) first and fasted (as much as you can)
• Keep it short and intense for 20-40min
• Keep moving at a slower enjoyable pace/activity following the resistance/interval session for another 20-40min
• Eat protein/veg/fat pwo (60min after the resistance/interval part)
• Eat fruit pre-workout if you can not do an intense enough workout fasted, or pwo if you are feeling too light headed and tired
• Try caffeine pre workout (which can also increase intensity of workout and aid in signaling more fat loss…warning it can raise BP so make sure you are medically cleared for that first)
• All workouts should leave you feel refreshed and still feeling great
• Fat loss is an all day event, focus on eating for that hormonal response (no sugar, control insulin, eat slight calorie deficit for the day)
• Slow and steady gets real results, burns the fat in the trouble spots and