why exercise in the morning loses more weight

Why did I get out of bed at sparrow’s this morning to exercise before work – even before coffee?   This is very unusual behaviour for me.  I usually exercise at night.  I like the slow mornings this affords me – coffee in bed before starting the day.  So why exercise in the morning then?  No, I didn’t wet the bed.  Neither did Meyles.

The big reason is, because exercising in the morning loses more weight than if you exercise at night.  Even if you do exactly the same amount of exercise.

‘Why is it so?’ (as Professor Sumner Miller would ask.)  Because exercise increases your metabolism.  And it stays increased all day.  So you burn the calories during exercise, and then your body’s metabolism keeps burning fat at a higher rate all day.  

Think of your metabolism in terms of fluctuating up and down throughout a 24 hour period.  Various activities increase metabolism like exercise, eating, stress, disease, injuries, and keeping warm.  The more you can encourage your metabolism to burn fat faster (without too much stress, injury or disease) the better for weight loss.

Various activities also decrease metabolism – sleep, skipping meals, inactivity, over-heating, over-eating.

Although night exercise will burn the same amount of calories, your metabolism only stays increased until you go to sleep.  Sleep decreases metabolism.

This also explains why many people have success with eating more frequently throughout the day.  A person who exercises in the morning, wears light clothing, eats morning and afternoon tea in addition to breakfast, lunch and tea and is under a reasonable amount of stress will be likely to lose weight more effectively than a person who sleeps late, rugs up, misses meals, avoids stress and exercises at night.

As much as I like my coffee in bed, I can honestly say it is appreciated 100 times more when you have your first cup after exercise and a hot shower.