Discussion Board

I read your blog posts and the book by Brad Pilon yesterday about fasting. I am fired up as I've been trying to lose about 30lbs for a couple years (while eating a strict low fat high carb diet) and think this is a key that's going to help me a lot.

I am wondering your thoughts about my fasting plan... My workout routine is strength training 3 or 4 times per week and then I play Ultimate Frisbee twice per week for cardio, which if you aren't familiar, is like soccer and involves a lot of running, sprinting, cutting, jumping, etc..

I play frisbee on Tuesday and Thursday nights, from around 8pm to 10pm.. I am thinking of using these days as my fasting days.. From what I read in the book, my main concern is that I might run out of steam sooner than I am used to while fasted and playing Frisbee. I've never had an issue with running out of steam while playing before, but I wouldn't be surprised to do so if I haven't eaten since 6pm or so the night before...

So my question is, would you recommend that I eat a little or maybe drink some fuel before I play, since my 24 hours of fasting will be up probably around 6pm, or should I try to play fasted and wait until after the game (after 10pm) to break the fast? Or, I was thinking that maybe I'll bring some liquid fuel like a smoothie, and just drink it during breaks if I feel I need it..

I am sure I'll figure it out on my own through trial and error but curious for your opinion.. Unfortunately my trials will have to wait a week or two because I'm recovering from an injury.. Thanks!

Hi Todd,

Glad you found the fasting articles on my blog. Yes, I did intermittent 20 - 24 hour fasts once or twice a week for a year starting about 3 years ago and enjoyed it for the most part. After I got McDougall eats right I just ended up sticking with eating because I enjoy it so darn much! Though I still occasionally do a similar fast.

Did you read the ebook to which I refer in my articles? Brad's book Eat Stop Eat is excellent for debunking several myths about fasting such as metabolism problems, "starvation mode", etc. It puts intermittent mini-fasts in a whole new light. The nice thing about it too is you actually don't have to have a day without eating - I always have done it dinner-to-dinner. Brad come on my Teleclass series 3 times, twice about fasting and once about protein and they were always very popular and informative.

As to your questions. What would be your intention with waiting until after frisbee to eat, since you would already have hit the 24 hour mark? To extend your fast? I guess it depends on your purpose. You would definitely have more available energy and more oomph for your frisbee if you ate something beforehand.

Lani

I did read the book and it did debunk some myths that were keeping me from fasting, which is something I used to do pretty frequently earlier in my life..

The thing that I think has potential for me (aside from the many other benefits he mentions in the book), while I too would prefer to just keep eating, is that I tend to eat a high volume, and have trouble counting calories, so this seems like it could be a good fit for me to maintain a caloric deficit to get the pounds off... Not to mention, fasting helps to gain a sense of moderation with appetite...

And as far as my question, I think I am just wondering if I don't eat anything before, how well I'd be able to perform throughout the event compared to eating before.. Sometimes, because I am playing at night, I end up eating too much at dinner before I play (because I can't resist my wife's good cooking), and feel like I am lugging a load around out there.. I think I might try breaking the fast with something like orange juice before playing, to avoid that weighed down feeling... (Of course that sounds good in theory but I still have to resist my wife's good cooking in practice)..

I might just go ahead and try out playing fasted too, since he talked about in the book that some people report being able to perform better when exercising fasted...

It'll be a while before I get a chance to test this out, but I'll try to remember to report back... Thanks Lani!

Hi Debbie,

I did the 4 month report but don't think I did a sixer.

Black coffee and tea have so few calories they don't stimulate the insulin response of something more calorific, which is how Brad explains it in his book.

I had lost most of the weight by then, and just liked the idea of IF and wanted to try it. My only reservation with Brad's work is that he doesn't place emphasis on the quality of your food the rest of the time. There can be some good impact made on calorie deficit, but if you're cramming down the junk that deficit will be gobbled up fast.

Lani

I did one on Thursday and it went well too.. Only thing is that I found myself eating more on following days... Hrmf.. lol..

Todd,

Well you know....we can't fool mother nature!

Getting started there is a learning curve. SHould you persist, you'll get the hang of it and then discover how best to use this tool for you.

Thanks for reporting in!

Lani

Hm...tomorrow is a fast day for me...maybe actually going without for all three meals (dinner tonight, B and L tomorrow) will help pull me out of this icky funky punky tiredness I've been feeling.

I was gonna just eat potatoes and drink water for simplicity's sake, but maybe all the way is the way to go.