When is the best time for cardio???

I have read many different article on this and so I thought I would share what I have learned. If you are just wanting to gain endurance or if you are training for something then the time of day really doesn't matter all that much. You need to make sure though that if you are doing a lot of cardio you need to eat a few more good carbs to give you the energy you need to sustain you through your work out and also for the day. Sports drinks are good, also GU or gel blocks, cliff bars things like that are all good if you are going to be doing more than 30 minutes of cardio at a time. But beware if you are doing cardio for weight loss!! Sports drinks and all those other items I mentioned are not going to help you if you are trying to loose weight, they contain extra calories, sugar, carbs, and sodium you do not need for weight loss. The best time to maximize your efforts and make your time on the treadmill or what ever type of cardio you are going to be doing, is in the morning on an empty stomach. This way your body is using fat stored in your body as fuel instead of burning off the food, or coffee etc. you have already eaten. Replenish with lots and lots of water. Diet is also very important!! Make sure you are eating 5-6 smaller meals a day, try to keep your fruit and carbs to early in the day and make your dinner your smallest meal and breakfast your largest, and most importantly KEEP IT CLEAN! Portion control is also very important, meat is roughly the size of your palm, veggies are about a 1 cup serving and fruit a half a cup, carbs about the same size of your meat portion. I never calorie count, I think some people get caught up on calorie counting and therefore don't eat enough food during the day which can backfire on you. If you are not getting in enough calories your body will hold onto the fat in stead of using it for fuel and burn lean muscle instead. This is bad because you need muscle to help burn fat and if you are loosing muscle then you will soft and squishy-skinny fat. Also those diets that make you eat only 500 calories a day are horrible for your health and your body. You might as well be anorexic. Your body, even without doing any type of exercise, can NOT function properly on only 500 calories a day. That is just ridiculous! So make sure if you are doing cardio for endurance and are going for long periods of time you are getting in extra calories and carbs, and if you are going for weight loss you are being careful with your portions, keeping your meals clean, and getting you cardio done in the morning. A little weight training later in the day is good too, it will help to speed up the weight loss!! Happy training and clean eating everyone. :)