A new study reveals that when you workout matters in terms of how much fat you’re burning. Researchers from the University of Surrey had 13 men and 17 women who did not normally exercise participate in three workout classes a week. Each participant consumed a drink before and after each class, but some were drinking a placebo with no calories, while others consumed a calorie-controlled carbohydrate drink. The scientists found that women burned more fat than men, and those who were drinking the carbohydrate drink before working out burned 22 percent more fat than those who drank it afterwards. Men burned less fat overall, but those given the carb drink after working out burned eight percent more fat. This is likely because men tend to have more muscle mass, and since carbs are stored in muscles, this is their bodies’ preferred fuel. Women’s bodies, on the other hand, are programmed to burn fat in order to conserve carbohydrates in the body.
