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Thank you for your thoughtful feedback. Will definitely ensure I have emergency food "just in case".Honestly, I didn't try it on the Camino but don't see why it shouldn't be possible.
Have a good breakfast very early in the morning (5am), then walk all day fasting (maybe some electrolytes at least), then have food again very late in the evening (many locals eat late, so if you stay in a private room and go to the restaurants, you can still socialize, at least with the locals). Should be quite easy.
Or you start without breakfast and have an early dinner, which should also be no problem. Pilgrims usually eat dinner early, so that won't be a problem and you'll have plenty of pilgrim company.
What I think is important is to still carry some snacks during the day just in case you need more fuel than thought. Better to break fasting than faint on the path.
Wish you all the best! Buen Camino!
In Mexico this is a pretty common practice. Unless you are going out to dinner socially, a good breakfast in the morning. My wife and I have oatmeal with a banana, or make it into a licuado, tostada and humus, and finish it off with an egg and spinach. Of course I have my coffee and she her tea. Then the main meal of the day is about 3:00PM. For dinner I may have a small bowl of cereal, but almost every night fruit and more fruit mixed with plain yogurt, some nuts or popcorn. Always made fresh, never microwaved or in a bag. Good tasting popcorn is about the easiest thing to make, no butter needed. It took me years to adjust to this eating schedule. (We are going out for a huge dinner tonight with friends from another city so(My regime is to have a late lunch and skip dinner)
Currently on the Camino and I found that if I had meal times as recommended by Robo and avoided the late Pilgrim dinners, which usually involved too much food and too much wine to get a good night's sleep, not only did I sleep better but I felt fresher and lighter when walking the next morning.Having used IF off and on for a couple of years at home to lose weight, I now find it a natural way to eat.
(My regime is to have a late lunch and skip dinner)
I've just completed 60 days on Camino and found it a very easy way to eat on Camino.
It actually made things easier in many ways!
For example my 'routine' would normally be.
Breakfast. Either before I started walking or shortly after. This would depend largely on what was available at my accommodation or close by. I would try to get 'protein'. A coffee and a little cake doesn't work for me.
So the ideal breakfast was bacon and eggs, orange juice and coffee.
I couldn't get that many times, so it would normally be, coffee, juice and toast topped with ham and olive oil. (not jam. you need protein not sugar for slow release energy)
A few times I could not get breakfast, so I would make sure I bought something the day before, for a DIY breakfast.
I tried a few things. hard boiled eggs, getting a pack of ham etc etc.
The easiest and most appropriate, (based on required nutrition) thing I found, was a small tin of sardines in oil; and a wholegrain bread roll or two. That would keep me going for hours. Also quick and easy.
On the Trail. To maintain energy levels whilst walking I would snack on a range of things, depending what I could find and what I was carrying that day. It would range across bananas, chocolate, trail mix.
Lunch. I aimed to finish walking before the Menu del Dia stopped being served. Usually stops at 3:00 - 3:30 pm. On the more popular Caminos this is less of an issue, as the Pilgrim Menus seem to be offered during a broad range of hours.
So this would be my main meal. 3 courses, wine etc. I would usually stop for the day by about 1:00 or 2:00 pm. Shower, laundry, then do a long lunch. Post lunch would be a siesta.
Here's where I deviated a bit from IF at home. As at home I do not eat after 3 pm.
On Camino I might have a small snack in the evening. like a banana, yoghurt etc.
Sometimes a beer or two and tapas.
But the key is.........IF was easy to do and fits nicely with Spanish meal times.
That was also the case for me when I was young(er) and now for some cruel reason it keeps me awakeThe more vino tinto, the better I sleep. Might not apply for the others sharing the dorm
Younger? You were already drinking as a minor? Lol!That was also the case for me when I was young(er) and now for some cruel reason it keeps me awake
I have done IF on the camino. I started walking at 6 am for cool weather and walked until about 9 am where I would find a village and have breakfast. Rare were the albergues where I was which had breakfast. I had some lunch depending on the menu appealing or not it could be more or less important. Dinner was or light depending on lunch and what was proposed at albergue or not. Dinner always before 7 at latest. If was not as long as I would do at home but definitely possible.I'm interested to hear from those who have practised intermittent fasting on the Camino. Did you find a system that worked for you? What was your "eating window" and what were your challenges? How did you make it work for you? I'm trying to work out how to do this without negatively impacting the social aspect too much so I'm keen to hear first hand experiences. I imagine I would either need to miss breakfast stops or the evening pilgrim meal.
If you have tried IF on the Camino I would love to hear your thoughts.
