And if you did, what were some of the lifestyle changes you made that worked?  
 
I have joined sparkpeople.com which is a fabulous site and I have made some serious changes in my diet. I was an empty calorie eater before. I often didn't eat at all and survived on triple triples from Tim Horton's. I now only allow myself one Timmy's a day and without sugar. I have actually eliminated sugar from my diet completely. I have also started drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day and I now eat a healthy breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. I eat nothing after supper.  
 
What else can I be doing? I am exercising. Mostly step-ups and I have started a power walking program that you do right in your living room. I am hoping to find a really cheap exercise bike to add to my routine. I cannot afford a gym right now and I have a serious back problem(which is why I am on this journey) which limits some of the exercising I can do.  
 
My goal is to lose 50lbs by January 2011. That's the goal I set with my Dr but I am hoping to accomplish the 50 by August 31,2010.  
 
Help!!

Sounds like your doing a great job and incorporating healthy living in your lifestyle! My question to you is why make a goal with your doc, then try to achieve it much sooner?? They do say the slower it comes off the easier it is to keep off. For me my weight loss is a journey and then my weight management is a lifetime commitment. In Sept(09) I set a goal also with my doc to lose 95 pounds, however we didn't set a "time limit" on it. I really just wanted to be healthier and happier! For me all I committed myself to was 20min of exercise at least 4x a week, which I'm proud to say I'm now able to workout for 30-60min 5x a week. I actually like it and feel it reliefs stress and for eating since I'm a nursing Mom I didn't want to reduce my calorie intake, but like you mentioned in the post not taking in empty calories is a BIG thing. With eating I also try to ensure eating something every 2-3 hours!,helps immensely with running after my 4 kids :D so my advice is to take it easy on yourself, allow your body to lose the weight at its own rate and I believe it will be easier to maintain!!  
Ps-I made it to my half way goal point 3 weeks ago...4 1/2 months into my healthy lifestyle change! Good luck.

Jody22002 said "And if you did, what were some of the lifestyle changes you made that worked?     I have joined sparkpeople.com which is a fabulous site and I have made some serious changes in my diet. I was an empty calorie eater before. I often didn't eat at all and survived on triple triples from Tim Horton's. I now only allow myself one Timmy's a day and without sugar. I have actually eliminated sugar from my diet completely. I have also started drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day and I now eat a healthy breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. I eat nothing after supper.     What else can I be doing? I am exercising. Mostly step-ups and I have started a power walking program that you do right in your living room. I am hoping to find a really cheap exercise bike to add to my routine. I cannot afford a gym right now and I have a serious back problem(which is why I am on this journey) which limits some of the exercising I can do.     My goal is to lose 50lbs by January 2011. That's the goal I set with my Dr but I am hoping to accomplish the 50 by August 31,2010.     Help!! "

Having a no sugar diet is actually really BAD ADVICE.  
It is great to have a LOW SUGAR diet, not a 0 sugar diet. Your brain feeds off sugar, what is your brain feeding off without it?  
As for diets, if you're trying to lose weight, one of the best things to do, and I will debate people tooth and nail over this, is skip breakfast.  
Yes, skip breakfast! If you're trying to LOSE weight, you don't want to fill up your body with carbs before you get a chance to even work off the fat you're trying to get rid of. What you do is replace breakfast with excersize, you want to make sure you drink a couple glasses of water before you excersize, because your body still needs the water to excersize. If you were to eat breakfast, THEN excersize, you would be burning the carbs you just ate, not the fat you already have. And when I say skip breakfast, I don't even really mean skip it totally, I mean put it off til after you've excersized.  
 
As for the best excersize, swimming I'd say, you're doing resistance and cardio at the same time and you barely realize you're working out while you're doing it.

