Intermittent Fasting Tips - Go "low carb" pre-fast

I’m fasting today, and it has reminded me to write about something that has been on my radar for some time now.  If you’ve experimented with Intermittent Fasting, you’ll know that not all fasts are the same.  The ease or difficulty - even the feel - of each fast differs.  Sometimes the cause is a mystery.  But there are some factors which clearly affect the fasting experience.  You’ll find a few of those in earlier Intermittent Fasting Tips on this blog.

The Carb Connection

One of the biggest factors determining the ease of your fast is the carbohydrate content of the meals leading into your fast.  I have consistently found that high carb consumption the day before a fast will dramatically increase my feelings of hunger and my cravings during a fast.  The lower my carb consumption going into a fast, the easier the fast seems.

This week, I cooked a delicious Sunday dinner.  It was entirely healthy, but contained relatively more carbs than I am used to lately.  We had a beautiful bison shoulder roast, cooked rare and to perfection, a mouth watering roast beet root recipe, and some irresistible roast potatoes.  And indeed I could not resist the potatoes, which I rarely eat.  Obviously, both the beets and the potatoes are relatively high-carb foods.  Today I am absolutely famished.

Another fast I did several days ago followed on the heels of a more normal day (for me) of simple fare; meat, veggies and good fats.  The fast was over before I knew it and I barely noticed being hungry.  Both days were similar as to the amount of activity during the day, the level of “busy-ness” etc.

Granted, this is anecdotal, but it’s also consistent as clockwork.  And there are several factors which support this notion and reassure me that it is not all in my head.

Hormonal Hunger

In his book, Natural Hormonal Enhancement, author Rob Faigin introduces the concept of Hormonal Hunger, as contrasted with real or physiological need for nutrients and / or energy.  Fasting is one of the best ways to learn the difference between the two, as you really get to know the qualities of hunger.  At any rate, hormonal hunger is the result of the interplay of various hormones in your body, independent of the body’s physiological needs.

Here’s how Faigin explains Hormonal Hunger:

Hormonal Hunger results from widely fluctuating insulin levels, and is responsible for the intense hunger pangs and wild, irrational cravings that can overwhelm even the most determined dieter.  Insulin naturally ebbs and flows in dynamic tension with glucagon.  This dynamic tension is maintained as long as insulin levels remain relatively stable, which was not an issue for most of human existence.  However, ...the diet consumed by civilized societies in the modern era is a drastic departure from the diet on which humanity evolved over millions of years.
…
When the metabolic control imposed by insulin and glucagon becomes disrupted, blood sugar and the neurotransmitter serotonin go haywire.  Unnatural alterations in these two parameters - blood sugar and serotonin - conspire to produce the syndrome I call “hormonal hunger.”  While carbohydrate craving is the hallmark symptom of hormonal hunger, irregularities in mod, mental outlook, and energy levels, too, are associated with hormonal imbalance; and they can reduce productivity and quality of life

This is rather simplistic, as many other hormones play a role in hunger.  But the important message here is that hormones all play off each other, and are triggered by catalysts such as the foods that you eat.  If you throw a huge stimulus at one of your hormones - like throwing sugar at insulin - it is conceivable that you could set off a cascading cycle of hormonal imbalance that could last for many hours (if not days).

You can think of this like putting a rambunctious kid into a room with a bunch of quiet kids.  The rowdy one will rile up the others and set the whole room abuzz.  And even when the original wild child starts to get tired or wind down, the others will rev him or her back up into action.

Once you get your hormones revved up and bouncing off each other like this, it’s going to take a while to get them simmered down to the point where Hormonal Hunger is normalized and you have a better sense of real hunger.

3 Tips To Make Fasting Easier:

Don’t eat a huge meal right before you start your fast. 
Especially when you first start using Intermittent Fasting, it can be very tempting to pig out before a fast.  This is part of the psychological fear of “starving,” a fear which has been well reinforced by the food industry.  But a huge meal before starting your fast will set off that hormonal imbalance we are trying to avoid, regardless of the macronutrient (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Macronutrient_and_micronutrient) composition.

Avoid sugars before your fast
Obviously, I would recommend you always avoid processed white sugar.  But before your fast you might also want to think about reducing other sources of simple sugars such as dried fruits, high GI fruits, such as bananas, and milk.  All these will tend to rile up your hormones.

Avoid starchy carbs
There’s nothing wrong with a good sweet potato, some succulent butternut squash, or a nice bowl of steel-cut oatmeal, but before a fast all these things could represent enough of a stimulant to insulin release that they could make your fasting Hormonal Hunger more prominent.  As far as grains and potatoes go, I’d try to avoid them most of the time at any rate, but pre-fast I wouldn’t want to touch them with a ten foot pole.  And of course, any processed food-like substances made with white flour should be trimmed to a bare minimum at any time.

