I'm fasting. Help!
YanmiYann
Posts: 33 Member
I'm fasting for the month (for religious purposes) and I can't for the life of me figure out how to eat and exercise. Today was day 1 and I only consumed 700 calories and 2 cups of water. Didn't workout as I wasn't feeling up to it and wasn't even sure I should.
How do you eat and workout during a fast and not stop your weight loss goal?
How do you eat and workout during a fast and not stop your weight loss goal?
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Replies
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You're going to have to explain what you mean by "fasting for the month" before we can give you any reasonable advice.0
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I'm not eating and drinking from waking up until after 7 at night daily. Does that help?0
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Op, you have to get your nutrition in somehow. If it were me I would eat a big meal at 7 and a smaller one at bedtime.0
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Usually such fasts allow you to eat something before sunrise and then to eat again after sunset. I am thinking of Ramadhan.
Are you sure this is safe?0 -
At big meal to get me around 1200 calories? Sometimes I struggle to get there on a regular day.0
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Well, for Ramadhan, usually there is a feast meal in the evening--almost like Thanksgiving, but with different foods, depending on the culture.
People don't exercise much during that month.
I am familiar with traditions in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. I've had lots of students in the US (from many different countries) who are fasting for Ramadhan and they are DRAGGING in class, especially if the month falls during the longer days of the year.
You could eat 1200 calories during a big meal, but when are you going to have energy to exercise?0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »Usually such fasts allow you to eat something before sunrise and then to eat again after sunset. I am thinking of Ramadhan.
Are you sure this is safe?
Oh. It's perfectly okay. I've done it before, just not while working out.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »Well, for Ramadhan, usually there is a feast meal in the evening--almost like Thanksgiving, but with different foods, depending on the culture.
People don't exercise much during that month.
I am familiar with traditions in Saudi Arabia and Morocco. I've had lots of students in the US (from many different countries) who are fasting for Ramadhan and they are DRAGGING in class, especially if the month falls during the longer days of the year.
You could eat 1200 calories during a big meal, but when are you going to have energy to exercise?
That was my thought exactly. I'm not sure I can exercise. Will have to put it on pause I guess.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »You're going to have to explain what you mean by "fasting for the month" before we can give you any reasonable advice.
I'm not eating and drinking from waking up until after 7 at night daily. Does that help?0 -
700 calories a day for a month is going to make you weak and lethargic. Exercising would be out of the question.0
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hearthwood wrote: »700 calories a day for a month is going to make you weak and lethargic. Exercising would be out of the question.
I figured as much. Darn it. Was trying to hold out hope I wouldn't have to stop.0 -
Is there any reason you can't eat more calories after 7pm? Many people do intermittent fasting as a lifestyle choice, and choose to eat all their calories in one meal. Is there any restriction on the type of food you can eat? If you are finding it hard to fit in all those calories, maybe you should look at more calorie-dense foods. If I found myself at the end of the day with 1200 calories left, I reckon I could be satisfied with a meal of around 6-700 calories, then I'd blow the rest on chocolate and ice-cream
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I do IF and often don't eat until about 7. Drinking plenty of water helps - 2C is very low, and I'd definitely recommend more. I spread my calories over 2 bigger meals and plenty of interspersed snacks in my eating window. You might want to add some more calorically dense foods like nuts or vegetable oils to help boost calories. 700 cal/day over the month is going to make you miserable!
Exercise wise you could consider some light walking, or not exercise much if you're having difficulty fitting in calories.0 -
I'm fasting for the month (for religious purposes) and I can't for the life of me figure out how to eat and exercise. Today was day 1 and I only consumed 700 calories and 2 cups of water. Didn't workout as I wasn't feeling up to it and wasn't even sure I should.
How do you eat and workout during a fast and not stop your weight loss goal?
I have done a religious fast as well and I think during that time it's not good to focus on other things other than your purpose in fasting otherwise good eating and weight loss can easily make a fast a diet. Naturally as you fast you make lose weight because of changes in eating and exercise patterns.
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You're going to lose a ton of weight eating 700ish calories everyday for month, not to mention you'll be struggling to hit your macros. Is weight loss also one of your goals?
As the others have said, wouldn't be exercising0 -
If I were doing something like this, I might try very gentle exercise (walking, swimming) in the early morning.
You kind of have to see how you feel and go from there.
Some religious fasts exclude water during the day and even things like gum.0 -
I'm not eating and drinking from waking up until after 7 at night daily. Does that help?
But, do you eat your maintenance calories during a certain time then? I hope I don't come across as offensive, but it seems to me religious fasting would not entail being on a very low calorie diet for an entire month because it would be dangerous to anyone's health.0 -
As said, up your calories during early morning or evening meals and for the love of your body get more then 2c of water a day! For a month you are risking, at the very least, kidney stones. Not to mention acute kidney failure if that's all the water your going to be getting for a month coupled with low caloric intakes. Seriously, I passed a 7cm kidney stone. Took a week. I don't recommend it.0
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That should be 7mm. But to be fair it felt like 7cm!0
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Is your lifestyle/family situation conducive to altering your sleeping schedule? As in, perhaps you could go to bed earlier so that you can get up before sunrise and have a hearty breakfast to get you through the day, and then have a good dinner after 7 p.m....then early to bed again. I know it's a pain, but it's better to get a reasonable number of calories in if at all possible.
