Hopping on the 'Fasting' Bandwagon | Skimming the Surface: Exercise Physiology & Nutrition |

Millions of people around the world don't know what or even when their next meal will be. Because of this uncertainty, they move as little as possible so as to conserve as much energy as they can. Meanwhile, you and I have the luxury of actually choosing not to eat while food is in abundance. And then actually burning calories while we are in a fasted state. First-world problem? Perhaps. But if you do have the luxury of choosing to not eat when your primal instincts are screaming at you to eat then you must do so with intention and a proper understanding of how not eating will affect your body in relation to your exercise and daily work regimen.

My name is Gill MK Glynn, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with a passion for exercise physiology (how the body works) and nutrition. Health and fitness has always been a priority to me and I practice what I preach on a daily basis. However, unknown to myself I have been fasting for years now. The reason for this has been my lifestyle. Growing up on a country farm with horses meant that even from a young age we ate dinner late in the evening/night approx 8-9pm most days when all the jobs were done on the farm. Throughout the working day you customise and fast after a normal sized breakfast or lunch. I will admit I rarely ate the 3 meals of the day, usually combining breakfast and lunch together and then having a large meal later on. Sound like I was doing everything the wrong way right? Bare in mind I was always active, like my parents, the role models, therefore we saw ourselves in the light as a healthy family. And we were healthy ☝🏼.

Throughout my twenties I was playing various sports and was a regular gym goer and I never understood the hype nor need for the pre and post-workout meals, so I never entertained it. Who really wants to force feed unnecessary calories into their gobs only to feel the heavy bloat and discomfort pre or post their workout. UNLESS- your training is SOLEY to gain muscle mass and nothing else then this is the only way to go about it. The majority of us however want to train for health and fitness, therapy, to improve sporting performance rather than vanity alone. Sports food companies naturally enough want to drive their products so they stick it in your face, billboards, the internet, using famous celebrities to promote their so called 'game changing' products. We need this supplement we need that supplement etc its all clever advertising tactics that companies use on a daily basis to fool people into thinking they actually need to be consuming products, and a lot of the time they know nothing about them they just purchase and consume them because everyone else is doing it. Like a flock of sheep we follow each other, we can be easily manipulated into believing we can achieve greater things with these products- pre and post-workout meals.

Currently I am training for a triathlon, an endurance event, therefore with this type of training its understandable I need to be consuming a lot more calories to equal my energy expenditure, otherwise I lose weight. Losing weight may not necessarily be a good thing as theres a potential I will also lose strength/muscle mass. At present I am a healthy BMI, I do not need to lose weight I need to maintain and will possibly gain muscle mass therefore I wont be shocked if the weighing scales increases. As my body is adapted to fasting it makes morning training sessions easy for me but my biggest problem is maintaining healthy weight therefore I will be integrating more snacks in throughout the day. The reason why 'fasting' is an interesting topic is because to me I am aware I have done it for years- out of habit and also choice, I never liked grazing or trickle feeding. BUT now I must cut back on the extreme fasting and ease myself into eating little and often. Here is some food for thought ☝🏼I train with my partner lets just say in the evening, a long run, during the day we have been working and come home to get ready for a session, do I need fuelling for this type of exercise? will I run out of energy on the run? In my case, I never needed the extra fuelling I can go straight from work to training, not ever feel faint, dizzy or weak because my body can cope with this type of stress- essentially I have been training my metabolism for years. It boils down to the fact the human body can withstand stresses that are beyond your imagination. Look up a worldwide fitness inspiration, a man known as the 'ironcowboyjames' on instagram, full name is James Lawrence. He has done 50 consecutive ironman in 50 days across 50 different states in the USA. Yes he may have sustained a shoulder injury on day 21 but it didn't stop him he was driven, he pushed his body to the limits and achieved something you wouldn't think was possible. How can one possibly train for this type of stress placed on the body, you can start by training 10 years in advance like James but was he ever really 'ready' for this??!!!!

I wanted to share this blog post because there are many benefits to fasting, its not 'bad' for your health or 'detrimental' its just another way of living. There are also some precautions to fasting and ways of making it easier if you are to start integrating this into your daily regime I suggest you are in good health, active and are educating yourself on this topic.

Fasted Exercise is exercise in a state of glycogen depletion. A light workout in a fasted state is preferable (morning time). For evening workouts you will need to have eaten some lunch then you can workout, but it is NOT essential to do so immediately.

https://www.beachbodyondemand.com/blog/how-to-eat-leading-up-to-your-big-endurance-event

Busting 👊🏼 the Myth of snacking and pre/post-workout meals:

1.) The importance of the post-workout meal vastly decreases if you haven't been fasting prior to the workout!

