Most health experts, including MayoClinic.com and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, advocate exercise as an important part of weight loss. The most effective time to exercise for weight loss depends on your personal energy and motivation levels and your work and family schedules, among other factors. Morning and nighttime workouts both offer substantial benefits along with potential drawbacks. Ultimately, the best time for you to work out to lose weight is the time you will stick to regularly.

NIghttime Strength

A nighttime workout shortens the amount of time you need to warm up because your heart and muscles are more primed than when you first roll out of bed, Cedric Bryant, chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise told Forbes.com in February 2007. Without a proper warm up, injury is more likely. Cedric also notes that in the evening, your body has a higher core temperature which can help you better perform explosive exercises, such as kickboxing or racquet sports. Warm muscles also respond better to strength-training workouts. Strength-training is an essential component of any weight loss program as it helps you build muscle mass, which increases your resting metabolism.

Morning Consistency

Getting your workout out of the way early ensures it happens. Good intentions for an evening gym visit can easily be derailed by last-minute work or family obligations. Delaying your workout until the evening also gives you plenty of time to find excuses – such as happy hour or a dusty house – to skip your session. Working out in the morning can help you create an overall healthy outlook for your day so you are inspired to stick to a healthy eating regimen that supports weight loss.

Sleep Deprivation

If you consistently skimp on sleep to get to your morning workout, you may be doing yourself more harm than good. Chronic sleep deprivation increases your risk of developing diseases, compromises your mental capacity and raises the chance you will have a life-threatening accident. The Harvard Medical School notes that losing sleep may counteract all your workout's weight-loss benefits because a sleep-deprived body produces more hunger hormones and stores carbohydrates more readily – causing weight gain.

Fat Burning

Working out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach may burn a bit more fat calories, but the trade-off is that you are likely to tire quicker and end up shortening your workout – giving you no calorie-burn advantage in the long run. A study published in the March 1999 issue of “Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise” found that cyclists who exercised in a fasting state fatigued far quicker than cyclists who consumed a pre-workout breakfast. A shorter workout means fewer total calories burned and less weight lost. You may also find yourself ravenous after the workout and end up overeating when you do get to breakfast. If you choose to exercise first thing in the morning, have a small pre-workout snack, such as a banana, yogurt or a slice of toast with peanut butter, so you can put in your best effort and keep hunger at bay.

Conclusion

A workout is only effective if you do it. If you schedule an evening workout and find yourself regularly skipping or hitting the snooze button when it's time to awaken for your early morning session, reevaluate your plan. Worry less about minor fat-burning or strength-building benefits that occur at different times of day and focus on actually getting into the gym.

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