Why Lifting Weights Fasted Can Cost You Muscle After 40

Nikkiey: What's up, Roxanne? Nikkiey here, and I'm super excited to be here with you guys. Sorry, I'm one minute late. What's one minute? No, I'm just kidding. You guys know that I love being on time, and I normally am on time, but I had to wrap up really quickly, which I hate doing. I wrapped up my Blueprint Q&A, and now I'm popping on here to do this rally call with you guys. New week. Let's go. Welcome to our Sunday WarriorBabe Revolution Rally Call.

It's going to be a good one. I just had a conversation with one of the babes from the Blueprint about this, and hopefully she's tuning in. I can't wait to dive into today's topic. We'll start in a few minutes, so go into the Facebook group and let the other babes know right now. Oh man, I just noticed I was supposed to eat. It's all good. I'll eat right after this.

So go into the Facebook group and leave a comment to let the other WarriorBabes know that this call is getting started. They don't want to miss out, because it's going to be a total mindfuck. It's going to be a total aha moment for a lot of you. See, I am just as busy as you guys, and it's okay, I'm going to eat after this call. So that's not an excuse.

Before we get started, I want to give a huge continued welcome to the veteran WarriorBabes who have been on this journey, and to those who are just joining us this week. Guys, I've been having so many dreams lately about our community. When I'm dreaming about it, it warms my heart to know how amazing and how supportive our community is. There are so many big things that are going to be happening, and I can't wait to see you all in person. That's what I'm really excited about.

So again, huge welcome to the babes who have been a part of this and the new babes joining us. Our community is where we're getting strong. It's where we're getting toned. We're changing and building our body composition. But on the road to that body is where we're becoming stronger, more confident versions of ourselves, because you're doing things you probably would never have done before. You're going outside of your comfort zone, and when you do that, that's how you see your inner strength and where your confidence surfaces from.

So not only are we getting toned, changing our body composition and losing body fat, but there's the journey to that body. For some of you it's going to happen a lot faster. Some of you have a little ways to go. That's what's so cool about our group: we're all on different paths, and we're all supporting each other no matter where we're at. It doesn't matter how long it takes you to get where you want to be. All that matters is that you get there and you develop this amazing lifestyle and the skills behind it along your journey. That's what's going to get you to the more confident, stronger version of yourself.

I love this community, I love you all, and remember that WarriorBabe is where strong is the new sexy. The skinny girls may look good in clothes, but a strong girl looks better naked. You just feel more confident when you look better naked and you have muscle and you're toned and you're losing weight.

With that being said, if you're new to WarriorBabe, please don't ignore my Blast Off emails. They're being sent to you on a daily basis and they're going to help you get set up. Even if you just joined and you're getting ready for 2020, you can start now. But start with your mindset first, because honestly, I learned after my journey how important mindset was and how strong my mindset was throughout my journey.

So if you can start now, and you have some habits to get rid of or some mental dialogue to change from negative to positive, the Blast Off emails are going to help you understand exactly what your goals are here at WarriorBabe, why you want to accomplish them, and then make the committed decision to do that, which not a lot of people do. They just jump into a program and get started, and they don't know what they're doing, or they just know they want to lose weight, but it's not a strong enough reason to get through the lack of motivation.

A lot of people are really good starters and really poor finishers. One of my babes said that to me in the VIP last week, and I'm going to use it forever, because it's the majority of you. Really good starters. You're so excited about everything when you initially join something, but then come three weeks, you're not excited, you're not motivated, you start going down the rabbit hole of rewarding yourself, and then two months in you're like, well, what do I do now?

So starting off on a really strong foot and going through the Blast Off emails is going to help you establish your goals, establish your why, be committed to yourself and what you wrote down, and then start affirmations to yourself and get rid of the negative chatter going on inside your head. When you get to the affirmations, it's probably going to feel so weird to say this stuff to yourself. But let me tell you, it is so powerful, and you won't know how powerful until you try it. I remember doing it for the first three days and thinking, this is so stupid, I'm not going to do it. But guys, it's just like working your bicep. It's just like growing muscle. You have to build that mental muscle as well. That cannot be ignored, because your body achieves what the mind believes. So you've got to get your mind on board with your journey first and foremost.

If you're a new WarriorBabe and you have a question, please don't pop in the group within the first two days and say, hey, I'm new, I'm so overwhelmed, where do I find everything? Take the time to go through the material. Don't be that person who asks questions that can be found inside your application. Take the time to search through it and listen to everything I'm sharing with you. For $27 a month, there are tons of resources and tools inside that application. So make sure you're looking around, learning the material and soaking up the knowledge for yourself before you chime into the group and ask where to find something, because I guarantee one of the babes in the group, or myself, or Kate is going to say, just go to this section in the app and you'll find your answer.

