Quote:
Originally Posted by Melonhead
Ultra endurance athlete is impressive. I've slowly adopted intermittent after a probably not super healthy fast before the wedding. Like you I dont eat after 6:30ish, and dont eat again until 630-7 the next morning. 12 hours is about the best I can do without forcing it. I know a lot of people do 14-16 hours, but I cant do that consistently.
Exercising, I never had the endurance growing up. I hated running, even though I played sports my whole life. I was one of the slowest on the bball team besides the centers when we ran around the track everyday. I force myself to get on the treadmill 2-3 times a week now. Im 35 ftr.
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This was my response to Mac, btw. I've received a few PM's about it so it appears that others are interested in it.
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A solid intermittent fasting interval while you sleep will absolutely improve your gut health as it provides a repair interval for the microbiome that lives in your gut. An unhealthy gut can really leave you feeling like crap and if you've experience this, you know what I'm talking about!
What I love about the intermittent fasting at night are a handful of things: 1) You're less likely to wear your calories to bed. Giving your body ample time to digest your food while being awake is most ideal. 2) In building on bullet 1, you position your body well for optimal rest when you sleep w/o a full tummy. Digestion requires energy which then causes an elevated heart rate. And when your body is working through digestion while attempting to rest, you'll pretty much forego any opportunity of deep and REM sleep. (these are the critical sleep cycles for physical and cognitive repair). 3. Improved gut health. Lets face it - waking up in the morning can be tough so the last thing that we want to do is to wake up and feel like crap.
There are folks out there that claim that 5-6 smaller meals are better for you than a handful of larger meals and I tend to lean on the smaller number of meals. Why? Because when you're constantly eating, you're constantly requiring your body to live in a digestive state and if you're not careful with your definition of moderation, then you'll wreck yourself and your gut.
I've learned that we feel our best when we're living in a balanced caloric state which means that we're consuming and burning an equal number of calories each day. And if you're enduring a time where you're trying to lean out a bit, then reduce your calories a bit to achieve a caloric deficit. Knowing the difference between being hungry and not satisfied will be cornerstone for your intermittent fasting journey. And once you learn to be disciplined about it, you'll learn just as I did that we absolutely consume more food than we require to function. Even as an athlete.