The other option is to eat it all at one meal (or dinner plus a before-bed snack). As has been mentioned, intermittent fasting, or IF, calls for compacting all food consumption in a smaller window of time...so, for example, an IF-er might not eat all day, and then have a really large dinner. Or they might have a late lunch, plus dinner, and maybe a snack or two in between. But they do all their eating within an 8 or 6 or whatever hour window (it differs from various programs and personal preferences). It can take getting used to, but it works for a lot of people.
Good luck!0 -
Sadly, I could easily eat 1,200 cals. in a single meal. Fortunately, I'm not allowing myself to do that, but...
A chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes with gravy, fried okra, green beans, a cornbread muffin with butter, coffee with cream... Hmm, am I there yet?
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lemonlionheart wrote: »Is there any reason you can't eat more calories after 7pm? Many people do intermittent fasting as a lifestyle choice, and choose to eat all their calories in one meal. Is there any restriction on the type of food you can eat? If you are finding it hard to fit in all those calories, maybe you should look at more calorie-dense foods. If I found myself at the end of the day with 1200 calories left, I reckon I could be satisfied with a meal of around 6-700 calories, then I'd blow the rest on chocolate and ice-cream
It's not that I can't. It's just by the time 7 hits, I eat and am not hungry enough to eat more. So it's not a restriction on what I can eat. I just have to make a better effort to getting all my calories in. Ahhh Ice cream. I love some ice cream sandwiches.
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lalepepper wrote: »I do IF and often don't eat until about 7. Drinking plenty of water helps - 2C is very low, and I'd definitely recommend more. I spread my calories over 2 bigger meals and plenty of interspersed snacks in my eating window. You might want to add some more calorically dense foods like nuts or vegetable oils to help boost calories. 700 cal/day over the month is going to make you miserable!
Exercise wise you could consider some light walking, or not exercise much if you're having difficulty fitting in calories.
Thanks! I know I need to eat more (that's def not a bad thing). Who doesn't love food.
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I'm fasting for the month (for religious purposes) and I can't for the life of me figure out how to eat and exercise. Today was day 1 and I only consumed 700 calories and 2 cups of water. Didn't workout as I wasn't feeling up to it and wasn't even sure I should.
How do you eat and workout during a fast and not stop your weight loss goal?
I have done a religious fast as well and I think during that time it's not good to focus on other things other than your purpose in fasting otherwise good eating and weight loss can easily make a fast a diet. Naturally as you fast you make lose weight because of changes in eating and exercise patterns.
You're definitely right! I've sent so much time figuring out how I'm going to eat right and exercise during. thanks!0 -
christinev297 wrote: »You're going to lose a ton of weight eating 700ish calories everyday for month, not to mention you'll be struggling to hit your macros. Is weight loss also one of your goals?
As the others have said, wouldn't be exercising
Weight loss is a goal of mine, but not for the fast. It just so happened to fall during the time I really have been turning up my workout and good diet.0 -
azulvioleta6 wrote: »If I were doing something like this, I might try very gentle exercise (walking, swimming) in the early morning.
You kind of have to see how you feel and go from there.
Some religious fasts exclude water during the day and even things like gum.
Yeah, I will have to see how I feel on a day to day basis. Day two is not feeling like a workout day, even if it is light.0 -
I'm not eating and drinking from waking up until after 7 at night daily. Does that help?
But, do you eat your maintenance calories during a certain time then? I hope I don't come across as offensive, but it seems to me religious fasting would not entail being on a very low calorie diet for an entire month because it would be dangerous to anyone's health.
No offense taken, it's not that I can't eat more than that due to the fast "rules" so to say. But by the time I'm eating and getting ready for bed, that just happens to be what I ended up with at the end of the day.
I'm am trying to lose some weight. And with what I entered int MFP, I am supposed to be eating about 1290 calories a day, which I thought was actually pretty low! But seems to be okay, I guess.0 -
As said, up your calories during early morning or evening meals and for the love of your body get more then 2c of water a day! For a month you are risking, at the very least, kidney stones. Not to mention acute kidney failure if that's all the water your going to be getting for a month coupled with low caloric intakes. Seriously, I passed a 7cm kidney stone. Took a week. I don't recommend it.
Ouch! That must have been miserable. I will try my best, will have to make a more conscious effort. I usually have at least 7-9 cups a day. So 2 is low even for me.0 -
SnuggleSmacks wrote: »Is your lifestyle/family situation conducive to altering your sleeping schedule? As in, perhaps you could go to bed earlier so that you can get up before sunrise and have a hearty breakfast to get you through the day, and then have a good dinner after 7 p.m....then early to bed again. I know it's a pain, but it's better to get a reasonable number of calories in if at all possible.
The other option is to eat it all at one meal (or dinner plus a before-bed snack). As has been mentioned, intermittent fasting, or IF, calls for compacting all food consumption in a smaller window of time...so, for example, an IF-er might not eat all day, and then have a really large dinner. Or they might have a late lunch, plus dinner, and maybe a snack or two in between. But they do all their eating within an 8 or 6 or whatever hour window (it differs from various programs and personal preferences). It can take getting used to, but it works for a lot of people.
Good luck!
I will have to make an eating schedule hopefully to get in all the calories, making an effort, to try to stay as close to it as possible.
Thanks0
This discussion has been closed.
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