EM2WL and Lent

janelleduah

Hey everyone,
Lent begins on Wednesday and for us who celebrate this season, there is fasting on Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, and all Fridays. Now that I am trying to feed my body proper fuel and don't want to mess anything up, how do I go about maintaining my calories during this time? For this week where I will be fasting Weds. and Fri. should I just treat it as 'Intermittent Fasting' and go by the calories on heybales' spreadsheet? And make Friday my rest day throughout Lent and make up for the lack of calories on my exercise days?
Thanks in advance!

heybales

I'd say that is a good idea.

You want to go into the day with glucose stores totally topped off.
And you don't want to do anything so intense as to mainly use those stores, so rest day is perfect.

Since eating more day before, if any lifting done late in day before, eat most of those calories late. Your body for repair and recovery can go 24 hrs, right into that day it ain't going to get anything extra. That could make you awfully hungry.

Then day after, big breakfast to top off those stores.

But agree, trying to make up those 2 days by only eating more on Tue, Thu, and Sat may not be enough, so that bigger spread of calories over all 5 eating days is best.

Though I could see you perhaps holding on to an extra 100 to use on Tue night, another 100 or Sat morning, maybe 200 for Thu morning and night.
Then again, the amount to eat on the 5 days may be more than enough anyway.

janelleduah

Thanks! I'll definitely try eating most of my calories during the latter half of the day before a fast and the morning after a fast. For now I'll try to add a 100 more calories across the board on non-fasting days but I see that this'll be a matter of trial and error.

berthabunny

Thanks for posting this, I was wondering the same thing! I guess we get a big dinner for Fat Tuesday!
And I am happy I love fish.

heybales

Thanks! I'll definitely try eating most of my calories during the latter half of the day before a fast and the morning after a fast. For now I'll try to add a 100 more calories across the board on non-fasting days but I see that this'll be a matter of trial and error.

Oh, just adding 100 more, or 500 extra calories a week while removing, what, 3000 calories a week - that is too big a deficit combined with fact you already have a deficit in place.

Use that 5/2 plan, which actually still has you eating at 25% of TDEE on the 2 days, so you actually need to take those calories and add them day before and after.

berthabunny

Thanks! I'll definitely try eating most of my calories during the latter half of the day before a fast and the morning after a fast. For now I'll try to add a 100 more calories across the board on non-fasting days but I see that this'll be a matter of trial and error.

Oh, just adding 100 more, or 500 extra calories a week while removing, what, 3000 calories a week - that is too big a deficit combined with fact you already have a deficit in place.

Use that 5/2 plan, which actually still has you eating at 25% of TDEE on the 2 days, so you actually need to take those calories and add them day before and after.

You do get to eat some on fast days, 'one full meal and two small meals which together do not amount to a full meal' is the official amount. So depending on who you are, you can get about a 1000 calories that way. Also, milk and juices are allowed between meals. I feel as if drinking lots of milk to make up for not eating is cheating, but Catholic Doctrine permits it (of course, when that was written, milk was probably not available in near the abundance it is now).
Janelleduah, I do not know what denomination you are, but i thought the following might be helpful.
Catholics are only obliged to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, the laws changed, however traditional law was much stricter. I guess which way to go is always up to the individual. Personally, this year I will be following the new laws, so as to not upset my metabolism, and making sure to abstain from meat on all Fridays during Lent. This is the first year I am 18, and required to fast, but as long as I can remember I have fasted on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

Hopefully this will clarify things, please don't take this as me trying to tell you what to do, I just want to help.

janelleduah

Yeah, I plan on using the 5/2 day schedule for this week where I fast on Ash Wednesday and Friday (I am SO grateful for your spreadsheet heybales) and adding about 100-200 calories on the 6 days I don't fast for the other weeks of Lent where I only fast on Fridays. So I'll be adding about 800 calories while removing about 1600. And thanks for the clarification berthabunny; I looked up the newer laws before writing this post but since I'm stricter with my religious beliefs, I'm planning to do the 'one meal' fast. Just wanted to make sure how many calories to eat so as to not mess up my metabolism.