Obvious, I know, but low energy on fasting days

This topic contains 5 replies, has 5 voices, and was last updated by FlemishCurves 10 years, 8 months ago.

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ChrisT

7:17 pm
7 Apr 14
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A lot of talk about fasting suggests that when you are on a fast day you don’t feel any less energetic. In fact, you can do exercise if you want. Michael Moseley says that you are in a heightened state because you are in a fasted state. The logic being that as an animal because you want food all your senses are switched on, you are alert looking out for something to hunt and kill, to feast on.

I do get this feeling at times but to be perfectly honest, over a fast day as a whole, I definitely feel less energy. This affects me more than the hunger does psychologically. There’s nothing worse than being sat at home in the evening and not wanting to do anything. This feeling makes me want to pack in, not the hunger. Don’t get me wrong, the hunger gets to me as well, but this aspect is worse. I could turn to caffeine, but I find it can upset my stomach a bit, which is particularly noticeable when I have an empty stomach in the first place.

Is there anything I could do that people have tried in practice? Consume or avoid particular food perhaps, or anything like that?

Stef.

1:12 am
8 Apr 14
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Chris, I sympathise with you. Unfortunately we all have to find our own ways of how to deal with this.

Usually,I eat once a day in the evening, but as explained in another thread, to shake things up a bit, I have been lately preparing some green smoothies that I can sip over the whole day. Both methods work for me very well, but then I have been on the 5:2 since last November.

I had some of your days and when that happened I ate a little bit something to help myself over those lethargic moments. Veggies have very little calories, e.g. bell peppers.

Hope it gets better for you!
Stef.

TracyJ

12:43 pm
8 Apr 14
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Sorry to hear you’re flagging on fastdays Chris. I haven’t had this I’m afraid and like Stef, I usually just have one late meal on fastdays after my big swims of the week. Everyone IS different and maybe you need to pay some attention to what affects your energy levels on non-fastdays, to see what you might introduce to give you a boost on fastdays?

If coffee doesn’t agree with you on a fastday, maybe tea would work better? Maybe some other low/no calorie caffeinated drink?

One thing I did notice once was that if I ate first and THEN did my exercise I was not only ABSOLUTELY beside myself with hunger after the workout but also completely shattered. Maybe you’re exercising after some fuel on fastdays? If so, perhaps eating after instead?

alih87

9:34 am
9 Apr 14
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My energy usually dips in the evenings on fast days. But i am very active and still work out in the morning of fast days, so i expect it to be honest…I usually have my first meal around midday, then another about 4-5pm. It helps me just to see the evenings as wind down time. And as i have been active in the day, I allow myself just to relax and watch tv, lay on the sofa etc. So the lack of energy isn’t too much of a problem.
However the only other issue i tend to find is that because im tired, im very quiet as well and my boyfriend tends to find me more irritable and not quite my normal cheery self. But i just tell myself that the results are worth the cost.

TracyJ

11:00 am
9 Apr 14
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alih87 – If it’s quite a heavy workout and you’re very active in the morning maybe you might consider thinking about having a whey powder shake or some other form of protein that’s very low in cals after your intense activity, rather than bother with lunch?

I started doing this after my intense evening swims recently and I have noticed my recovery from exercise has improved greatly. A side-effect is that it’s so high in protein that I’m just not hungry at all after I’ve had my shake, which is weird really, as I do my swims after work and (often) after a full 20-24 hours of genuine-zero-calorie-intake fasting. I feel a bit bad on actual fastdays because I go home and eat my remaining calorie allowance but I’m not ACTUALLY hungry and could probably easily just not have anything else.

Beware though – It is supposed to help repair and build (or at least convert fat to) muscle though, so it might drag any weight loss to a screeching halt in the short term.

FlemishCurves

12:16 am
10 Apr 14
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Moving around helps for me. If I go to the shops, I pick one that’s further than my normal one and walk or cycle. I’m always less tired on fastdays when I walk or ride my bike than on fastdays when I sit around like a sack of potatoes.

I also love my Celestial Honey Lemon Ginseng tea. It seems to perk me up a bit on fatsdays. Although I think white teas have the highest amount of caffeine out of all types of tea leaves. Maybe try a ginseng infusion?