During a 9 mile run this week a light bulb went off in my head. You all know how long runs can do that to you. I thought that when I returned from my run I will post in this running motivation group that I am in on Facebook a question. The question was; “Who Intermittent Fast & Runs?” That question sparked many of comments. All potential guest on our podcast. One of the first to respond was a young man I met during a speaking engagement that I had at the Atlantic City Marathon Series in October 2019. His name is Vasanth Kumar, a 36 year old from India, who moved to the U.S. in 2016, took up Intermittent Fasting in 2018, lost 50lbs and is running better than ever.

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Let’s Get Right Into The Interview Between Coach Tadris & Vasanth Kumar!

CT: Where are you from and where do you live now?

VK: I was born and brought up in India and I moved to the states in 2016. Currently, I am in Morris County in Northern New Jersey.

CT:Were you an athlete in school?

VK: I was never involved in any sports or track related activities in school. In India, we never had the opportunity to explore sports as a career. I ended up becoming an engineer.

CT: What year did you pick up running and why?

VK: At the start of 2011, I was doing a lot of hiking and trekking. One of the groups I started trekking with had few runners in them. To have good fitness and the ability to hike longer got me into running with the people in the group.

CT: How does running make you feel?

VK: Running for me is the best way to naturally connect to nature. Running helped me stay in shape and explore the natural wonder through hiking and trekking.

CT: What is it that you do for a living?

VK: I am a Mechanical Project Engineer, working in the healthcare industry.

CT: How Long Have You Been In Your Profession & What Do You Like Most About What You Do?

VK: I have been working in this field for almost 12 years now. Most of the time I sit before a computer for research and development related work. The creativity and research part is what I enjoy the most in my profession.

CT: Vasanth, we met at the Atlantic City Marathon expo in October of 2019. At that time I had no idea that you would one day be on our podcast. I posted a simple question in the “Running Motivation” group on FB; “Does anyone practice Intermittent Fasting & Run.” You were one of the first ones to respond and I knew I had to have you on.

So how long have been intermittent fasting?

VK: It's been exactly 2 years (April 2018) since I started intermittent fasting as a way of life, and I am glad that I found this way of life. Since then there has been no turning back to 3 to 7 meals per day.

CT: What made you give this a try?

VK: In April 2018, I weighed 220lbs. I wanted to get back into running, so I signed up for an online challenge. The challenge consisted of 100 days of running with a minimum of 1.2 miles a day. Previously, I tried to complete a half marathon in May 2017 in Denver, Colorado. I ended up with the worst timing of over 3 hours. This was accompanied by severe pain in the knees and ankle. After completing the half marathon, I couldn’t move for more than 2 hours and I was lying flat on the grass.

I have tried most of the diet plans which involve supplements or eating 7 meals a day. Those diets never helped me with knee pain or reducing inflammation in my body. I stumbled upon a documentary from BBC called “Eat, Fast & Live Longer” and that changed my life. I was introduced to intermittent fasting and I started researching the benefits of I.F. I started slowly by skipping breakfast and having brunch at 11 am. Over time I started to move my eating window to open from 6 pm to 8 pm.

CT: What changes in your body have you noticed?

VK: The first thing I noticed was my weight loss. I lost 50+ pounds within 2 months and I was able to run without any pain. I.F. improved the quality of my sleep and I was able to reduce my resting heart rate to the 50s. Fasting helped my digestive health to a great extent and I never have trouble during the day.

CT: How has Intermittent Fasting affected your runs?

VK: Because of I.F, I lost my weight and got to 165 pounds within 2 months, I was able to avoid injuries to my joints and was able to run longer and faster. With that, I was able to complete a half marathon in May 2019 with my personal best of 2.08 (Check it out on Strava) and I could do a full marathon under 4.30 (Check it out on Strava) (with an HM timing of 2.02) in October 2019. Both of these races were during my fasting window and I never felt as if I was weak or tired.

CT: With your work & running schedule, how do you fit it all in? What’s your current routine, including the best fasting window that you’ve found for yourself?

VK: I am currently doing one meal a day (OMAD) and my eating window is from 6 pm to 8 pm. With my current work schedule, I sometimes have international calls in the morning. I train for my runs around 4 pm in the evening. I take a break after my training for at least half an hour to cool down. Then I open my window and have my meal around 6 pm. Having a wonderfully supportive wife has made my life bliss. My wife helps me in preparing the meal and as she follows the same lifestyle as me, it has been very easy for both of us.

CT: What are some of your challenges?

VK: With the current pandemic situation, I am having trouble training for my upcoming events. But I have always made sure that I do some kind of training every day and have my meal at the right time.

CT: How do you plan to overcome those challenges?

VK: I plan my training a week in advance and I tend to stick to my plan most of the time. Being able to adjust to the situation and proper training set up has helped me stay healthy.

CT: Why can you see yourself sticking with intermittent fasting?

VK: I.F. is a hassle-free lifestyle that I have been able to stick to for 2 years now. I feel I could continue this all my life as I.F. has bestowed me with other health benefits. I had very high triglyceride levels in 2017 (500+) and it came down to 140 in 2019 only because of I.F. With all the benefits of getting the personal best records for my running events has hooked me to I.F.

CT: What have you excited today, any special events coming up that you are working on at that moment?

VK: I have 2 major events this year. I have an Ironman 70.3 in June in Cambridge, MD. An Ironman 140.6 in November in Panama City Beach, Florida. Another Ironman 70.3 is a triathlon with 1.2 miles of swim, 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running which must be completed under 8 hours. Similarly, Ironman 140.6 is twice the distance as Ironman 70.3 with 2.4 miles of swim, 112 miles of biking and a marathon in the end.

CT: Wow, those are some BIG TIME goals! We are all rooting for you!

Thank you for sharing with us your story.

Before we let you go........WHAT can you say to our listeners who may be ready to start their journey tomorrow?

VK:

IF I COULD DO IT, ANYONE CAN DO IT!

Vasanth and his beautiful wife Kavya loves photography.

Their photography service takes some of the most breathe taking photos in the world!

Please follow on Instagram @

Artsyangle

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#44 - Intermittent Fasting Stories (Vasanth Kumar Story)