If your question's not inside the app, you can go to our Frequently Asked Questions resource page, located inside your app in the Need Help section, which is an entire platform with all of our most frequently asked questions. If the question can't be answered in the FAQs or inside the app, then head to the Facebook group and ask your fellow WarriorBabes. I guarantee they'll be there in about 30 seconds to respond and help you out. Our community is so supportive and so empowering. The last resort should be going to support. Support is not going to help you with a macro question or a workout question. They're more for technical, app issue and membership questions.

If your question is specific for Kate or myself, remember to tag us by typing an at symbol and starting to type my name or Kate's name, and it will pop up. Then Kate will be able to go through. If you don't know Kate, she's a community leader inside our group, and she'll be able to go through and answer everybody's questions.

All right, let's go. Did you tell the Facebook group that we were getting started on this call? Guys, I'm amped up. I'm super excited to share this topic with you today, because like I said earlier, I think it's going to be a huge mindfuck. It's going to wow you, and you'll be like, oh wow, I totally get it now. And hopefully this common thing that I see inside our group, or that Kate relayed to me, stops, because I'm about to blow your mind on it.

So our topic for today is three reasons why lifting in a fasted state is not recommended. It is no bueno, no good. Three reasons why lifting in a fasted state is not recommended. And guys, number three will be an aha moment for you all, so make sure you hear me out until number three. It's going to blow your mind, like that mind-blown emoji.

Before this call, before the Blueprint Q&A call, I was looking around for more research to back me up on today's topic. I try not to do this, because the internet is the internet, and there are a thousand reasons why this is or isn't a good or bad thing. But what blew my mind was that there are so many things saying it's okay to do this. I was literally jaw-dropped, stunned reading it, and I only spent about three minutes searching. It blew my mind that so many people are saying it's a good thing to do, and I'll get to that in a second.

So I'm against this. I think my reasoning is pretty solid, and I can back it up with some pretty solid stuff. While you may burn a little bit more fat, which, come on, is the main reason people do it. They hear you'll burn fat faster working out in a fasted state and automatically do it, right? Am I wrong here? Pretty sure I'm right.

When I say this, I mean lifting weights fasted. I don't mean fasted cardio. Fasted cardio is okay. Fasted means an empty stomach, nothing in your stomach, you haven't eaten yet. Doing cardio that way is okay, but lifting weights fasted is no bueno. So to my 4 a.m. crowd who gets up and says, I don't have enough time to eat, and then goes and lifts fasted: oof. I'm cringing. If you do this and you're doing it frequently, it could be, A, a major reason why results aren't happening, and B, you could be moving in the opposite direction and getting super frustrated.

I'm just super passionate about this topic. Lifting in a fasted state is no bueno. This is wrong, and I'm going to tell you why. There's so much more science and so many bodily processes behind it that can make achieving your goals seriously ineffective when you lift weights fasted.

To dive into my point a little more: during your workout, your cortisol, which is a stress hormone, is higher. When everybody's stressed, cortisol goes through the roof, aka holiday season. I'm sure y'all are stressed the fuck out. Cortisol is and will be higher, and you will be burning muscle tissue during your workouts. Your cortisol is going to be higher and you're going to be burning through muscle tissue if you're working out fasted. Plus, your energy level is going to be so lousy because of your low blood sugar. If that didn't poke you right now, I'm about to poke you some more.

So, number one reason why lifting in a fasted state is not recommended. And again, number three is going to blow your mind. Number one is that cortisol levels increase. Naturally, everybody already has high cortisol in the morning. Our circadian rhythm lowers cortisol at night because it's dark outside, and it naturally rises when the sun comes up because it's bright. So it's a natural fluctuation with our circadian rhythm, and our cortisol levels are always high in the morning.

And some of you, my menopause women, already naturally have high cortisol. How many of you have heard your OB-GYN, or whoever you go to about hormones, say your cortisol is naturally high? So if you're lifting fasted, this is no good, because cortisol is a fat-storing hormone. When you're stressed out and your cortisol is high, the first thing stored in your body is body fat. And if you're working out fasted, you are just putting on more stress.

Let me say this loud and clear. If you're lifting weights fasted, you're putting stress on your body to do more work without any fuel. Do you hear me? You're putting stress on your body to do more work without any fuel in your body. So naturally, that cortisol hormone is going to elevate even more. Do you see how much is working against you in just that one reason?

Your cortisol is already naturally high in the morning. So if you're naturally an a.m. workout person and you don't have enough time, or you don't want to eat before you work out, girlfriend, that stops today. Cortisol is already naturally high, and when you work out fasted you're putting more stress on your body, so that cortisol gets even higher. And if you're going through menopause or you're already through menopause, some of you already naturally have high cortisol, so by lifting fasted you're tripling your cortisol levels. That blew my mind. Number three is going to be out of the ballpark.