You MUST have something to eat before you begin your exercises!! At least a banana, yogurt, apple,etc.Otherwise your blood sugar becomes to low and can result in you passing out.Therefore, I would reconsider that piece of advice.  
I have lost about 50-55 lbs over the last 4 yrs. I feel wonderful and have made a complete lifestyle change.  
Keep up the good work Jody and good luck to you. Walking is the best exercise for you and it doesn`t cost money so go outside for walks its good for your mind and heart!!

breakfast is the most ridiculous advice on this thread! I am sure it was well intentioned advice - not scientifically or nutritiously sound at all! Eating breakfast revs up the metabolism - as it should. Think of it like a campfire...when you go to bed at night your "furnace" slows down just like a campfire burns down to the glowing embers. In the morning you feed the "furnace" - just like putting wood on the fire - starting up a roaring fire and getting your metabolism going for the day! DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST!!!

Skipping breakfast has been proven to be a bad idea. However you should not have a full breakfast that is heavy or calorie laden just prior to exercising because it can cause cramping and nausea. Eat a light breakfast that has a complex carbohydrate (whole grains cereal for example), a peice of fruit and a bit of protein. Again, all small servings not to fill you up but to give your body the fuel to break the 'fast' during sleep and keep you from having a sugar crash a couple hours later. Add to the meal water to rehydrate.  
 
Weight loss is a simple measure of calories in (eaten) plus stored calories (fat deposits in the body) versus calories out (exercised and metabolism).  
 
If your exercise and metabolism work off more calories than what you have eaten you will lose the stored calories. It doesn't matter if you eat your calories at the beginning of the day, middle of the day or end of the day or all the way through the day the equation stays the same. Where the difference lies is that if you denie your body calories for extended periods of time (fasting) it will demand to be fed through cravings; sugar spikes and dips making you feel miserable and if you are an emotional eater those highs and lows will cause you to eat unhealthily.  
 
Eat three balanced meals per day, add a snack during that time when you need it the most (varies with people) and exercise at least 30 minutes. Get your heart pumping! Sleep at least 8 hours every night, as sleep has been proven to help with the weight loss because you are not looking for the sleep deprived energy in your food.  
 
50lbs in 6 months is possible, however you will really have to be working out at 60minutes per day at a high intensity seven days a week and REALLY watching what you eat. Just remember, not everyone can or does lose as fast as the next person, we are all different.  
 
Good luck.

Sounds like you are on the right track with your eating and exercise plan. Good Luck.

LaurenAndAric said "    Jody22002 said "And if you did, what were some of the lifestyle changes you made that worked?     I have joined sparkpeople.com which is a fabulous site and I have made some serious changes in my diet. I was an empty calorie eater before. I often didn't eat at all and survived on triple triples from Tim Horton's. I now only allow myself one Timmy's a day and without sugar. I have actually eliminated sugar from my diet completely. I have also started drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day and I now eat a healthy breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. I eat nothing after supper.     What else can I be doing? I am exercising. Mostly step-ups and I have started a power walking program that you do right in your living room. I am hoping to find a really cheap exercise bike to add to my routine. I cannot afford a gym right now and I have a serious back problem(which is why I am on this journey) which limits some of the exercising I can do.     My goal is to lose 50lbs by January 2011. That's the goal I set with my Dr but I am hoping to accomplish the 50 by August 31,2010.     Help!! " Having a no sugar diet is actually really BAD ADVICE.   It is great to have a LOW SUGAR diet, not a 0 sugar diet. Your brain feeds off sugar, what is your brain feeding off without it?   As for diets, if you're trying to lose weight, one of the best things to do, and I will debate people tooth and nail over this, is skip breakfast.   Yes, skip breakfast! If you're trying to LOSE weight, you don't want to fill up your body with carbs before you get a chance to even work off the fat you're trying to get rid of. What you do is replace breakfast with excersize, you want to make sure you drink a couple glasses of water before you excersize, because your body still needs the water to excersize. If you were to eat breakfast, THEN excersize, you would be burning the carbs you just ate, not the fat you already have. And when I say skip breakfast, I don't even really mean skip it totally, I mean put it off til after you've excersized.     As for the best excersize, swimming I'd say, you're doing resistance and cardio at the same time and you barely realize you're working out while you're doing it. "

Skipping breakfast is probably the most harmful thing you can do. Having a proper breakfast will SPEED up your METABOLISM, which will in result allow you to burn fat throughout the day if you are active.  
 
When you sleep your body repairs itself or works on any minor damage you made, when you wake up your body needs fuel so it can operate correctly. Especially protein if you're working out or trying to build muscle.  
 