2.) Only benefit from a performance standpoint is if you worked out again within 8 hours.

3.) After 24 hrs the body naturally replenishes amino's and glycogen etc.

4.) If you have eaten prior to a workout, you do not need to replenish amino's and glycogen.

5.) If you are soley training to gain muscle mass alone then these DO NOT apply to you.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19943985

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3592618

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1652683510

Benefits of Fasting✅:

1.) Burns more Fat - praise the lord, get the bikinis oot!

http://www.mercolafastdiet.com/blog/intermittent-fasting-hiit-workout.aspx

2.) Anti-aging effect - praise the lord! Is this potentially the reason I still get mistaken for 18?

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/06/19/innovative-revolutionary-program-to-keep-your-body-biologically-you

3.) Better Brain Function- I will take that!

https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2013/06/21/interval-training.aspx

4.) Increased Growth Hormone

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12797841

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC329619/

5.) Improved Insulin Sensitivity

https://greatist.com/health/diabetes-insulin-fat-loss

https://www.bodybuilding.com/content/the-muscle-building-messenger-complete-guide-to-insulin.html

https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/5-ways-to-improve-insulin-sensitivity

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/04/110403090259.htm

https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/15/phys-ed-the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast/

6.) Increased Testosterone Levels

https://greatist.com/health/john-romaniello-testosterone-saturated-fat-podcast

https://greatist.com/move

https://leangains.com/fasted-training-for-superior-insulin-sensitivity-and-nutrient-partitioning/

7.) Enhanced Fat Loss

8.) Better Endurance

https://www.marksdailyapple.com/fasting-exercise-workout-recovery/#axzz2uAj8kg85

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/the-running-blog/2013/sep/19/fasted-training-eat-before-exercise

https://leangains.com/fasted-training-boosts-endurance-and-muscle-glycogen/

9.) More stable Gut during exercise- I have experienced both a stable and unstable gut during exercise. Basically, if you have eaten and then exercise there is the chance that undigested food may pass depending on the exertion and length of time you are exercising for. If you exercise on an empty belly you are less likely to experience a stitch/cramping or the urgent need for the loo.

10.) Hunger Management - many of us know that if hunger strikes and we drink water, go for a long walk or run, your hunger may subside allowing you to continue with your work or study etc. The false sense of hunger often strikes when we are in a relaxed state or sedentary position (not moving for a period of time). Regular breaks or change of posture are always recommended throughout the day.

Practical Ways to do Fasted Workouts✅:

1.) Exercise before breakfast- you do not need to consume carbohydrates in your breakfast unless you are going to work out again within 8 hours☝🏼.

https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2012/05/04/fasting-effects-on-human-growth-hormone.aspx

http://www.mercolafastdiet.com/blog/top-breakfast-myths.aspx

https://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2011/01/04/the-benefits-of-exercising-before-breakfast.aspx

2.) Don't eat dinner for an hour or two if you have an early afternoon or early evening workout☝🏼.

https://www.amazon.com/Circadian-Code-Supercharge-Transform-Midnight/dp/163565243X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ref_=nav_custrec_signin&

3.) Take supplements such as 💪🏼:

Amino-acids

Ketone Salts

Potassium

Electrolytes

https://leangains.com/early-morning-fasted-training/

https://leangains.com/the-leangains-guide/

⚠️Precautions to Fasted Exercise:

1.) Bonking (plateau)- essentially you may not peak or perform very well.

2.) Decreased Intensity- its a given with low blood sugar levels, therefore HITT training will be more difficult, keep it to lower intensities.

3.) Post-workout hyper-caloric compensation- stuffing your face, we all know the feeling, be aware to avoid this even though your body will be craving more.

If you are to take anything from this short blog post let it be if you are to start or trial a fasting regime, ensure you get the timing right for feeding pre and post training. Have an awareness of when you really need to replenish and what exactly you need to replenish i.e amino acids rather than carbs! This post is not in any way detailed and the whole concept of fasting is complex so it is best to educate yourself by reading some of the above articles if this is something you are interested in doing in the future. To sum it up, fasting was a natural way of life to humans years ago, a survival mechanism which is not the best approach to take in life, it all depends on your own goals and what you are wanting to achieve if you are training or on a weight-loss program. Ensure you speak to a professional before trialling any fasting into your daily routine.

To all those who have decided to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle for the NEW YEAR! Well done and keep it up 💪🏼.

The PhysioSwan 🙏🏼