Sports nutrition in fasting. What can be in a post? How to eat an athlete during fasting

Great Lent is coming. A lean diet encouragesreduced protein intake. How does this fit with power?workouts? Is it possible to avoid muscle loss? Howrationally set up a meal plan during this period?

Many people successfully combine a plant-based protein-based diet with strength training and achieve impressive results. But I’ll make a reservation right away - the diet of athletes who do without animal protein does not go well with the rules that the Church prescribes to observe during Lent. A strict interpretation, in which the number of meals is limited on certain days and seriously reduced, and even eliminated oil, for objective reasons, is not suitable for serious strength training. Therefore, you must immediately decide for yourself what kind of Fast is being observed, and what is the priority - muscle mass, or following all the instructions exactly. Plus, in our country, many protein source products have to be ordered, but, excuse the prose, rather high prices from countries where vegan food is not considered something out of the ordinary. Otherwise, if the Fast is not strict, everything is quite doable and feasible.

Deficiency or surplus?

Technically, we can eat with a small deficit, maintain muscle mass, and strength too. But, unfortunately, this is more true for very experienced athletes, who, moreover, constantly cycle both training and calorie count.

If the goal is to conserve mass, the easier path is to not be deficient. But there are two problems here:

• how to ensure an adequate percentage of fat, and avoid its significant increase;
• how to get the norm of protein from plant sources, however, this will be a problem in the second case too.

Personally, my opinion is that pushing all the changes in one life period is not worth it. Have you had any experience of observing Great Lent? How did it feel? And about the prosaic - how did the weight change? To be honest, I personally had an attempt to switch to veganism, but it ended with a return to cottage cheese and eggs. The idea, of course, is completely different at its core, but the body has changed in such a way that the whole process was apprehensive. For me, all this was faced with an “epoch of scarcity”, and I ate mainly bean curd, greens and grains with legumes. Plus a limited amount of fruit, and vegetable oils. It sounds pretty normal, but for me personally, bean curd did not become an option - not very good digestibility. After a couple of months, all the signs of a protein deficiency were evident, with swelling, a drop in muscle mass, and a chronic cold. Well, the working weights have dropped. Not, of course, like eating raw vegetables with fruits (I also had such an experiment, it came to an excellent deadlift of 50 kg for 5 repetitions, after which common sense prevailed), but still, it was to lift something there in the gym there was no desire. "Aesthetic" training for repetitions is still okay, but not a barbell.

In general, my personal experience, as well as scientific sources that recommend eating a minimum of 1.5 g of protein per 1 kg of body weight and a minimum of 4 g of carbohydrates vote for "support" or a small surplus.

The big protein problem

Products that could provide normally digestible protein are sold in very limited quantities. Personally, I ate only soy isolate from Genetic Lab from domestic, and it did not seem to me an ideal protein. Maybe it makes sense to immediately seize it with enzymes, but it is absorbed with problems. However, this is not the case for everyone, it can be attributed to the individual peculiarity of digestion. Previously, protein soups with pea protein isolate were also sold in a pharmacy, but now for some reason they have disappeared. Both products have a fairly normal amount of grams of protein per serving.

From the "foreign" decent soy protein is in ON. 25 g protein, 8 essential amino acids, 0 g sugar. Miscible with water or soy/almond milk. But here we are interested in something else - it can be added to oatmeal, for lovers of sweet cereals - and to rice with millet too, giving not only a chocolate flavor (there may be more, but I met chocolate and French vanilla), but also a protein component. There are no secrets here - 1-2 scoops of protein can be eaten daily. By the way, it is also sold in some “our” online stores.

Of the less common brands - RawFusion, Naturade, Garden of Life. There are different foods, including so-called meal replacements, with carbohydrates and dietary fiber.

tofu and us

Tofu is sold at Auchan, if you have them. But you need to carefully read the information, and avoid canned cottage cheese. I don’t know what they put there, but the swelling after it is the most gorgeous. Moreover, not only for me, who is prone to the problem, but also for several people who are not prone to the problem, too. Pretty good sold in a tetra-pack called SilkTofu

There is also soy "meat", but this product is not for everyone and with fairly good digestion.

Other sources

There are also almond and soy milk, they can be added to cereals and drunk just like that, but they are only suitable as an additional source - about 3 g of protein per 100 ml.

Is it possible to get by with regular products?

