The FastDay Forum

Hi all

This is week seven of fasting for me, and I prefer to do so on Mondays and Thursdays where possible, which is also when I have exercise classes.

Very shortly after starting the 5:2 I hurt my leg and haven't been able to exercise until this past Monday. I thought I might not have enough energy to wait to eat until after the class, so I had some eggs, mushrooms, tomato and rye bread just before the class at about 18:00, that was the first I've eaten all day.

At almost the end of the hour-long Zumba class; I felt horrible and as though I'm going to faint, and had to sit down and have some water - the feeling passed relatively quickly again.

And now I'm not sure if I felt faint because I just haven't exercised for a long while (and have been fairly unfit up to January this year); or if it's got something to do with the fast?

Should I rather only eat after exercising; or perhaps eat a small lunch as well (though I've recently started to save all my calories for dinner)?

I've read that many of you also exercise on Fast days, what do you do?

Thanks fellow Fasters!

[carorees]

I think you should not eat just before exercising, but around an hour or more beforehand or afterwards. Exercising while fasting helps to burn more fat so afterwards is probably best. I expect the faintness you felt was to do with eating rather than not eating but as I'm fairly exercise averse I am not speaking from experience here!!!

I'm sure someone who exercises regularly will be along to advise, or check out some of the threads in the related topics section below!

I agree eating so soon before the class was probabaly a bad move - really, a small cereal bar, piece of fruit or something at around 100 calories should give you the energy you might need, but many people do exercise, particularly cardio, in a fasted state (there's a whole science behind "fasted cardio", so it's an actual THING!)

I've found that if I try anything weight-lifting based, even just first thing in the morning, before breakfast, not necessarily on a fast day - that will make me shaky and dizzy. But cardio (running, aerobics, dancing etc) I can manage with no problem.

As I'll be working out at home, I can control when I exercise, so I've decided not to do any on a fast day. Today is my first day on the diet, and I felt a bit dizzy earlier, so it would be unwise (for me) to launch into a vigorous routine until I get used to this new way of eating. I agree that you probably shouldn't have exercised so close to eating a meal (been there, done that), but we're all different. Once you know what you can and can't do through experience, then you can hopefully work around it. Can you change the days you fast? Only saying this as it's probably not possible to change the days of your exercise class.

Good luck!

I exercise most mornings, fast or no fast, just after getting out of bed and before I have anything to eat.
I do 40mn or so on a bike trainer, working out at 80-85% of max heart rate (I use a heart rate monitor).

I've found that if I try anything weight-lifting based, even just first thing in the morning, before breakfast, not necessarily on a fast day - that will make me shaky and dizzy. But cardio (running, aerobics, dancing etc) I can manage with no problem.

Fasting has changed this for me. I used to think that I HAD to have breakfast before going out for my Saturday morning Pump class (weights based) but since I started fasting, I can easily get through it and eat afterwards.

Stella - you might find your struggles were a little bit of both having lost fitness and having eaten so quickly beforehand. How do you feel normally on a fast day at this point - 7 weeks in? Does it feel tough or do you just go through the day as normal?
I exercise 'fasted' but my fast days don't tend to feel tough and I've been pretty fit for the last 5 years. Having said that, I had an emergency 'banana' in my bag for the first couple of classes on a fast day.

If you're going to try it again, I'd say have something a couple of hours before your class. Something that the body can absorb reasonably quickly but which won't bloat your stomach. Eating just before exercise means that your body diverts resources to your digestive system that it would otherwise use for your muscles to function.

It might be interesting to do the class on a non-fast day (even just one week) to see if you still feel faint at that point or not.

Thanks everyone; you confirmed what I thought! Appreciate the advice!

Not exactly relevant but my repair days have always been on the days I have an evening Zumba class. I have just adjusted my fasting (after around 3 months) to two 36 hour fasts per week and I exercise at about 24 hours in on each fast day with no untoward effects. It can be done but perhaps you need to have been fasting for a while so you are fully 'adjusted' as such. I have found that I have 'tweaked' how I fast as I have gone along. My weight loss was always disappointingly low (although I do not have masses to lose in all honesty and I have been losing inches even so) but the thrill this week of seeing my BMI turn to green (i.e. normal) on the tracker was AMAZING - I am still smiling.