Hello 👋🏿,
I’m kinda new to fasting. Last year I was hospitalised and lost my appetite so unintentionally fasted for 3 weeks. Since then I have gained more than my usual weight so have started to do IF (16:8), my weight hasn’t reduced much so decided to do a 4 day fast. I am on day 3 and completely exhausted and feel seriously faint. I walk 8-10km a day and do reformer Pilates or weight training daily too. Are we not supposed to exercise this much whilst doing an extended fast?
Don’t exercise after like day two of a fast. Your body doesn’t have protein to rebuild muscle fibers that tear which is what happens during exercise. Don’t do anything harder than walking. Just relax, take easy walks if you like. Am doing a 10 day fast right now (on day 7) and being careful not to do anything too physically difficult.
It’s going to depend on your body and any underlying health issues
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Day 3 is notoriously a struggle zone for me (there right now, actually) but I can do light exercise (body weight, movement/stretching, walking) and actually find that when I get feeling down during a fast, a little light exercise usually perks me back up. In the past I’ve done 48 hours into a heavy workout and also been fine (breaking \~1-2 hours later) but never done heavy exercise after the full second day so I can’t comment there
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If you’re feeling faint, though I have to ask - electrolytes? If you’re not taking any, grab the salt shaker, put about a quarter size amount in your palm and eat it/chase with water. Give it 10-15 minutes. If you still feel faint, cut the fast for now and figure out what went wrong. If you start to feel a bit better, look into your electrolytes (salt, potassium, magnesium) - they’re likely the issue here