In a meat-free environment, there are rumors of miraculous blends of 1 part chickpeas and 2 parts chickpeas. Allegedly, "it" helps to gain all the necessary amino acids. A simple analysis with any calculator shows that there is still not enough protein in the mixture. Such things are good when the body weight is objectively low, and the protein rate is small.

In addition, it makes sense to take a blood test and find out if there is an iron deficiency. Still, spring vegetarian food is far from a storehouse, even if you eat a bunch of lettuce every day. And the deficiency of this microelement is a rather unpleasant thing for training too.

Well, standard advice. The more difficult to digest food is the basis of the diet, the smaller the portions, and the greater the multiplicity. No secret meaning - so the food is simply better absorbed.

With training, too, you can work towards increasing its effectiveness. Oddly enough, in the context of a modified diet, relatively heavy, but rather rare sessions will be more "preserving" muscles. This is where the time comes to remember the golden rule of bodybuilding about training one muscle group only once a week.

I want to wish you to understand this issue for yourself and good luck in all your endeavors. After all, eating only bananas and oatmeal, coupled with attempts to go to the gym, is a very common problem in Lent.

How to eat right during fasting is known, since there is a specific list of prohibited and permitted foods, it remains only to choose what you like and cook lean and healthy food. Well, as for sports, is it possible to continue training or is it best to stop classes for a while, and we will try to find out.

During fasting, it is recommended to refrain from any actions of a “carnal” nature, but if you understand fitness as one of the pastime options that is aimed at improving the body, there is no contradiction in this. But it is worth considering that during fasting it is forbidden to consume animal products, that is, you reduce to a minimum the intake of protein in the body. Because of this, increased physical activity can lead to fatigue, irritability, and even exhaustion, so if you decide not to give up sports during fasting, then you need to take measures to rule out health problems.

In order for you to have energy and strength for training, you need to correctly compose a daily menu. If you eat only porridge and bread, the body will not receive the necessary substances that are needed for training. Be sure to eat fruits, honey, nuts, and soy products.

If you are on a strict fast and have eliminated meat from your diet completely, you can replace it with special soy protein shakes that will provide the body with the protein you need for training, but you will not break the fast.

Some athletes say that during fasting, through training, they discover new opportunities in themselves. At first, playing sports will be a little hard to bear, since there is practically no strength due to lack of energy, but after a while a new strength opens up and ease of movement appears. Thanks to this, training is very easy, extra pounds go away, and you feel at your best. Given this, we can conclude that sports during the fasting period cannot seriously harm the body.

Remember that fasting is not a diet that is not aimed at losing weight, but self-control and restriction in everything. This also applies to the emotional state, various excessive pleasures, etc. Keep this in mind, and do not turn fasting into a regular diet.

If you decide to play sports during fasting, then it is better to refuse to visit the gym and give your preference to aerobic exercise for this time. Also during this period, it is recommended to abandon training, for which it is necessary to use various sports equipment that increase the load. Moreover, you don’t need to start new sports for you, put it off for a while. Set a goal not to change your figure and physical shape, but simply to maintain it. Trust your body and feelings, if you feel even a slight malaise, it is best to refrain from playing sports during fasting.

It is not recommended to fast, and even more so to play sports at this time, for children, pregnant women, as well as for the sick and the elderly. If you adhere to a strict fast, that is, you are practically starving, then it is better to give up physical activity, as this can lead to exhaustion of the body, disruption of homeostasis, and also cause serious problems with the heart and blood vessels. Before starting a fast, you can consult a doctor for advice to draw up an optimal diet for this period in order to have enough energy for sports.

Fasting workouts can be a real challenge. In this article, we will not touch on the motives for fasting, each adult has the right to decide this issue on his own. But it often happens that an intensive fitness program aimed at losing weight, and unusual vegetarian food work against each other. Having received stress, our body must recover. This process is fully complete only if the nutrition is balanced. The “weak point” of lean menus is the lack of complete protein in an easy-to-digest form. The result, as a rule, is a slowdown in metabolism and a decrease in immunity. However, this mechanism can be fooled.

Strength programs

Professionals do not recommend that beginners combine eating vegetables, grains, nuts and fruits with high-intensity strength plans. If you work in a gym with serious weights, you will have to connect sports nutrition. Dmitry Zaitsev, an expert at the Iron World magazine, is sure that otherwise all attempts to correct the figure will be doomed to failure. Dmitry offers his clients to partially give up the principles - to take BCAA amino acids, and soy protein after training. He does not recommend reducing the intensity of training, advising to stick to the classic scheme - 3 strength workouts, 20 minutes of cardio at the end of each, 10-12 repetitions in the approach for building forms, 15-20 for weight loss.

