Alternate day fasting

[Arch]

Interesting. When I thought about it I originally considered Friday as that is still a traditional day of abstinence in Catholicism, but decided I do too many night rides that would screw up the program.

It's not we eat fish on Friday

Yebbut I thought that was a throwback to abstainimg from meat...

And as a result, its interesting how many animals were classed as fish by Medievals.  Beavers for example, because they live in water. Foetal animals, ditto. And Barnacle geese, because they actually were barnacles for half the year (being migratory, they disappear for half the year, so clearly, they must turn in to barnacles, eh?)

[geraldc]

I'm finding it easy enough to fast for a day, knowing that I'll get to eat the next day.
Still within the first week, so the honeymoon period is still in effect.
A bit light headed at the moment, but hopefully a cup of black coffee will put that right.

The knowledge that nothing is off limits on feed days is awesome.

My cycle commute in today was slooowwwww!!!! but it wasn't helped by the fact that the rear bearings on my brompton are shot.

[Pancho]

Interesting. When I thought about it I originally considered Friday as that is still a traditional day of abstinence in Catholicism, but decided I do too many night rides that would screw up the program.

It's not we eat fish on Friday

There used to be all sorts of fasts in UK/European Christianity; the Catholic's meat-free Fridays was about the last to wither.

Ramadan is probably the last remaining, or at least most observed, religious fast in the UK these days. And to be honest, as that usually involves pigging out during the night hours, I think it's more a spiritual event than a dietary one.

Do Christians do Lent still?

PS. Next month I'll be joining the ranks of occasional eaters. Mon-Fri will be almost food free and I'll do gluttony at weekends.

[Karla]

Do Christians do Lent still?

Yes ... after a fashion.

Most will observe some sort of spiritual discipline for Lent, but only a few will do a Ramadan-style fast.  The rest will give up all sorts of things right down to something inconsequential like sweeties, or else will take up some extra discipline like increasing their charitable giving, doing an extra daily bible study or whatever.  Giving up coffee/alcohol would be a common example.  Others in our good protestant land will tell you that saints' days, feast days and fast days are a dodgy popish invention and should be ignored, others still will just ignore it in a slightly guilty way.

[numbnuts]

I try to do Lent, I sometimes fail, but according to our Priest we can just start again, but to me it just beats the object of the whole exercise.

[Chris S]

I just watched the Horizon programme. Interesting stuff.

I have a friend whose always been into the whole life extension thing; calorie restriction and so on.  It never seemed to do him any harm - but then he was also pretty inactive.

I may try the 5:2 protocol - but my worry is, it'll be incompatible with an audax "career". If I fast Tuesdays and Thursdays, that at least keeps the fasting days well away from the weekend, but it'll be interesting to see what, if any effect those days have on the way I feel on a long ride.

[mcshroom]

Not impressed with my energy levels on my commute in today, although that may be more to do with the headwind and the temporary lights at the bottom of the worst hill than the fasting. I'll see how I feel on Friday

[geraldc]

I'm finding it hard to get back into a routine method of eating on my feed days.  I kind of feel like I'm cheating when I'm eating normally.

[Martin109]

Actually, I've been surprised so far, having done the 600 cal day yesterday, to find my energy levels are OK.  Maybe I'll bonk later - it's a 10 mile commute day (uphill).

[mcshroom]

Having just ridden home I think the wind was the problem.

[numbnuts]

Having just ridden home I think the wind was the problem.

Beans 

[hellymedic]

Having just ridden home I think the wind was the problem.

Beans 

Salad, esp cucumber...

[mcshroom]

Having just ridden home I think the wind was the problem.

Beans 

[geraldc]

Fasting today. Drinking a lot of black coffee.

[Ariadne]

Week three, fast day two, and I just had dinner. Hunger is the best sauce, they say - and they're not wrong

[Chris S]

First day done. As you can see - I'm up really quite early for breakfast today  .

