Adam Lonergan
1 min readJul 1, 2020

--

Hi Donna, thank you for the great question and congrats on your fitness goals thus far! Also, you're smart for keeping track of the right numbers (body fat percentage, not just weight).

To make sure I understand your question correctly, you're asking: "to eat or not to eat" after cardio-only workouts... I've read valid arguments for both sides of that question. As with many health-and-fitness topics, I don't think there's only one right answer. To give you an answer though...

I aways recommend eating healthy, high-protein meals after workouts (or drink a protein shake if you're not hungry), wether those workouts are strength training, cardio, or both.

I think another factor for your question is — what type of cardio? HIIT or steady-state? I always recommend HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training... example: sprint/jog/sprint/jog/repeat) over steady-state cardio (running at the same pace). HIIT has metabolism boosting effects that last for hours after your workout that steady-state cardio does not. You can also get a better workout in less time. Perhaps that's another article I'll write at a later date.

Thank you, and best of luck with your continued fitness journey!

——————————

TL;DR -- yes, eat ;-)

--

--