What are you guys doing during a cut? Anyone actually notice a real difference or is this one of those gym debates that refuses to die?
I’ve gone back and forth on this one a bunch of times. Some mornings I’ll do cardio before eating, other times I’ll have a meal first and honestly I haven’t noticed some huge difference in fat loss either way. The fasted sessions feel like they’re doing more, but that could just be in my head. 
What are you guys doing during a cut? Anyone actually notice a real difference or is this one of those gym debates that refuses to die?
What are you guys doing during a cut? Anyone actually notice a real difference or is this one of those gym debates that refuses to die?
I’ve never noticed a meaningful difference either. I just do whichever one fits my schedule that day.blakegr45 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2026 12:03 pm I’ve gone back and forth on this one a bunch of times. Some mornings I’ll do cardio before eating, other times I’ll have a meal first and honestly I haven’t noticed some huge difference in fat loss either way. The fasted sessions feel like they’re doing more, but that could just be in my head.
Fasted works better for me mainly because I can get it outta the way before work. If I eat first, suddenly cardio becomes maybe tomorrow.
I tried fasted for a couple months and felt like absolute crap some mornings. Switched to a small meal beforehand and my sessions got way better.blakegr45 wrote: ↑Thu Oct 01, 2026 12:03 pm I’ve gone back and forth on this one a bunch of times. Some mornings I’ll do cardio before eating, other times I’ll have a meal first and honestly I haven’t noticed some huge difference in fat loss either way. The fasted sessions feel like they’re doing more, but that could just be in my head.
I think consistency beats all the little tricks. If you’re in a deficit and getting your cardio done every week, I wouldn’t stress over whether breakfast happened first.
The only thing I really notice with fasted cardio is that I feel lighter. Scale-wise? Not enough difference to convince me it matters.
That’s pretty much where I’m at. I like the routine of doing it fasted, but I’m starting to think I mostly like it because it’s quiet, quick, and nobody is texting me at 6 AM.
I’ll take a coffee, headphones, and 30 minutes on the incline treadmill over trying to overthink the timing. Get sweaty, go home, eat. Done.
I usually train after eating because my energy is noticeably better. Maybe fasted works great for some guys, but I’d rather have a decent session than force the empty stomach thing.
This debate has been around forever lol. Meanwhile the dude who just walks 8–10k steps every day is probably not even thinking about it.