There's probably a reason for this, beyond just the fact that my calorie total yesterday was a mere 688. Yesterday's fast coincided with a need to do some utility cycling - plus an already arranged Baton Delivery ride in the evening.

A fasting day is not really a good day on which to cycle 180km!  I was a bit low on energy on the way home - and needed Jelly Baby intervention from my stoker (hence the slight excess over 600).

I weighed myself this morning. Lowest weight this year. It'll be water loss from using up all my glycogen - but hey, it's nice to see my months-long plateau being given a kick.

[L CC]

I found it relatively easy. Being an all-or-nothing kinda gal I think it suits me.
2 bowls of cereal and an apple at 5.30pm and nothing but water the rest of the day.

Quite surprised how dehydrated I must have been. I suppose if you're a bit rubbish at drinking enough (holds up hand) and get most of your fluids from food, then doing without food is going to make a lot of difference. Next time I'll try and drink more.

Early days, though. I may not be so blase after week 2 day 2...

[Morrisette]

Didn't realise you had cycled that far to deliver The Baton Chris!! On two apples or something.....not sure this diet is for me, I tend not to eat that much anyway. I get really ratty when I've not eaten enough - I told Mr M about this diet and he said, 'I really wouldn't do that, not with how you get if you need to eat!' I tend to concur....

[Notsototalnewbie]

I get really ratty when I've not eaten enough

What she said. I think I may have given at least one forummer The Fear when he lead us to a lunch stop at a café that had stopped serving food.

[Chris S]

Didn't realise you had cycled that far to deliver The Baton Chris!! On two apples or something.....not sure this diet is for me, I tend not to eat that much anyway. I get really ratty when I've not eaten enough - I told Mr M about this diet and he said, 'I really wouldn't do that, not with how you get if you need to eat!' I tend to concur....

In fairness, most of yesterday's cycling was in conjunction with selling my house (130km) - the Baton Delivery was only 50km and I had help with that .

Most of the time I was OK - got a bit feeble halfway back to boab's place; and the hunger was pretty intense (kept me awake last night).

Riding a long way on an empty stomach is a training tool used by some audaxers; it's fine as long as you keep the workload low enough to allow fat burning alone to fuel the engine.

[L CC]

I get really ratty when I've not eaten enough

So does Chris... I tend more to a mild depression and hopelessness.

[Chris S]

I get really ratty when I've not eaten enough

So does Chris... I tend more to a mild depression and hopelessness.

I didn't think I was ratty yesterday? 

A bit under-powered on the bike by evening maybe...

[LEE]

I saw the program too, but if one is fasting and you go out for a ride say 20 miles + would you not bonk as you will be running on empty

Quite possibly.

Extreme dieting/fasting does not go hand in hand with aerobic exercise.

You may be OK doing 20 miles in the morning if your previous day was a normal eating day (I don't have a problem cycling before breakfast) but I think you'd run into problems doing it later in the "fast" day.  Also 20 miles would burn 300-500 calories (depending on how hard you went at it) so that's going to make a significant dent in your blood sugars. You may feel very run down later on.

Certainly doable in the morning but I bet you'd get close to bonking if you did it in the afternoon.

I'm currently dieting and had to dive into a Tesco Metro last night, after an hour on the bike, to cram a sandwich and chocolate milk down.  I was feeling a bit shaky.  Amazingly, after Burger and Chips + 4 pints of Bitter, the ride home felt much better (Note.  Not part of my normal diet)

[Chris S]

Extreme dieting/fasting does not go hand in hand with aerobic exercise.

In fairness, I don't think 2 days in 5 of 600kcals instead of 2000 is "extreme".

Of course - in a few weeks time, I may eat my words. And my desk.

[LEE]

Extreme dieting/fasting does not go hand in hand with aerobic exercise.

In fairness, I don't think 2 days in 5 of 600kcals instead of 2000 is "extreme".

Agreed, unless you are planning on cycling for over an hour on 600kcals as well.