Dont listen to this guys advice about breakfast. It's flat our WRONG.

....my original posted twice and there are two threads on this topic.  
 
 
Anyway, I eat breakfast. I promised myself that I would eat breakfast 7 days a week and drink 64 ounces of water a day.  
 
What I meant by the fact that I have cut sugar out is that I no longer add it to my coffee/tee, etc. I do eat a ton of fruit though.

Katt said "breakfast is the most ridiculous advice on this thread! I am sure it was well intentioned advice - not scientifically or nutritiously sound at all! Eating breakfast revs up the metabolism - as it should. Think of it like a campfire...when you go to bed at night your "furnace" slows down just like a campfire burns down to the glowing embers. In the morning you feed the "furnace" - just like putting wood on the fire - starting up a roaring fire and getting your metabolism going for the day! DON'T SKIP BREAKFAST!!! "

I'm wondering how much education you guys have at all in physiology, to say not to skip breakfast. Eating breakfast does not rev up your metabolism, provide me one study not performed by kellog's sponsered lab tests that tells you that.  
 
Do you guys even know what fat is?  
Fat is a fuel cell, in fact, it's your largest one that contains the most calories. If you're eating carbs and crap before you work out(I mean work out strictly for cardio, with weightlifting you DO need carbs). I've known tons of people in martial arts who have done this to lose weight. I've never seen any of them pass out. It's not like I said "wake up and lift weights for 4 hours", I simply meant put off breakfast until after you've worked out for at least a half hour to an hour and I also mentioned you needed water. You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible.  
 
Do you guys even know WHY you don't eat carbs before working out? Because you won't be burning fat, because carbs ALWAYS come first in burning calories, THEN fat, because fat is more a reserve fuel cell, it needs oxygen to be properly broken down and metabolised. Carbs don't, carbs don't need oxygen to break them down like fat does, so your body will burn the carbs first, THEN the fat.  
So for the people who stopped reading after I said "skip breakfast" maybe you should read the whole post and research it before discounting it. I never said it was good to not have a certain amount of calories in a day. for a woman the average is 2000 and a man is 2500, I get about 3500, but I'm not trying to lose weight, someone trying to lose weight would have a better bet including this in their diet....  
Replace sugars with Fibres!  
Simple sugars break down straight into fat, but complex carbs like fibre usually do not, unless you eat to much, I think the daily intake is 28G-40G fibre.  
Also, try to not eat sugar carbs as much in general because the carbs not burnt from the pop you're drinking will just convert to fat. Some fatty foods are good for you, like egg whites and stuff, just try not to eat too much. Also getting protein is very good for filling the void in your 2000 calorie limit, it's only 4 calories per gram, but it repairs your muscle tissue so it's essential to have.

EMan62 said "    LaurenAndAric said "    Jody22002 said "And if you did, what were some of the lifestyle changes you made that worked?     I have joined sparkpeople.com which is a fabulous site and I have made some serious changes in my diet. I was an empty calorie eater before. I often didn't eat at all and survived on triple triples from Tim Horton's. I now only allow myself one Timmy's a day and without sugar. I have actually eliminated sugar from my diet completely. I have also started drinking at least 64 ounces of water a day and I now eat a healthy breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. I eat nothing after supper.     What else can I be doing? I am exercising. Mostly step-ups and I have started a power walking program that you do right in your living room. I am hoping to find a really cheap exercise bike to add to my routine. I cannot afford a gym right now and I have a serious back problem(which is why I am on this journey) which limits some of the exercising I can do.     My goal is to lose 50lbs by January 2011. That's the goal I set with my Dr but I am hoping to accomplish the 50 by August 31,2010.     Help!! " Having a no sugar diet is actually really BAD ADVICE.   It is great to have a LOW SUGAR diet, not a 0 sugar diet. Your brain feeds off sugar, what is your brain feeding off without it?   As for diets, if you're trying to lose weight, one of the best things to do, and I will debate people tooth and nail over this, is skip breakfast.   Yes, skip breakfast! If you're trying to LOSE weight, you don't want to fill up your body with carbs before you get a chance to even work off the fat you're trying to get rid of. What you do is replace breakfast with excersize, you want to make sure you drink a couple glasses of water before you excersize, because your body still needs the water to excersize. If you were to eat breakfast, THEN excersize, you would be burning the carbs you just ate, not the fat you already have. And when I say skip breakfast, I don't even really mean skip it totally, I mean put it off til after you've excersized.     As for the best excersize, swimming I'd say, you're doing resistance and cardio at the same time and you barely realize you're working out while you're doing it. " Skipping breakfast is probably the most harmful thing you can do. Having a proper breakfast will SPEED up your METABOLISM, which will in result allow you to burn fat throughout the day if you are active.     When you sleep your body repairs itself or works on any minor damage you made, when you wake up your body needs fuel so it can operate correctly. Especially protein if you're working out or trying to build muscle.     Dont listen to this guys advice about breakfast. It's flat our WRONG. "

