I’m finally going to stop training fasted

I first went into a gym around 2015—of course, after loudly proclaiming as a naïve person in their early twenties that I would “never set foot in a gym”. Cue montages of me lifting some serious iron, doing all sorts of gym classes, and competing in and getting podium placements in powerlifting competitions. I became fitness obsessed about ten years ago, often exercising twice a day, and seven days a week with no rest. Ever since I started properly exercising and working out ten years ago, I’ve enjoyed doing it exclusively in the mornings, but have always trained on an empty stomach.

I know that this is bad—or at the very least—not recommended. Back in 2014, I wrote a little ramble about how difficult it was for me to eat breakfast, and my malnourished body struggled to stomach any kind of food in the morning except miso soup. I have heard “you should eat” more times than I can remember. I may have been stubborn, but I am also not a fan of changing something I am used to. I eat as soon as I have finished training, because I am comfortable with it.

I didn’t not eat. When I was exercising a lot, I’d eat two breakfasts—usually a bowl of oats right after exercising, and then an hour later get to my workplace (back when we had a physical office) and eat a hot breakfast with eggs and tomatoes and all sorts of fun things that made my plate colourful.

And yes, I did this even when I was preparing for competitions. I simply did not change the way I ate my food. I don’t know why the phrase “you’re leaving gains on the table” bothers me. I think that a lot of people say that kind of shit without going into an explanation about how food is fuel. Now, I’m not stupid. I know and have gone through enough disordered eating bullshit, dietary changes, and basic understanding of nutritional content of food (macros) to know that yes, eating will fuel your workouts. I obviously decided to keep doing what I was doing because I was comfortable, and because just having coffee and going to the gym and lifting shit was working for me in a way that I felt was OK with. Even if I was leaving goddamn muscular fibres on the table, or whatever shit.

Anyway! Good news everyone! (In case the sarcasm and sass wasn’t apparent.) I’ve started to make small changes and eat before going to the gym in the mornings. This is huge for me, so please be kind. Everyone so far has been, so thank you. 🙏🏻 It sort of started when I went on a holiday a few weeks ago (more on that soon, hehe) and I was eating something before leaving my hotel room in the morning, as I wanted to head out early and spend hours hiking or exploring. The most cost effective and smart option was to eat the breakfast included with my hotel accomodation, and then venture out for the day, so naturally this meant I was eating before some kind of exercise. I was waking up early at around 6:00am, which is around the same time I usually wake up at home, so when I returned home, I did my best to keep up a similar habit.

The struggle so far has been to leave more time to eat, for my food to digest, and to enjoy my coffee. So in some ways it means I should either wake up earlier, or simply go to the gym or exercise a little later in the morning. I don’t want to move my workouts to another time during the day, as the morning suits me and my schedule best. Changing multiple variables at a time will bother me, especially when all I’ve known for ten years is exercising on an empty stomach.

I want to laugh and say I’ve still won powerlifting competitions by not eating much until I’d done my first squat attempts. But I guess the inclination is to think, “well, imagine how well you could do if you did eat!” Yes. Imagine it, folks. 🤪 I guess I’m gonna be even more jacked and strong beyond my wildest dreams now.