To my a.m. workout people, I can tell you a story about one of my previous clients who refused, and I mean I had argument after argument with her, about why she needed to make the time to get some food in her body in the morning. Somehow I broke through. Thank you, Jesus. Once she started getting food in before her workout, she came back to me and said, Nikkiey, I don't know how I ever got through workouts without eating food. Thank you for opening my eyes to putting some food in my body before I work out. I guarantee you, if you do this, your workouts are going to be more effective, you're going to have way more energy, and you'll get the results you want to see.

That's just reason number one. Let me go to number two. I hope this is hitting home. Number two is blood sugar. Your blood sugar drops if you have no fuel, no food, in your body. How many of you get lightheaded, get dizzy, and overall feel like you had a horrible workout because your body cannot catch up with you on the inside? It's screaming, girl, stop, you don't have any fuel, I'm going to plummet, you're going to pass out. It's working too hard to make sure you don't pass out.

And how many of you have realized that after your workout's done and you get some solid food in you, you feel 100 percent better again? Blood sugar is nothing to fuck around with, especially if you're diabetic. I'm sure my diabetics are the ones to go to on this. They probably have orange juice, rice cakes or some kind of carb on standby so they don't pass out.

So number two, the reason lifting in a fasted state, or on an empty stomach, is not recommended is that your blood sugar drops. You get lightheaded, you get dizzy, and overall your body is trying way too hard on the inside to catch up with what you didn't feed it before you worked out. This is why I feel my reasoning goes 100 percent against what you're going to find on the internet, and why there's so much more science and so many bodily processes behind what's actually happening for you to understand why lifting in a fasted state is not recommended.

Last but not least, probably the most game-changing reason of all. This is going to blow your mind, and I hope it hits home. Your energy. Think about energy. What is energy? Energy is food being broken down in your body. Your metabolism processes foods and breaks them down. What do carbs get converted to? Carbs get converted to glycogen, which is sugar, which is energy. So carbs get converted to glycogen, which is sugar, which is energy.

If you are not eating before you go in to lift weights, your glycogen stores are completely depleted. And glycogen is sugar, which is energy, so those stores are completely depleted. Side note: glycogen is stored in our muscles. It's where all of the energy for your muscles is stored. And it's the first source of energy our body goes to for a vigorous, intense workout.

So if you didn't feed yourself, if you didn't give your body carbs before working out, your glycogen stores are completely depleted. Well, guess what, babes? Your body's going to tap into your actual muscle for energy. And guess what? You're going to start losing muscle.

Does that all make sense? Glycogen is sugar, which is energy, and energy gets broken down for fuel. If you're lifting fasted, you've got no glycogen in your muscle belly, no glycogen in your muscle stores for that energy. And glycogen is the first source our body goes to for energy to get through a workout.

That's why I tell you guys to do cardio after your workout. The meal you had is what you need to fuel your workout, to give you the energy and to preserve the lean muscle you're trying to maintain or build. Then, once you've depleted that meal you ate, that's the best window to do cardio, because your body is going to switch gears and start burning off your body fat. People think they'll burn off body fat in a fasted state, and while it may do that, you're also sacrificing your muscle stores in the process. You see what I'm saying?

And that's why, immediately after, you need that protein shake, because you need to push those carbs back into your muscles to recover and repair. Guys, if this doesn't make carbs your best friend, you'd better make carbs your best friend. Carbs are good. Carbs are not your enemy. Carbs are what fuel the glycogen process, fuel the repair and fuel the building of your muscles to bring out that tone.

So let me run through the three reasons why lifting in a fasted state is not recommended again. Number one, your cortisol levels are going to increase. Your cortisol levels are already naturally high in the morning, and if you're going through menopause they're already naturally high, so if you're lifting fasted you're increasing that hormone even more. You're tripling your cortisol levels if you're lifting on an empty stomach. That's crazy. Don't do it.

Number two, your blood sugar levels drop. Your body is working way too hard on the inside to keep you from passing out, instead of helping you fuel a workout, facilitate a fat-burning process, and put on some muscle or get toned.

And number three, last but not least, probably the most important one of all: your glycogen stores are completely depleted when you go into a lifting session fasted. With that glycogen depleted in your muscle stores, your body is going to tap into your actual muscle tissue for energy, and that's going to drive you in the opposite direction of the goals you want to accomplish.

So, moral of this rally call: I don't care if you're a morning person or an evening person. Prioritize your time better and fuel your body appropriately if your ultimate goal is to get toned, put on some muscle and shed body fat. Do not lift weights in a fasted state.

All right, guys, let me know how you liked this rally call. Go into the Facebook group. I hope it hit home, because I'm really passionate about this, and I think a lot of stuff on the internet is telling you differently. Don't listen to that. There's a lot more science and many bodily processes going on inside that you need to be aware of when it comes to lifting in a fasted state. Do not lift in a fasted state. Don't even do that moving forward.

All right, babes, give me some feedback and let me know what you thought about this call. Moving forward, it's a new week: same goals and better focus. So get on point this week, because we all know the holidays are coming up. I will be with you on Wednesday for our Q&A. Bye, everyone.