SOOOOO then, what is that exact process that happens about the metabolism speeding up?  
 
What is the point of speeding up your metabolism if you're just going to be burning carbs? Honestly now, all you're doing is burning the carbs you just ate. And I have to add, cereals are usually the WORST thing to have for breakfast, because they serving sizes on their nutrional information, is usually measured in cups, not bowls, so you have to add it up to get the real nutrition information.(it says usually per 44g, because we know everybody loves to eat cereal in cups, and not bowls!lol)

"You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible."  
 
 
Good lord, you prob can't make a much more stupid comment than that!

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/hq00594_d  
 
And the other Discussion.  
 
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?startnum=1&message_id=251534&cat_id=238  
 
 
 
 

copy of Body for Life by Bill Philips and read it cover to cover. Even if you don't follow the workouts it will give you a good idea on how to eat properly and when to work out at the optimum times. Be sure to get the original book not the workout manuals.

are zero fat.  
 
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/nutrient_value-valeurs_nutritives-table7-eng.php  
 
One may follow the Canada Food Guide.  
 
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index-eng.php

puddles said ""You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible."       Good lord, you prob can't make a much more stupid comment than that! "

the analogy was made originally by Pamela Smith...a very well known nutritionist in the states.

"You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible" - a direct quote from you on this post. Further to my post re: Pamela M. Smith R.D. this is a direct quote from page 9 in her book "Eat Well, Live Well." Before I provide this quote I would like to add that Pamela provides wellness coaching to NBA's Shaquille O'Neal and various NBA Teams such as the Orlando Magic and the LA Clippers, and assists with the culinary development teams at Darden Restaurants, Walt Disney World, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, and many more. Pam creates menus and recipes for some of America’s best restaurants including the hot new restaurant Seasons 52. Her quote is as follows: "Think of your body as a campfire that dies down during the night. If it isn't stoked up with wood in the morning the spark turns to ash. There's nothing left. Your body awakens in a slowed down state. If you don't break the fast with breakfast to meet the body's demand for energy and boost the metabolic system, the body turns to its own muscle mass (not fat) for energy and slows down even more conserving itself for a potentially long starved state. Then when the evening gorge begins most of that food will be stored as fat because the body isn't burning energy at a fast rate: the fire has gone out. The food you eat is like dumping an armload of firewood on a dead fire." page 9 of eat well live well. I have a funny feeling she knows what she's talking about!! And...your credentials are???  
 
Edited by Katt, 2010-02-08 18:26:57

puddles said ""You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible."       Good lord, you prob can't make a much more stupid comment than that! "

More stupid than the one you just made?  
I've ran/biked/swam without one ounce of sugar in me for that day in the morning for periods for a half hour to an hour, trust me, you'll feel exhausted, but you're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, not in an hour or a half hour. If you were diabetic, yes, you probably would.

