Fasting? Anyone else got any longer term experience of this.
I’m currently restricted on my training due to a hip injury and so have been trying fasting from dinner to dinner. I did it for one to try and have a better handle on my consumption and to stop some snacking I’d started probably through frustration of not been able to train as I’d like.
So I have nothing but a couple of coffee’s, mint or turmeric tea and water all day from waking until dinner post workout in the evening.
So far I’ve found I can do some faster paced 5k runs/races getting some new PB’s and 16k (11mile) runs along with my Sunday low intensity 50 mile ride.
Weight is staying stable and body comp is improving.
My dad got me to try fasting 7-8 years ago. I was sold immediately. I have been fasting through my injury period pretty much as you have laid out above. I also find my concentration at work is way better. I can’t sustain a training load when fasting though.
Thats great to hear and very much what I was thinking with regards to training. When I can at least get back to doing some hard sessions and intervals I’m thinking given that in the week they will all be post work that I will fuel my workouts and then my longer weekend rides once I can start pushing the pace back up on the 60’s and be able to do the century’s again. Hoping to stay fasted during the week pre workouts but we will see how it plays out.
Only personal experience I am afraid. To start with the first few days were rough but I was determined to see it through. Dinner to dinner fitted with my family schedule really well and 5 days perweek just felt right and meant I was free to socialise at the weekend without constraints.
So to start with for me I mainly only eat real unprocessed foods. The first stage for me was becoming better fat adapted by cutting out carbs for 4 weeks increasing the protein and good fats. It’s the good fats which help you feel full and reduce hunger cravings from cutting out those carbs. I then brought carbs back into my diet around workouts and the evening meal post workout and then gradually increased it to more meals. While keeping protein high and reducing the fats my aim was to bring things into a more balance and not be too carb high.
Then I switched to fasting and only having dinner. I didn’t have any major problems during the day with hunger but I was already drinking about 3.5-4.5 litres of water per day.
I think if your current diet is very carb heavy your body won’t be as used to burning fat as fuel and you will suffer more with the carb cravings. If when you do try it you find you’re really hungry then having a protein shake, boiled egg or some almonds as a snack will help.
For me, fasting during training is the only fasting I do … and only for a couple of hours “fasted riding”…my body works well with it…to a point… only for a couple of hours, that’s it…after that my mood changes, my legs get heavy, energy levels tank and i have no interest in riding…or anything else for that matter, so i have to be careful with that game
im 6’5"…200-210lbs (depending on season and training) … I’ve got a fuel my body to keep it moving…It’s the right fuel that matters…shitty fuel, shitty body and shitty performance…both on and off the bike…I’ll go into that more on the “weight loss while training thread”