At the same time, you will have to eat quite actively. Fasting people need to have breakfast with something like soy milk or cottage cheese, take a handful of nuts and fruit for a snack, dine again with lentils or beans, which are rich in protein. In addition to this "set" before training, you should have a snack with fruit, and after it, take amino acids and protein. The evening meal should be as carbohydrate-free as possible - vegetables, stewed mushrooms with a small portion of tofu and soy sour cream. The proposed diet is also suitable for those who do not fast according to the monastic rule. However, in women's fitness an alternative approach may be used.

Aerobics and the "smart body"

In fact, vegetarian diets are more harmoniously combined with "smart body" programs. This strategy can be offered to those girls who do not want to pump up massive muscles, but are simply trying to tighten their figure and burn fat. The diet "at Lent", in general, is 200-300 kcal lighter than a similar meat one. This can be used by temporarily abandoning interval cardio programs. Replace boxing, tai-bo, cycling with walking on a treadmill, working on an elliptical trainer or Latina, Oriental, Zumba dance classes. A proportional reduction in cardio load will help you keep your immunity at a good level, and not face a cold. Do cardio no more than three times a week.

Instead of strength training in its purest form, prefer "smart body" programs. If you have previously visited the gym or strength lessons with mini-barbells, give preference to callanetics or isotonics. Static tension builds "pink" intermediate muscle fibers. As a result, you are rapidly decreasing in volume, and the metabolism remains at a high level. It doesn't take "wild" amounts of complete protein to restore intermediate fibers, so saturating your diet with tofu, nuts, beans, and mushrooms is enough to keep progressing.

If you are a complete beginner and decide to combine the beginning of training with fasting, choose Pilates or hatha yoga. These programs are "softer", but pay more attention to the so-called "core" - the abdominal muscles, the transverse abdominal muscle, and the back muscles.

Systematic (2-3 times a week) workouts according to these programs will help you become slimmer. Well, you will be able to meet the end of the fast refreshed not only spiritually, but also physically.

Everything created by nature is harmonious and balanced. And only man is often prone to exaggeration. Peering and listening to natural creations and processes, trying to learn from higher powers the ability to maintain balance is the only way to maintain health and spiritual purity.

Harm or benefit?

When deciding to observe Great Lent, we often think about whether it will harm our body? After all, for a long time we receive less vitamins, minerals, proteins, fats, and this can weaken us. And if you consider that most of us work and go to gyms? Abstinence traditions during fasting exist in all religions of the world and the experience that humanity has accumulated is unique. During fasting, the body and soul are cleansed, because it is not in vain that during this period people do not quarrel, do not have fun, dress modestly.

Read more

Going to gyms and fitness clubs can be approached from different angles. Loud music that accompanies training does not fit into the canons and rules of fasting. In addition, heavy physical exertion during a modest diet can weaken the body and undermine health.

The opinion of nutritionists

Deep is the conviction of modern nutritionists that fasting is extremely beneficial for a person. Seven weeks of Lent, during which we do not eat fatty foods, prepares us for the summer way of eating - "grass eating". By the end of the fast, our body is completely cleansed and absorbs vitamin products, digesting them perfectly. In ancient times, fasting was much stricter, and it was allowed to eat only vegetables with fruits and bread once a day late in the evening.
It is clear that with such strict rules and physical loads should be moderate. The first two days of Lent, after oil pancakes with caviar and cottage cheese, it was allowed to drink only one water - the body launched a purification mechanism. Going to training on days when you eat nothing but water, you increase stress many times over. Therefore, in the first days of Lent, it is better to cancel training altogether.
In addition, nutritionists recommend that people who continue to exercise during fasting still eat lean food three to four times a day, eating once a day in the evening will greatly unbalance the body. It is necessary to significantly reduce the load during fasting, you get less fast carbohydrates and fats - and with strong physical exertion, this is fraught with loss of consciousness or general severe weakness.

But you don't have to give up physical activity completely. Their harmonious combination helps a lot to distract you from thoughts about sweets and meat, with a low-calorie diet and light physical exertion, your body will take on new toned forms. Fat subcutaneous deposits will go away, and you will say goodbye to cellulite!