Katt said ""You're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level, you can't compare a human body to a campfire because they work on two seperate processes and the analogy is just terrible" - a direct quote from you on this post. Further to my post re: Pamela M. Smith R.D. this is a direct quote from page 9 in her book "Eat Well, Live Well." Before I provide this quote I would like to add that Pamela provides wellness coaching to NBA's Shaquille O'Neal and various NBA Teams such as the Orlando Magic and the LA Clippers, and assists with the culinary development teams at Darden Restaurants, Walt Disney World, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, and many more. Pam creates menus and recipes for some of America’s best restaurants including the hot new restaurant Seasons 52. Her quote is as follows: "Think of your body as a campfire that dies down during the night. If it isn't stoked up with wood in the morning the spark turns to ash. There's nothing left. Your body awakens in a slowed down state. If you don't break the fast with breakfast to meet the body's demand for energy and boost the metabolic system, the body turns to its own muscle mass (not fat) for energy and slows down even more conserving itself for a potentially long starved state. Then when the evening gorge begins most of that food will be stored as fat because the body isn't burning energy at a fast rate: the fire has gone out. The food you eat is like dumping an armload of firewood on a dead fire." page 9 of eat well live well. I have a funny feeling she knows what she's talking about!! And...your credentials are???     Edited by Katt, 2010-02-08 18:26:57"

That's a good strawman there, sure if you can't defeat his argument about fats burning after carbs, then lets pick out one little thing out of his argument and blow it out of perportion.  
I don't care if she's a nutritionist, it's still an idiotic statement because we don't work on the same process as a fire does it doesn't take into account the fact the fire doesn't have a back up source of energy, and if you're overweight, and you're trying to lose it that's the fuel cell you want to burn. Our fat is a fuel cell, DUH, you're not going to pass out from a half hour to an hour on a bike or swimming if you have at least some water in you and you're breathing regularily. Really hate how some people on this site will just argue with you without even doing the research on the stuff I am talking about.

you have some anger issues don't you! And a bit of an "I'm more knowledgeable than the professionals" attitude. Well, I bow to you oh wise one! By the way...it's proportion...not perportion...meow  
 
 
 
Edited by Katt, 2010-02-09 00:32:32

Katt said "you have some anger issues don't you! And a bit of an "I'm more knowledgeable than the professionals" attitude. Well, I bow to you oh wise one! By the way...it's proportion...not perportion...meow         Edited by Katt, 2010-02-09 00:32:32"

You would probably kind of ticked if someone ignorantly commented and tried to negate some useful advice you were trying to give to someone, without that person having done any experiments/studying on it them selves. I reccomended it, because I have tried it my self and I know the science behind it. And sorry if I'm going to trust what a physiologist told me who specializes in alot more areas than a nutrionist or dietician, over a person that is a "nutritionist", I am sorry.  
 
Here is a snippet of an article from building bodies.ca that also agrees with what I have been saying  
 
"When is the best time of day to do your cardio? The answer is any time! The most important thing is that you just do it. Continuous cardiovascular exercise, such as walking, jogging, stairclimbing, or cycling, sustained for at least 30 minutes, will burn body fat no matter when you do it. However, if you want to get the maximum benefits possible from every minute you invest in your workouts, then you should consider getting up early and doing cardio before you eat your first meal - even if you're not a "morning person." Early morning cardio on an empty stomach has three major advantages over exercising later in the day:  
 
Early morning before you eat, your levels of muscle and liver glycogen (stored carbohydrate) are low. If you eat dinner at 7 p.m and you eat breakfast at 7 a.m., that's 12 hours without food. During this 12-hour overnight fast, your levels of glycogen slowly decline to provide glucose for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. As a result, you wake up in the morning with depleted glycogen and lower blood sugar - the optimum environment for burning fat instead of carbohydrate. How much more fat you'll burn is uncertain, but some studies have suggested that up to 300% more fat is burned when cardio is done in a fasted, glycogen-depleted state."  
 
http://www.buildingbodies.ca/Cardio/early-morning-cardio.shtml  
 
 
There's alot of people who have lost plenty of weight using this method of "fasted cardio". I was reccomended this by a boxing trainer, a gym teacher and finally tried it my self and it does work. That link right there explains how it works and everything. There is however some contreversy on whether or not you lose muscle tissue from doing this, even if you did, you would eat breakfast afterwards and probably lunch after that so you would have plenty of carbs and proteins for an actual weight lifting work out(if you are indeed trying to build muscle mass, if not, the protein you intake daily should repair the muscle tissue lost during a work out, that's the way proteins work).  

its so you don't snack on high fat and high sugar items until you get to lunch.  
 
