Comments on: Breaking the Fast for an Athlete

By: ESPARTANO

ESPARTANO — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 07:49:52 +0000

Hi all,

Today is my 4th day after the fast. Observations:

- after 9 days fasting, I thought my stomach would be very small and sensitive, but in day 1 I could already see that I could eat more than the portions of food I was preparing and I slowly & carefully ate more if my body was asking for more food.

- Day 2 onwards, I ate chicken soup instead of salad for dinner.

-Egg whites are not very digestible for my stomach. Yesterday I replaced it for greek yogurt with protein powder instead and it felt great.

I think protein powder is actually very easy to digest and in my experience, better than egg whites. Protein powder is composed of amino acids, which are already broken down and the stomach has little work to do when digesting. Combined with (greek) yogurt it is easier to digest than with juice or milk.

- after 4 days, I am now almost as strong as I was before, I am gaining about 1KG/day and I have more endurance than before. My muscles look more defined now, even though I have to catch up of how I was before.

I am very happy I made the fast and I am pretty sure in some weeks I will have the same or even more muscles than before, but without fat. I can strongly recommend it for anybody willing to “sacrifice” some short term results (it is painful to see your well earned muscles vanishing) for better and (hopefully) lasting long term results.

By: Oikle

Oikle — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 05:59:49 +0000

Wow Espartano, what an amazing plan! I’m about to break a 40 day fast and I have also lost a lot of muscle mass over this period. I wouldn’t call myself an athlete but I tend to be a naturally bouncy person and love going for bushwalks and cycling on the weekend. One of my dreams is to complete a marathon and I’m thinking now may be a good time to start implementing a training plan to complete that dream. Just wondering if there are any major side effects I need to consider before using Espartano’s plan to get back my pre-fast body?

By: keith101

keith101 — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 01:24:51 +0000

Hi Espartano
You will find that you will put muscle on faster, after your fasting is over.
If you increase your protien and keep the carbs low then you will keep your definition and increase your muscle mass,.Take.1-2 grams of protine per pound of body weight
Regards Keith.

By: Tom Coghill

Tom Coghill — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 08:49:23 +0000

Hi espartano
I also notices that after a 20 day juice fast although my arms were skinner, I could lift 85% of max. Some workout I got winded early others I could go crazy and pull hard.

By: ESPARTANO

ESPARTANO — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 06:23:01 +0000

Hi Tom,

Day 2. Actually in 9 days I lost 9 Kg… i would say almost everything in muscles, since I had a very good definition.

Yesterday I was at the gym for the first time after fasting. I didn’t train to the limit, but I was surprised to see that I actually could if I wanted to, and I think I am almost as strong as I was before – even though I lost a lot of muscle mass! I don’t know about condition, I will test it the days to come.

I will also let you know if I experience muscle growth in the months to come. Since half a year or so, I realized my muscles were shrinking a bit, probably due to stress issues.

Keep you posted!

By: Tom Coghill

Tom Coghill — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 01:22:07 +0000

Hi ESPARTANO
Yea that looks great. I am curious as to how long it will take to regain your strength and endurance to the point where you started fasting.