FASTING AND EXERCISING: THAT’S HOW YOU DO IT!

Exercise while skipping your first meals: Fasting and exercising are becoming increasingly popular. Some people find it very pleasant to train on an empty stomach, and sometimes you do it from your faith. Combining Fasting with exercise can have some advantages but also some disadvantages. Are you curious about these benefits and how you can best approach them? Read on quickly!

WHAT IS FASTING?

Fasting means not consuming any food or drink for a certain period. Fasting can be done for various reasons, such as religion or medicine. When it comes to religion, there are often some fixed days that people fast. This is different from sports because you can apply this whenever you want. The most popular sport fasting method is intermittent Fasting.

INTERMITTENT FASTING

Intermittent Fasting is a way of Intermittent Fasting. This mainly concerns when you eat something and not what you eat. In the period when you are not fasting, you eat the calories of the whole day. This is often used to lose weight since you don’t start eating until later in the day. This means you eat one meal less, which quickly saves many calories.

• Intermittent Fasting is meant for a longer period to see a difference. So remember that it won’t immediately provide a miracle, and you have to do this for longer. Most people use 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM to eat all meals. This means you cannot eat anything from 20:00 the evening until noon the next day. However, other methods can be used for intermittent fasting:16:8 Fast for 16 hours and eat before 8
• 12:12 Fast for 12 hours and eat for 12 hours
• 18:6 Fast for 18 hours and eat before 6 hours
• 5:2 About 500-600 calories for two days a week and eating the normal amount of calories the other days
• Alternative fasting Fasting every other day

It is possible to drink during intermittent Fasting. Therefore, we recommend you drink at least one glass of water when you wake up. You can get the rest of the time drinking black coffee and tea. Coffee and tea both contain between 0-5 calories and are therefore not a danger to break your fast.

We recommend that you train at least in the afternoon after your first meal because you can still exercise while fasting. However, you can also start training in the morning, but not everyone likes to train on an empty stomach.

FASTING AND SPORTS: HOW DO SPORTS FASTING WORK?

A sports fasting course consists of 10 days during which you exercise more and eat less. These days, the number of calories is therefore reduced while the calorie and fat burning increase.

It is customary to reduce daily food and calorie intake for three days. Then you eat nothing for 3 to 4 days, so you train on an empty stomach. Then you need to increase your intake again. A sport fasting schedule, therefore, consists of 3 reduction and build-up days.

In the 3 to 4 days you don’t eat anything, your body can no longer use the carbohydrates you normally consume. After you have eaten carbohydrates, starch and sugars are converted into glucose in the intestines. The glucose is then transported to the muscles and stored as glycogen. When you don’t consume carbohydrates for more than 24 hours, your glycogen stores are depleted. This automatically switches from sugar to fat burning. Another name for this is the metabolic switch.

It is still important to get essential amino acids while fasting despite eating less. Therefore, take supplements such as amino acids, minerals (calcium, magnesium ), and fish oil ( omega 3 ) during the fast sports period. This way, possible micronutrient deficiencies are prevented, and sports fasting becomes more bearable.

BENEFITS OF FASTING AND EXERCISING

Sports fasting can have several benefits because you eat a certain way during the sports fasting cycle, and your body switches from burning sugar to fat. Your body uses energy from stored fats and carbohydrates to continue functioning properly.

The main reason, and therefore a major advantage, is that you lose weight quickly. On average, men lose 4 to 6 kilos and women 2 to 4 kilos. In addition, you feel fitter, your sports performance has improved, and the need for sewing is reduced.

DISADVANTAGES OF FASTING AND EXERCISING

The disadvantage of sport fasting is that you can only do it twice a year. It takes a lot of effort from your body and requires a lot of discipline. In addition, the shortage of energy, carbohydrates, and proteins causes fatigue, reduced performance, and muscle breakdown.

Because your body has to be economical with energy, little fat will be burned. You also burn less fat during rest while storing as much food as possible.

You also run a high risk of the yo-yo effect. What would normally be burned is now stored as extra fat. This is also why many people don’t last because the kilos are quickly put back on after the fasting period. Therefore, this way of eating is something that only some people can sustain for the long term.

RAMADAN AND SPORTS

During Ramadan, you sometimes have a period in which you are 16 hours. However, exercising during Ramadan is possible. We recommend that you only train before you can eat again. This way, you can replenish energy stocks immediately. In addition, make sure you get enough sleep and lose as little moisture as possible for the rest of the day. Remember that you have much less energy to exercise, and try to train a little more slowly than you normally do. Because you have less energy, you can become dizzy or extremely tired. If this is the case, stop immediately.

WHAT SHOULD YOU EAT?

To ensure that you can get the most out of your workouts, it is extremely important to get the right nutrition. Ensure you take in enough long carbohydrates, proteins, and fats at your eating moments. The long carbohydrates and fats ensure that you still have fuel during training. The proteins ensure that your muscles can recover after training.

CONCLUSION: FASTING AND EXERCISING

Fasting and exercising can be done in different ways. Intermittent Fasting and sports fasting are the most popular examples of this. You only eat for a portion of the day or even a whole day. This makes you lose more weight, but it is also more likely that you will get tired and lose muscle mass.