(If you have not tried IF while on the Camino, please resist the urge to reply with negativity and knock my question, or question my reasons for wanting to do this. This question is for those who have tried it. Thank you.)
My experience is that doing IF isn't the problem but eating vegan!
I recently read Peter Attia's book "Outlive" and he talks a lot about Zone 2 training which is exertion at a point where you can still hold a conversation, but it's strained, translating to a pace between easy and moderate. In the context of the Camino, is this what Zone 2 looks like for you and have you noticed any tangible benefits other than reduced hunger because you're using your body fat for fuel?Didn’t really feel the need to snack during the day, or have a sense we were running out of energy. I rarely get out of zone 2 during the walking so I can mostly fuel myself from body fat.
This sounds good, thank you!If I don't eat breakfast until around 10 or so (I carry my own) and then stop by 2 to have a Menu del Dia - that's what works for me.
Letting go of cheese was actually much easier than I thought it would be!@LTfit - doing it vegan would it be so hard but that is my ultimate goal. I have a ways to go though. Vegetarian for now. I gave up dairy milk 3 years ago but I can't let go of cheese. I'm a work in progress, I will get there. Thanks so much for your feedback!
I have been doing IF for almost 3yrs, generally a 20/4 protocol, eating somewhere from 4pm onwards. I walked the Camino Frances in 2022. All my training was done in a fasted state, but I only walked 3 days in a row of 20+kms in training. I did wonder how my body would react/perform walking these distances for 5 weeks. I'm pleased to say I did fine. I would get up and just drink some water and head out. I had my first black coffee around 5kms, when available. I drank plenty of water and just kept walking hroughout the day and I felt great. I found I was doing more 16/8 as I'd eat something, and have a drink, when I got in and then eat dinner later. I tried breakfast once, it was Mothers Day back in Australia. I had bacon and eggs, delicious, but not so great for my gut. Thank heavens the villages are close together! IF is a flexible lifestyle. A handful of times I tried things outside my window because it fitted in with the moment, I wanted to support local people, or simply share a meal that was being offered to me. People started to notice that I wasn't eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. I'm happy to say that at least 2 were going home to try itI'm interested to hear from those who have practised intermittent fasting on the Camino. Did you find a system that worked for you? What was your "eating window" and what were your challenges? How did you make it work for you? I'm trying to work out how to do this without negatively impacting the social aspect too much so I'm keen to hear first hand experiences. I imagine I would either need to miss breakfast stops or the evening pilgrim meal.
If you have tried IF on the Camino I would love to hear your thoughts.
(If you have not tried IF while on the Camino, please resist the urge to reply with negativity and knock my question, or question my reasons for wanting to do this. This question is for those who have tried it. Thank you.)
I love to hear these stories, thank you for sharing! I imagined it would be impossible due to the social aspect and I can see that I would also want to support locals and change my window if it fitted with the moment as you elegantly put it. I'm open to being flexible. For the most part it sounds completely achievable. Thank you so much for your feedback!I have been doing IF for almost 3yrs, generally a 20/4 protocol, eating somewhere from 4pm onwards. I walked the Camino Frances in 2022. All my training was done in a fasted state, but I only walked 3 days in a row of 20+kms in training. I did wonder how my body would react/perform walking these distances for 5 weeks. I'm pleased to say I did fine. I would get up and just drink some water and head out. I had my first black coffee around 5kms, when available. I drank plenty of water and just kept walking hroughout the day and I felt great. I found I was doing more 16/8 as I'd eat something, and have a drink, when I got in and then eat dinner later. I tried breakfast once, it was Mothers Day back in Australia. I had bacon and eggs, delicious, but not so great for my gut. Thank heavens the villages are close together! IF is a flexible lifestyle. A handful of times I tried things outside my window because it fitted in with the moment, I wanted to support local people, or simply share a meal that was being offered to me. People started to notice that I wasn't eating breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in between. I'm happy to say that at least 2 were going home to try itLong story short, I found it easy to maintain my IF lifestyle on the Camino.
No one said anything about hiking without food!Hiking can burn 1000's of calories per hour! If you don't immediately replace the salt and calories, you can become de-hydrated with low blood sugar requiring immediate medical attention. Hiking without food is a good way to end up in the hospital!
Always carry snacks such as hiker's GORP (Good Ol' Rasins and Peanuts) or your favorite salty/sweet mix of snack food. Practice on long hikes at home on how much water and food you need to carry.
Leave your fad diets at home.
