Fasting and What It Means for Your Gains
Fasting is so hot right now. You can’t walk through the magazine aisle without seeing rows of health magazines promoting the benefits of intermittent fasting. Increased energy, mental clarity, more fat burning, better insulin sensitivity are all claims made by fasting advocates.
Before diving into the benefits or effects of fasting, it is prudent to understand what it means to be in a fasted state. Fasting is defined as willfully refraining from eating. In a physiological context, fasting refers to a metabolic state achieved after complete absorption of a meal. We generally assume people to be in a fasted state 8-12 hours after their last meal. Metabolic changes as a result of entering a fasted state start occurring 3-5 hours after a meal. We are all fasted when we wake up in the morning after not eating overnight. I am fasted as I write this article at 7:40 in the morning (to be clear that is not because of some mental clarity benefit, it is because my oatmeal is not done cooking).
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