In April I was focused on my Whole30 reset to get back to my ideal weight and improve my running. For May, my focus is to go back to my deep intermittent fasting days! I love so many of the health benefits of intermittent fasting. I am ready to bring mindfulness back to the times of day that I eat. I am ready to pay close attention to how my energy levels dip or rise. I am ready to experience mental clarity, and be able to run to the best me! In this week’s podcast, I will do a deep dive into the different intermittent fasting strategies that you can use to get started today! 

My name is Coach Tadris Parker, I have a passion for helping people become healthier one step at a time. I coach people to reach their running and health goals. Training members to run their first 5k, 10k, half, or full marathon in the South Jersey area. Areas include: Atlantic County, Galloway, Egg Harbor Township, Linwood, Somers Point and surrounding towns. I also have trained individuals around the world to run marathons with my online coaching system. 

My podcast is designed to help share stories of everyday people that are doing amazing things with their health through running, walking, and following a whole food approach. My blogs are my shorthand notes for the podcast. The notes may not always be complete, but they are short and to the point for a quick read. Continue to scroll down for a quick read and check out this week’s photos. 

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This Week’s Topic:

There is a picture of me jumping across my first Disney Half Marathon in 2019. This picture represents such a happy time in my life. I recall getting on the scale before I left New Jersey to head to Orlando Florida. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I not only reached a weight goal that I've been trying to achieve for years with no success. I was three pounds lighter than my goal weight. At that time in my life, I was practicing food freedom and scale freedom. Meaning that I knew how certain foods made my body feel, so I made a mindful decision about whether or not it was worth me enjoying that food or not. Scale freedom meant that I was not weighing myself every day or once a week. At that time I would only weigh myself once a month on race day. That’s why that result came as such a surprise. 

What was my secret weapon? Was it supplementation, protein shakes, or some other popular diet plan? No! It was simply intermittent fasting! Below I will give you the basic methods by which you can choose what's best for your current lifestyle. Then I will tell you what I found that worked best for me and how I’m looking to do it again this spring. Summer is coming and it’s time to become a lean, mean, running machine.  

Intermittent Fasting and Running: 

Intermittent fasting is an eating strategy that can help increase fat loss, accelerate weight loss, and improve health markers. Fasting improves insulin sensitivity. Intermittent fasting involves timing your meals to be eaten within the desired time frame. Also known as an eating window. The length of the fast and the time between meals vary depending on your goals. When intermittent fasting is paired with running, you will torch your mid-section. Running is one of the most effective ways to burn fat. Running at a high intensity for just 20-25 minutes burns more calories than a 45-60 minute jog at a slower pace. Sounds like a match made in heaven. 

Popular Methods of Intermittent Fasting

There are a variety of intermittent fasting methods, but the most popular ones are:

Circadian Rhythm Fast: (13:11) Great Starting Point

Sun up to sun down eating pattern. Finish dinner at 7:30 pm and begin eating breakfast at 8:30 am. With this pattern, you are eating within an 11-12 hour window. This is great for beginners to practice mindfulness around their food intake.  

Time-Restricted Feeding (16:8) Fat Burning Zone 

Time-restricted feeding is the most popular intermittent fasting method used by many people. A great example here is that you skip breakfast and eat lunch. In this case, you would have a 12 pm - 8 pm eating window. There you have a 16-hour fast. Some may already be doing this, but mess up the fasting benefits by having cream and sugar in their coffee in the morning. During the fast, you only want to have black coffee or tea. This may sound strange to some but even a cup of hot water is very comforting. 

The Warrior Diet (20:4) My Favorite

Fast for 20 hours and only eat in a 4-hour window. My favorite for many reasons. I have great mental clarity in the afternoons. I wake up with a flatter stomach. I don’t experience any crashes during the day due to constant insulin spikes. My favorite eating window is 4 pm - 8 pm or 2 pm to 6 pm.

One Meal A Day (23:1) 

One meal a day fasting refers to skipping breakfast and lunch to have an early dinner at night. From my standpoint, I don’t recommend this as a prolonged strategy. At the same time, many practices this daily. Your one meal per day doesn’t have to be dinner. It can be something that works best for you. Perhaps lunch is your favorite meal of the day. 

What happens to your body when you fast

Your body begins using its glycogen stores — the carbohydrate energy it stored up over the past few days — for energy. Glycogen is stored in the liver and muscles, where it can be converted into glucose and burned for energy by the body’s cells.

You lose water weight and fat tissue, making you look lighter and more toned. This is because glycogen holds about 3 grams of water per gram of stored glycogen. When glycogen stores are depleted, this water is lost from the body and other substances like fat and protein.

During fasting, there is a shift toward ketone production for fuel rather than glucose production from carbohydrates (glucose is still produced in small amounts). Ketones are made by breaking down fats in your liver; they are used as an alternative fuel source by muscle cells and some brain cells during fasting periods.

Benefits of Intermittent Fasting for Runners

Improved Endurance

Intermittent fasting helps improve endurance because it reduces oxidative stress in the body. This stress in your body leads to inflammation throughout the body. As a runner who practices IF, I notice my endurance has improved drastically. I run in a fasted state, so I no longer have to pull over to the bathroom after a pre-workout drink. 