-Paul
Fantastic feedback thank you!We did intermittent fasting on the whole of the Camino Frances in Sept/October of 2018. At first, we did it more by chance than deliberately because we didn't think that the Spanish breakfasts were really worth eating as they were mostly just bread and jam and my digestion doesn't do well with much bread, and we usually wanted to leave the accommodations very early before breakfast was even served as the days were very hot and we wanted to get our walking finished before the peak of the heat. We would walk until we came to a pub selling frittatas. We would purchase a fresh slice each and take it away with us to eat when we wanted. We would usually hold off until we were hungry which we found was around lunchtime. We would often gather with our Camino Family to have a sangria and some pinchos around 5 pm and then the Pilgrim dinner as soon as it was offered. If we were lucky, that would be 7 pm but it was sometimes 9 pm but that would still give us an eating window of around 8 hours if we ate the frittatas at 1 pm.
I usually find that I don't get hungry in the morning until I have eaten something and can hold out until an early dinner when I do the 5:2 fasting.
I will point out that despite doing intermittent fasting, not snacking, eating the pilgrim meal and having only one glass of sangria and one glass of wine with the meal and no bread, and walking for 43 days straight that I lost only 1 kg and my fat percentage dropped by only 2%. If you are thinking that intermittent fasting will result in good weight loss then you might be as disappointed as I was!
As long as you keep up your fluids you really don't need to eat, and for some of us, hiking doesn't really burn many calories at all. No breakfast, no snacks while walking, a small frittata for lunch, one or two pinchos with a sangria at the end of the walking day, and a Pilgrim meal is more than enough to cancel out the calories lost in a 20 km strenuous hike.Hiking can burn 1000's of calories per hour! If you don't immediately replace the salt and calories, you can become de-hydrated with low blood sugar requiring immediate medical attention. Hiking without food is a good way to end up in the hospital!
Always carry snacks such as hiker's GORP (Good Ol' Rasins and Peanuts) or your favorite salty/sweet mix of snack food. Practice on long hikes at home on how much water and food you need to carry.
Leave your fad diets at home.
-Paul
Please eat the egg yolks as well as the egg whites. The yolks are so full of vitamins, especially ones that protect the eyes from macular degeneration. It has now been debunked that egg yolks are bad for cholesterol levels.I have experimented with IF (several 6 month periods) and found no impact (positive or negative) in my health or fitness when controlling for other variables.
Finishing CF route from SJPP in a couple of days… and ended up eating in an IF window. Most days we would start moving around 7am. Around 9am would have a small breakfast: typically the egg whites from hard boiled eggs + a tortilla. We would get a pilgrims lunch around 3 and skip dinner. Some days we didn’t feel like food until 12-1 in which can we eoulhave a modest lunch and fo a pilgrims meal at 7-8.
Didn’t really feel the need to snack during the day, or have a sense we were running out of energy. I rarely get out of zone 2 during the walking so I can mostly fuel myself from body fat.
Just remember that before 7:30 and between 3:30-8pm you might have Trouble finding a place open
This does not seem to have any resemblance to any of the usual estimates of energy used by any mode of walking - the numbers I am familiar with are about 300 give or take for basic walking, and a modest extra for the usual undulations on most of the Caminos with a backpack.Hiking can burn 1000's of calories per hour!
Intermittent or morning fasting among those who practice them are not "fad diets", but they are disciplines.Hiking can burn 1000's of calories per hour! If you don't immediately replace the salt and calories, you can become de-hydrated with low blood sugar requiring immediate medical attention. Hiking without food is a good way to end up in the hospital!
Always carry snacks such as hiker's GORP (Good Ol' Rasins and Peanuts) or your favorite salty/sweet mix of snack food. Practice on long hikes at home on how much water and food you need to carry.
Leave your fad diets at home.
I'm confused. First you say light eating while hiking, then you say no eating at all while hiking, only water. How can they both be true?Then light eating while hiking. Then on evening a proper eating.
No snacks or sweet drinks in the hike. Only water.
No one except huima:No one said anything about hiking without food!
No snacks or sweet drinks in the hike. Only water.
Thanks.No one except huima:
I try to express this better.I'm confused. First you say light eating while hiking, then you say no eating at all while hiking, only water. How can they both be true?
Hiking can burn 1000's of calories per hour! If you don't immediately replace the salt and calories, you can become de-hydrated with low blood sugar requiring immediate medical attention. Hiking without food is a good way to end up in the hospital!
Always carry snacks such as hiker's GORP (Good Ol' Rasins and Peanuts) or your favorite salty/sweet mix of snack food. Practice on long hikes at home on how much water and food you need to carry.
Leave your fad diets at home.
-Paul
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