Fitness

FASTING AND WEIGHTLOSS

At the beginning of the new year, many spiritual bodies mostly Christians  embark on a spiritual fast, with the intention of committing the year to the Lord. Some embark on 21 days fast while some go as long as 100 days fasting.

 

photocredit: shape.com

I have talked with a lot of people who say that they do not lose weight during the fast. Some people say they loose weight for a while then the weight remain stagnant, while some others lose weight steadily through the fast but gain it all back after the fast.

If you intend to lose weight with your spiritual fast, you have to choose appropriate meals to break your fast with. If you are on a 12 hour fast, meaning you are having one meal a day; the first thing to take is water.  After the water you can have low calorie fruits/vegetables like watermelon, garden eggs, cucumbers, carrots or apples. Then you have a full meal.  Make the meal balanced with at least 30% proteins. Do not over eat. Drink water in between your meals.

Remember, the key here is to create an effective calorie deficit, thus you lose weight. However, if at the end of your fast you are downing “jevnik size” pounded yam and afang soup, possessing over 1700calories, then, you can not loose weight. Its not magic!

However, if you fast for too long, the body decreases its metabolic activities, and you will not drop weight as you did initially.

Exercising while fasting depends on how you feel. However exercising is not contraindicated. You can exercise early in the morning before commencement of fast or late evening after meal. Don’t push yourself too hard as you know that you are not refueling anytime, but do your best.

Happy Fasting.