After all the ranting and fighting in this thread, the fact still is that MOST people who skip breakfast get fatter because they graze on food that is bad for them more throughout the day.  
 
So while some of what you say is true L&A, your advice is still bad...

Seriously...breakfast or no breakfast...what's the point of arguing about it? Back to your corners!  
 
Do what feels right for YOUR body, if you feel light headed, your body is telling you what you need, dont ignore any subtle important signs your body is giving you. It is a personal journey, you may not even work out in the mornings.  
 
Obviously you and your doctor are going to be monitoring your progress. A nutrition professional would be the person I would take the advice of. Not our helpful and well meaning posters...who are ending up sounding completely ridiculous on both sides. Your body is not the same as Ms. Y or Mrs. X. You are unique.

and you will find out that yes, you absolutely need to eat breakfast to be healthy. Skipping breakfast is not sound advice. In fact, I can't believe someone is even suggesting to skip breakfast when there is so very much research proving the benefits of eating breakfast. I'd love to see some links to sites promoting NOT eating breakfast, lol. Here are some links to show that breakfast really is the most important meal of the day and helps with both losing and maintaining weight.  
http://nutrition.about.com/od/nutrition101/a/breakfast.htm  
 
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/food-and-nutrition/AN01119  
 
http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/lose-weight-eat-breakfast  
 
Edited by Opinionated, 2010-02-09 07:33:38

it does not matter whether you are diabetic or not-the fact of the matter is is that if your blood sugar goes too low, you can pass out..there is no point in arguing this proven medical fact--a fact is a fact...case in point, ask anyone that does night shift work how they feel when their blood sugar drops!  
 
anyhow good luck to the original poster with your weight loss...take suggestions and do what is right for you...sparkpeople is great as well as weight watchers online!!!

You do make some good points, however, the way it was phrased wasn`t clear. I took it to mean that you shouldn`t eat before a workout.I workout every morning when I get up so therefore I have a yogurt before the treadmill but after my weight and floor exercise what am I doing wrong oh wise one!!  
 
I have ahigh water, fiber and protein diet and this works for me but maybe not for you, it depends on your body type.  
 
AND YES YOU CAN PASS OUT FROM LOW BLOOD SUGAR.The body needs sugar but just a low amount.

both sides to the breakfast/'skip' berakfast debate & in defense of L&A...i dont think he/she meant to skip breakfast all together! If i am running in the morning I will just get up & go & eat breakfast after i run! when i started this i wasnt thinking about the best way to burn fat but what felt best for me. no way could i run right after eating & i wasnt going to get up a 1/2 hr or more before my run just to eat! I agree with the reasoning behind what he/she wrote....it makes sense as long as you have the fuel you need to do what you are doing! I always eat an hr or so before doing weights. I also agree with some part of what the others are saying. If i wasnt going to do my cardio for a couple hrs i would for sure eat! I just eat to have the energy i think i will need for that workout. & getting up & running on an empty stomach works for me! glad to hear it could be more beneficial in burning fat! I enjoy these discussions....but could do without the attitude & defensiveness!! The OP just wanted some advice! Good luck to you Jody! sounds like you are doing great!

I tried the skip breakfast until after your workout and had a seriously BAD reaction. I was doing what was recommended in the Body for Life book. I was new to this hard core workout style and so I really wasn't in tune with the warning signs as I passed them off as simply not being a morning person. Off I went on my 6am morning run. Now I felt tired, hadn't eaten since 6pm the night before. I had one cup of water, which was instructed by this program and was doing pretty well at first. During one of my higher intensity sections of the run I began to see my vision start to swim just before my legs buckled - down I went. No I didn't trip but I did feel sick to my stomach, head/vision swimming and pounding and felt God awful. Had to sit on the sidewalk for a while until I could stand and wobbly legged stagger home. Thought I was having/had a stroke or worse (history in my family at my young age so it was possible) because that crashed and burnt out feeling didn't go away for so I went to the doc. He said it was because I hadn't put any readily accessable energy into my system and the body simply could not keep up with the sudden demand. Perhaps that was just my body, perhaps that was because I wasn't an athlete used to the starve before cardio routine, perhaps it was because the theory behind the idea wasn't completely sound, either way I learned my lesson as it scared the hell out of me, to simply have some oatmeal or whole grain cereal, few slices of banana and a large glass of water before my workouts. I lost over 60lbs doing this so I must have been doing something right. ;)  
 
I think everyone can agree, or at least I hope, do what works for you and your body as you are the ultimate expert on your body.

