FITNESS BUFFS! I'm a RUNNER - Having Second Thoughts About Fasting - Advice Wanted

by KL
(NJ)

Hello everyone! This site is amazing, and I have learned so much from reading the materials and the posts. It really is quite a resource! I am a 35 year old female who has been researching water fasting for the past several months, and am currently on day 5 of my water fast.

I initially wanted to go 30 days, but I really don’t think I am going to be able to do it for that long, unfortunately. Not because of the hardships, but because I am worried that I am going to lose my ability to run. I was wondering if there are any other people out there who are very athletic or into fitness who have tried to fast for an extended amount of time.

Here is my story briefly: I was somewhat overweight until about 2 years ago when I started eating well and running. I eventually worked my way up to 5 miles a day, and was doing that every day (I know, I know, you are always supposed to take a rest day, but it really became very easy for me and I enjoyed it for its physical and emotional benefits).

My diet was great, and I pretty much ate “clean” until people around me started commenting that I was too thin, and starting to look emaciated. The dumbest thing I could have done at the time was listened to the comments from overweight/obese family and friends, because certainly, when you are overweight, anyone who is “normal” or fit may appear thin comparatively.

So, I began to eat sugar and carbs and put on about 15 lbs. When it started to show itself as a little too much fat (ie. Stomach rolls), I cleaned up the diet, and tacked on a little bit more running.

I lost my job about 6 months ago, which was an unexpected, devastating blow. I went into a deep depression and pretty much laid in bed all day and night. Being inactive caused me to put weight on, and I got even more depressed and started eating HORRIBLY.

I basically abandoned all of the principles of eating that I had sworn by for the last several years. It is so odd how that can just take control of you—I would NEVER have put a piece of cake or a donut in my mouth, and then suddenly, I was waking up in the middle of the night just eating 10 of them like I was in some kind of trance.

And I would just keep eating and eating, eventually feeling such a “screw it” attitude that I even started eating cake icing out of the can, and butter by the spoonful. SO SICK.

So, I have put on a lot of weight, and my clothes don’t fit me, and I needed to break the cycle, so I decided to fast mainly to put my carbohydrates and fat cravings to rest, and to break the cycle of binging and nite eating. However, I am primarily interested in fasting for weight loss.

My question is this: I am SO exhausted and fatigued on the water fast, that I cannot exercise at all. I know that you are supposed to take it easy and do non-strenuous stretching, yoga, maybe some light walking, etc. Of course, I am not trying to run a marathon here, but if I could run 5 miles in 35 minutes, a mile here or there during the fast should be easy….or so I thought!

I can hardly get out of bed without my muscles aching, and even trying to tie my shoes feels tiring. I am struggling because I know that if I clean up my diet and go back to the running, I will slim down over the next few months. But I really want to jump start the weight loss process rapidly, because I feel so chunky right now, and am uncomfortable in my own skin.

For anyone who is athletic who has attempted to fast, do you think the fat loss comes faster with a water fast than it does from spending several hours at the gym everyday? There were days where I was doing 6 miles of running, then 6 on the elliptical, which burned about 1200 calories, which is what I typically ate in a day. By fasting, I am pretty much “burning” 1200 calories a day—so is the caloric deficit the same whether you skip meals or exercise it off? What I’m trying to get at is the 3500 cals that equals 1 pound of fat……

Also, do you feel that the setback in fitness is worth the fast? I have had to stop running before for 2 weeks, and it took me nearly a month to get back to where I was, so I REALLY want the fast to be worth it if it is going to take away from my running and fitness level. Also, what length of fast would you recommend so that you don’t totally blow all the work you have done to get up to a certain point (ie. Running x amount of miles per day, etc.)

Thank you so much for any advice you can offer!!!