I am super excited because last week my Instagram account grew by more than 1000 followers. I know that's a silly thing to care about (I mean, what am I? 18?), but it felt like a victory for my little business.
That said, new followers/eyes on my account also meant lots of people who are unfamiliar with my anti-diet message. I was bombarded with rude messages that made me take a big, ole' sighhhh as I came face-to-face with the harsh reality with all the harmful messages on Instagram. (REMINDER- Clean up your feed!)
A lot of the attacks were the result of my playful video about fasted workouts and fat burning. And since this is such a hot topic, I figured I'd talk about it with you.
Running in a fasted state DOES burn more calories from fat than running in the fed state.
Lucky for us, we don't drop dead immediately post-run. If you're planning on doing so (omg, please don't), then yes, good job, your fasted run helped you burn more fat for the day.
But since most of us plan on living life post-run, I'm concerned about fasted run's effect on appetite & overall quality/quantity of intake during the rest of the day...nay, week!
Our body tightly regulates energy intake. When you are chronically running fasted (especially longer or more intense workouts), your body adapts by upping appetite the rest of the day. Because evolution has made it that hungry bodies crave calorie-rich sugary and fatty foods, those fasted runs may be the very reason that you feel addicted to sugar or confused why you can't stop eating the leftovers from your kids' plates.
Fasted runs also do not necessarily contribute to performance gains. When I work with my clients in the 1:1 setting, after months of ensuring the athlete is eating enough, we add in some strategic workouts to help your body get good at burning fat for fuel to reduce the incidence of bonking during a race... YA SEE - you don't have to train fasted on the reg to get good at utilizing fat for fuel!
I'd love to hear your thoughts by commenting on my Free Facebook Community ... & if you're considering coaching, check out my four minute video all about what my coaching program is like here.