TV Gal said "I tried the skip breakfast until after your workout and had a seriously BAD reaction. I was doing what was recommended in the Body for Life book. I was new to this hard core workout style and so I really wasn't in tune with the warning signs as I passed them off as simply not being a morning person. Off I went on my 6am morning run. Now I felt tired, hadn't eaten since 6pm the night before. I had one cup of water, which was instructed by this program and was doing pretty well at first. During one of my higher intensity sections of the run I began to see my vision start to swim just before my legs buckled - down I went. No I didn't trip but I did feel sick to my stomach, head/vision swimming and pounding and felt God awful. Had to sit on the sidewalk for a while until I could stand and wobbly legged stagger home. Thought I was having/had a stroke or worse (history in my family at my young age so it was possible) because that crashed and burnt out feeling didn't go away for so I went to the doc. He said it was because I hadn't put any readily accessable energy into my system and the body simply could not keep up with the sudden demand. Perhaps that was just my body, perhaps that was because I wasn't an athlete used to the starve before cardio routine, perhaps it was because the theory behind the idea wasn't completely sound, either way I learned my lesson as it scared the hell out of me, to simply have some oatmeal or whole grain cereal, few slices of banana and a large glass of water before my workouts. I lost over 60lbs doing this so I must have been doing something right. ;)     I think everyone can agree, or at least I hope, do what works for you and your body as you are the ultimate expert on your body. "

That would not be a very good thing to happen. As with all workout programs, not everything works with everyone. For example, I would not reccomend fasted cardio to anyone with diabetes. I also wouldn't reccomend doing any extreme physical exertions while having no food in your system, I mean if you're on an excersize cycle or a treadmill for a half hour as I suggested, you're not going to pass out from a low blood sugar level(unless you're extremely overweight, then your body is practicly doing weightlifting and cardio at the same time).  
 
 
I also want to adress to people that STOPPED reading after I said to skip breakfast, READ FURTHER, I merely meant to PUT IT OFF. NO, it is not good to go and lift weights with an empty stomach, in fact, it's not good to ANY physical activity for EXTENDED periods of time on an empty stomach. This is why I reccomended this technique, it's not meant to be your most intense work out of the day, in fact it should be one of the least intense work outs based on the fact you have no food in your system.  
I just wanted to clear that up, because most of the arguments people put up were just people saying not to skip breakfast, I simply meant put it off, I even said that after IN THE VERY FIRST POST.  
 
Your fat is designed as survival cell, that's why carbs get transformed into fat, and that's why when you have 0 carbs to burn, you'll be burning lots of fat, your body is going to save up the fat cells, why do you think retains so much right?  
Anyways, No hard feelings against anybody disagreeing with me, I was just reccomending something I've seen work, and I even mentioned I would debate tooth and nail as to why it works, you were warned lol.

SDT said "both sides to the breakfast/'skip' berakfast debate & in defense of L&A...i dont think he/she meant to skip breakfast all together! If i am running in the morning I will just get up & go & eat breakfast after i run! when i started this i wasnt thinking about the best way to burn fat but what felt best for me. no way could i run right after eating & i wasnt going to get up a 1/2 hr or more before my run just to eat! I agree with the reasoning behind what he/she wrote....it makes sense as long as you have the fuel you need to do what you are doing! I always eat an hr or so before doing weights. I also agree with some part of what the others are saying. If i wasnt going to do my cardio for a couple hrs i would for sure eat! I just eat to have the energy i think i will need for that workout. & getting up & running on an empty stomach works for me! glad to hear it could be more beneficial in burning fat! I enjoy these discussions....but could do without the attitude & defensiveness!! The OP just wanted some advice! Good luck to you Jody! sounds like you are doing great! "

exactly what I meant, thanks for understanding, cheers.