Hacker News Reader

Comment by poslathian | Hacker News Reader

Same - and I’ve recently upped my long runs to 12mi, which I do before eating anything. I’m sure there are limits where you need to fuel before or during an endurance activity, but I’m surprised and happy to not have found it yet.

View on HN

I think we really over-estimate the degree to which "fasting" for less than one day affects our ability to perform. We're blessed with such an abundance of food in the west that few of us have ever felt real hunger. Your body is so far from hitting a wall after 12 hours of no food it doesn't seem to be anything but mental. I've done tons of fasted weight training and high-intensity cardio.

I grew up doing sunrise to sunset fasts for Ramadan, with no water, and even that was mostly mental.

Alternative perspective: after three hours without food during the day I begin physically shaking and have to fight an urge to curl up in a ball.

I can manage about seven hours sleep + a run first thing but I have to start eating as soon as I'm back in the house, and just keep grazing until 22:00

You're an outlier.

You might want to get checked for hypoglycemia. That doesn't sound normal. (Unless you pair too much caffeine with your fasting)

It would be a good idea to speak to a physician.

That's not because your current system has any problems--if it works for you, great! But that discomfort you describe is both abnormal and frequently linked to health issues that could cause serious problems over time.

Source: dietician relative on the couch next to me, FWIW.

Sounds like you have a serious medical problem, you should see a doctor.

The fact that you can do nighttime "fast" but get anxious after 3 hours while awake indicates it's just a mental issue as well.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com