So what CAN you eat before your fast?  Protein, good fats and veggies should be the staples.  The menu could include beef, chicken, bison, fish, turkey, lamb, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, peppers, green onions, olive oil, coconut oil, etc.  Of course, that list is woefully incomplete, but it gives you the idea.  You can pad that out as much as you like, as long as it runs along similar lines.

Give those three tips a try, and I’m convinced your next fast will be significantly easier than one that follows on the heels of a carb-rich day of feast.  Drop me a comment to let me know how it turns out.

Comments

[Rambodoc]

I haven't been pigging out except the planned cheat meal (which is usually a thousand calorie bumper of meats, veggies and a dessert), but I don't really bother too much about what I am eating pre-fast, because my meals are more-or-less balanced, and I end up with around 100 grams of carbs daily. On the non-fast days, I average 150 to even 200 grams of carbs, and this is largely from fruits. You eat a large pear and a large bowl of grapes, you find yourself 50-60 grams of carbs down already! :-) And then comes the carbs from milk and casein...
I have two points to make about the carb issue:
1. Many experts do not advocate painting the carbs as villains, and they are not the typical high-grain advocates. I am talking of people like Lyle MacDonald.
2. The hypothesis you state re IF may well be true in your case, but it may not be a noticeable phenomenon in others, like me.
Thanks for this interesting post!

[Adam]

Hi Rambodoc,

Thanks for the comment. I don't believe carbs are villainous (except the processed ones of course), but I do believe that they should be used deliberately and according to each person's tolerance. There is no disputing the fact that they are powerful catalysts for hormonal expression. The question from one person to the next will be only one of scale.

I'd point out that even on your days of higher carb consumption, you are WAY below what the average North American eats in the way of carbs. And further, your carbs come from nutrient and fiber rich sources which further mitigates the deleterious effects of more processed carbs.

If you had yourself a big feed of spaghetti, tomato sauce and some apple pie for dessert, I'm convinced you would feel it the next day during your fast (in the form of higher perceived hunger). Just my own personal hypothesis though... ;-)

Cheers,
Adam

[DocSpallone]

Hey Adam-
How much time have you, yourself spent doing the intermittent fasting? Clients? Ive read Martin Berkhan's stuff.. interesting. As are you, still gathering facts and anecdotal stories. Just wonderin.
DocSpallone

PS By the way... Love your site and philosophy.

[Adam]

Hey Doc,

Thanks for dropping by. I've been using IF on and off for over a year now. I've only introduced a handful of clients to the idea, since it takes a bit leap of faith. Although I think it can be an effective means of fat loss, I feel it is more important in terms of overall health. I've concentrated more on 24 hour fasts as espoused by Brad Pilon. I really think you would like his book Eat Stop Eat. He goes quite in-depth into the science behind it.

Cheers,
Adam

[Howie Brewer]

Hey Adam,

You've got me intrigued with IF. I bought the Eat Stop Eat book and read it through. Seems too easy...

Actually taking that first plunge is rather scary!

In terms of integrating it along with training, early on I might try to sync it with my no-intensity day. From the sound of it, I don't imagine you try to arrange it to fall on certain training days, do you?

[Adam]

Hey Howie,

ESE is very simple, not easy. Keep yourself busy and it's no problem though. And it gets easier as your body and mind get used to the fact they they don't need to constantly - in fact should not be constantly - in the fed state.

Believe it or not, I usually try to hit my MetCon days when fasting. This gives me a double whammy on GH release.

Cheers,
Adam

[Rambodoc]

I have got around to IFing on my 3 energy system workout days (can we please call this cardio or something short?), and eating on my 3 lifting days. I am going to start using creatine soon. Any comments?
The reason for doing so is to prevent any kind of muscle loss if you fast after your weight workouts. I also maintain flexibility if you think 3 days of IF is bad: fasts last for 24 hours, 22 hours and 18 hours respectively on the days.

[Adam Steer]

Hey Rambodoc,

LOL - Energy System training is a mouthful isn't it? And cardio still means long, slow bouts on the treadmill or bike for many people. Then there's MetCon - a whole other ball of wax... ;-)

I don't think 3 fasts a week is too much. It really depends on what your goals are. I think it is interesting that you are doing different durations during the week.

As far as creatine goes, I think it probably falls in the "can't hurt" category. It seems pretty clear that it has a positive effect on strength development. I'm not really sure if it would make much difference as far as sparing lean mass in relation to fasting. And as we've seen, it doesn't look like this is really much of a problem anyway.

This is anecdotal, but I've had good results with creatine in the past (long before IF though). More recently, I've used creatine and Beta-Alanine together pre-strength training. It lets you pump out more reps when working in the 4-7 range. The difference was notable. Being able to do more work "in the gym" - or wherever you train - would definitely make a difference in sparing lean mass.

Let me know how the creatine experiment goes.

Cheers,
Adam

[Lillea Woodlyns]

I agree about being careful about carbs and large meals before a fast. I've been IFing for quite a long time, in one form or another, and carbs can be horrid appetite inducers for me.