Increased Fat Loss

IF can naturally boost your human growth hormones. Athletes in the past used to take synthetic HGH for improved strength and fat-burning benefits. IF allows your body to access its fat stores for energy during fasting periods and 

Decreased Stress Levels

Many runners experience high levels of stress due to their busy schedules and competing in races. Stress is known to have adverse effects on the body, including increasing cortisol levels, leading to weight gain around the midsection and lower back pain due to tight muscles. Intermittent fasting helps reduce stress by giving your body a break from consuming food all day long, which allows it time to repair any damage caused by exercise or other physical activity. I know all too well the stress that builds up in my mid-section. Running is supposed to help us cope with stress, but if we have a ton of things going on it can add pressure and stress. Without us being aware of it, we begin to stress eat. Although we are training for a race, we cave into extra sugar or bread here and there. Then we feel guilty, adding to more stress. Our eating patterns may be all over the place. Here is where going into a pattern of consistent deep fasting for 16-20 hours will help you regain control. Control on our food cravings, control our runs, control stress, and control our life. 

Reduced Inflammation Levels

The human body produces chemicals called pro-inflammatory cytokines when there is any type of injury or illness. These chemicals can cause pain and swell around damaged areas such as joints, muscles, or bones. Intermittent fasting can help reduce inflammation levels by restricting overall food consumption, especially processed foods. ie; sugar, grains, & highly processed seed oils. Reducing the inflammation in our bodies will help us look better in pictures as we cross that finish line at our next 5k race. 

How to Start Intermittent Fasting Safely

1. Ease Into It.

If you're new to intermittent fasting, start with the Circadian Rhythm fast. Fasting overnight between 12-13 hours. As you begin to feel comfortable with that, increase your fasting window by 15 minutes for a few days. Our bodies are used to eating every day at the same time of the day. Just like adding distance to your runs by gradually increasing the distance you go during training. We will start to train our bodies to get used to the new pushback times that we consume food. 

2. Stay Hydrated.

Now is a good time to make sure that you are getting your daily allowance of water. The water will keep your muscles pliable. The water is filling. The rule of thumb has always been half of your body weight in ounces of water. As mentioned before, you may have black coffee or tea, but remember caffeine has a dehydrating effect. Drink an extra 8oz of water for every cup of caffeinated drink you have. Once again don’t add anything to the coffee, tea, or water so as not to break your fast. 

3. Workout/Run Smart

If you have been used to eating around your workouts, then you may need some time before training in a fasted state. Training in a fasted state can make you dizzy, tired, or weak. I will tell you that in my experience, training in a fasted state is wonderful. Anytime that I race at 8 am, I close my eating window at least 12 hours the night before. I wake up the next morning refreshed, grab a cup of black coffee and I’m ready to head to the starting line. As I write this, I performed speed work on the track in a deep fasted state. Over 23 hours. Tracking my history, I achieved a fast of 6:55 mile after a 19-hour fast. Just like pushing your eating windows back 15 minutes at a time, you can try this with your workouts. If you are used to fueling up before and after your workouts, try only having caffeine before your workout. Coffee is all the pre-workout you need. If you are used to eating within 45 minutes after your workout, start to push that back to an hour, and follow the 15 minutes longer rule. As long as we eat enough macros during our feeding windows it doesn’t matter whether it was immediately after the workout or not. One last point on this, in the beginning, keep your workouts low-intensity and short. You Got This! 

4. Eat For The Body You Want!

Some flaunt intermittent fasting as a method for you to eat whatever you want during your eating window. If you are looking to get faster in your runs or get lean, then you are going to want to break your fast by eating like a pro. Stick with lean proteins, healthy fats, and plenty of vegetables. It is all about consistency. We are what we consistently do. If I want the body of my dreams, it’s possible when I focus on consistently fast and eating clean. If I want the body I had at 217 lbs then I can go back to eating buffets and fast food every week. 

I will say this, I love the book “Delay Don’t Deny” by Gin Stephens. All of her books are amazing on this topic. Delay Don’t Deny is exactly what it sounds like! Gin had pizza or a dessert if that's what she truly wanted. However, when reading the entire book, you realize that it took her some time to deny herself certain treats for 3-6 months at a time. All the while intermittent fasting to her way to her ideal weight. I love seeing all the points on this topic. Another favorite book of mine is “Two Meals A Day” by Mark Sisson. 

Remember you are a study of one. You are the captain of your running ship! You must do what Gin Stephens likes to say: “Tweak It Until It’s Easy.” In the beginning, there may be challenges. Don’t give up, just tweak it until it’s easy for you. 

Helped Marie Geary Drop 70lbs Through IF & Walking

Final Thought:

If you are interested in IF for the health benefits, or to lose weight, it’s important to open your eating window with good quality food. Remember, you can’t run a bad diet. Check out Episode #107 - Best Diet To Lose Weight This Summer

I’m excited to work with anyone to reclaim their health. If you need help along the way in your journey, we can schedule a call to set up your days properly.

Schedule A Call/Message From Coach Tadris (Here)

Quote of the Week:

“A Runner’s High Is A Real Thing. 

You owe it to your spirit to feel the joy that comes with the accomplishment.” 

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