What are the post workout eating guidlines on fast days???

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

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tinamarie86

7:23 pm
27 Jul 15
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Hi there,

I love to work out (6-7 days per week) and have been doing 5:2 for about a month now. I find that working out keeps me from being hungry and provides energy during a fast day. However, I like to work out early in the day but on fast days I eat nothing at all until dinner. If I work out in the morning, is it ok to eat nothing until dinner time? Does anyone else do this? By the way, I do keep it light on fast day like doing an hour of yoga (not hot yoga), maybe 20 minutes of HIIT or an hour of walking. This is a concern because I feel better working out earlier(doing so late makes me too pumped to sleep at night), but eating ALL of my 500 cal for dinner. Really want to take the confusion out of it, as I started this lifestyle for its simplicity. Thanks in advance for your responses!

MaryAnn

10:40 pm
27 Jul 15
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Hmm is there somewhere to report spam?

If you’re trying to build muscle, you might need protein soon after a workout. Otherwise, as long as you’re not hungry, I wouldn’t worry.

simcoeluv

10:43 pm
27 Jul 15
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Hi MaryAnn:

It has been reported.

But, log in and look at the top right of the post. It says ‘Report post’.

Click on that, and report why you think the post should be removed (spam).

tinamarie86

1:42 pm
28 Jul 15
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Thanks for your response. Im not a bodybuilder or anything, but I do like to keep my muscles toned through weight training, so I wouldn’t want to be losing muscle. I just like the idea of fasting the whole day with nothing until dinner, as this is whats working for me. I have lost 7 lbs so far in a little over a month!(yay!) Just trying to make the plan more sustainable for the long term.

IanEnglishman

3:27 pm
22 Aug 15
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I found that exercising on a fast day was fine but it was harder the day after a fast day, particularly in the morning.

As far as I can make out the reason for this that the body stores a lot of energy as carbohydrate, effectively sugar. This is easily metabolised and so on a fast day it will be depleted. As there is a lot of water associated with stored carbohydrate that means that you will lose a lot weight on a fast day, maybe in excess of 2 kg.

If you follow a fast day with a lot of exercise your muscles will look for other readily available energy. Because it takes time to get at the energy in fat they may well use protein as the most available source, as muscles are mainly made of protein and are on site so to speak.

Your best option is to exercise at the end of the day after a fast day as your carbohydrate reserves will be somewhat replenished (and you will probably have gained more than half the weight you lost on your fast day)

The alternative is to consume a good amount of carbohydrate (ie Sugar of various kinds), before you exercise. Fruit is probably best.

Amazon

3:56 pm
22 Aug 15
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I exercise in the mornings and usually after a fast day. I am exercising for fitness and toning so I’m not trying to build muscle. I am in the process of changing my routine to exercising on fast days. The problem I have is that I am always really hungry after working out and that I don’t eat until the evening on fast days. I bought some unsweetened whey protein powder in a wholefoodstore and am having a protein shake made with almond milk as it has fewer calories than ordinary milk, as soon as I get home. I’ve only tried it a couple of times but it keeps the hunger at bay and gives my body some energy to keep me going.
It is unlikely that a session in the gym on fast days would have a noticeable effect on your muscle mass.