Make a daily menu

If you create a daily menu in a relaxed atmosphere, taking into account your financial capabilities and products that are seasonally presented in your area, then you will not need to think about the choice of dishes every day. If you eat only cereals, bread and drink tea, then the body will not receive the components necessary for work and activity. Intense workouts require protein foods, so include in your diet, if not animal, then vegetable protein - mushrooms, beans, peas, beans, soy. Be sure to replenish the diet with honey and dried fruits. Cook vegetables in different versions - stew, boil, bake, salt, sour.

Do not lose sight of drinking during fasting. Not only tea is able to fill this niche - it is possible to prepare a variety of kissels, fruit drinks, juices, compotes. Eat nuts with loads in the gym and training on this day, drink protein shakes. You can buy such a cocktail at any fitness center.

On days of fasting or any diet for weight loss, limit the time you spend on weight machines. If you have energy, do aerobic exercise. Weight-bearing sports equipment is bypassed for the time being. Also, do not rush to master new types of fitness or new exercises - do it after leaving the post. Listen carefully to your body - if it gives you the first calls of unimportant well-being, dizziness makes itself felt, or simply the previous loads become unbearable - stop training before leaving the post.

The period of Lent or any strict diet requires you to be gentle and sensitive approach without extremes. The result will still be achieved and there is no need to achieve it in any way, paying a high price with health for a beautiful figure.

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Where to get protein during fasting and is it possible to build muscle mass during this period? How to train in fasting and is it necessary at all? Dietitian Alla Shilina and fitness trainer Pavel Fatykhov - Herbalife experts - answer all your questions.

Alla Shilina,company nutrition expertHerbalife, dietitian, endocrinologist of the highest category:

Nutrition in fasting must be approached very responsibly, especially for people who are engaged in high physical activity. The menu during this period is best selected individually, since the needs of the athlete depend on his age, gender, parameters and training schedule. But there are a few general recommendations that everyone who trains must follow.

It is important to remember about balanced diet, which saturates the body with micro- and macronutrients in the optimal amount and ratio. Otherwise, you may face the consequences of imbalance and improper diet: chronic fatigue, inability to complete a workout or warm-up. It is important to consider: protein and carbohydrates affect the performance of an athlete, and carbohydrates and fats provide him with energy for effective muscle development.

The main problem during fasting is the refusal to consume animal protein. Studies have shown that the need for athletes in this element is higher than for those who do not engage in serious physical activity. People who are fond of sports that require endurance should consume 1.2-1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day, and strength athletes - 1.4-1.8 grams. In fasting, you should try to consume plant proteins: legumes and soy products, nuts and seeds. By the way, soy protein is the only vegetable protein with a complete amino acid composition and can be considered a complete replacement for animal protein, unlike other sources. Therefore, sometimes a meal can be replaced with a protein shake.

An important component of the diet of athletes is omega-3 fatty acids. They reduce the risk of blood clots and have anti-inflammatory properties. To restore the daily norm of fats, you can add cedar, linseed or hemp oil to food, and on strict days of fasting, replace them with seeds, nuts and avocados.

Athletes also need plenty of B vitamins, especially thiamine, riboflavin, and niacin, which provide energy and support muscle building. During the off-season, it is important to protect yourself from beriberi, so you should increase your intake of nutritious vegetables and fruits and, if necessary, take a vitamin and mineral course.

During fasting, the drinking regime is no less significant. Physically active people should drink fluid regularly and enough to ensure thermoregulation and normal functioning of the body. During training, you need to drink water every half hour, and in hot or dry weather even more often.

From my point of view, in fasting it is impossible to eat in such a way as to achieve muscle growth. During this period, it is much more important to take care of your health, pay attention to changing your diet and listen to your body.

Pavel Fatykhov, fitness trainer, Herbalife expert:

As you know, muscles begin to grow when the body is recovering, and this happens during sleep and through nutrition. Athletes who build muscle physically need protein, and a very large amount of it. In fasting, when animal protein cannot be consumed, the progression of muscle mass is out of the question. During this period, you need to adjust the training regimen from recruitment to maintenance. You can’t train according to the same scheme, otherwise the body will progress for some time, but then exhaustion will begin. In training, it is recommended to reduce weight (up to 50% of the maximum weight), do 20-30 repetitions, replace part of the exercises with cardio. At the same time, one should not forget about the use of vegetable protein: cereals, lentils, nuts, etc. You can eat more sports nutrition that contains soy protein, since soy high index digestibility. The main tasks of an athlete who adheres to fasting is not to lose muscle mass and cleanse the body. And then after the end of the fast, you can get an enhanced result in terms of muscle growth.