The Body Knows More Than We Think
You’ve heard it in gyms, whispered in locker rooms, scribbled into the margins of glossy fitness magazines: Never train on an empty stomach.
But the truth is more elegant than myth, more nuanced than cliché.
When you work out during a fast, your body does not stumble into weakness; it awakens a deeper intelligence. The absence of food is not the absence of strength—it is the invitation to tap into reserves far older, far steadier, than your last meal.
Our ancestors hunted, climbed, carried, and fought not after a stack of pancakes but after long hours of hunger. The human body carries a design for fasting woven into its very sinews. The question is not whether we can train while fasting. The question is whether we will allow the body to show us what it has known for millennia.
The answer is yes. Absolutely yes.
The Science of Fasting and Fitness
Hormonal Symphony
When insulin rests low during a fast, lipolysis—the release of fat from adipose tissue—flows more freely. Adrenaline and noradrenaline rise just enough to sharpen energy and focus. Growth hormone climbs, protecting muscle while opening the door to fat metabolism. The body, in this state, sings a symphony of readiness.
Metabolic Flexibility
Ingesting food before every workout trains the body to depend on glucose as its first violin. Fasted training, however, teaches the body to bring in the bass line of fat oxidation. This adaptation, over time, increases metabolic flexibility—the ability to shift gracefully between fuel sources. Research shows higher activation of AMPK and greater expression of GLUT4 transporters in muscle fibers after fasted training, which means improved insulin sensitivity and better long-term energy balance.
Fat Oxidation and Endurance
During endurance workouts, the body in a fasted state learns to rely on stored fat. Athletes who occasionally train fasted improve their capacity to spare glycogen for when it is truly needed. This metabolic economy makes long efforts more sustainable.
Resistance Training in the Fasted State
Even for strength work, training fasted does not rob the lifter of gains if proper nutrition follows. Studies reveal that muscle protein synthesis remains intact so long as post-training protein is adequate. The difference lies in signaling: a fasted lift tells the body to recruit energy with sharper efficiency, even as it primes muscles to absorb nutrients more eagerly afterward.
The Ritual: My Tea Before the Fasted Workout
Here is where my own practice enters. Before I train in the fasted state, I drink a tea I have crafted: green tea infused with Lion’s Mane mushroom, glutamine, cinnamon, L-theanine, and beta-alanine.
It looks simple in the cup. But inside, it is a small symphony of compounds working in harmony with the fast. And here is what matters most: this tea does not break the fast. None of these ingredients carry significant calories or provoke an insulin response. They support the fast rather than disrupt it. Let’s explain each element:
Green Tea:
The foundation. It provides catechins like EGCG, which increase fat oxidation, especially in the fasted state. Its modest caffeine content energizes, while its natural L-theanine balances stimulation with calm focus. Together, they create alert clarity without jitters.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom:
A cognitive ally. Lion’s Mane stimulates nerve growth factor, improving focus, memory, and mental sharpness. In fasting, when clarity already heightens, Lion’s Mane amplifies the edge. Its caloric load is negligible, so it does not break the fast.
Glutamine:
The safeguard. An amino acid that supports muscle recovery and gut health. Alone, in small supplemental amounts and without carbohydrates, it does not spike insulin. Instead, it protects muscle tissue during fasted workouts.
Cinnamon:
The stabilizer. Cinnamon helps balance blood sugar, preventing spikes and crashes. This allows for steady energy throughout a workout. Its active compounds add a gentle thermogenic effect, nudging metabolism without calories.
L-Theanine:
The equalizer. Paired naturally with caffeine in green tea, additional L-theanine deepens the effect: alertness without anxiety, concentration without strain. This state of calm focus is ideal for fasted training.
Beta-Alanine:
The extender. By raising carnosine levels in muscle, beta-alanine buffers lactic acid, reducing the burn of fatigue. It allows longer endurance and sharper intensity, with no caloric disruption to fasting.
Together, these ingredients do not feed the stomach; they feed the system. Not with calories, but with clarity. Not with fuel, but with focus.
This ritual, repeated daily, embodies the philosophy of fasting: remove the noise, keep the essentials, amplify the signal.
The Psychological Dimension
Fasted training is not just physiological. It is spiritual and mental.
The stomach may feel empty, but the mind grows sharp.
The workout becomes less about calories and more about clarity.
When paired with my tea, the experience transforms further. Hunger becomes focus; silence becomes strength. I lift weights not with a full belly, but with a full mind. I run not with sugar coursing through me, but with the subtle edge of plant, mushroom, spice, and amino acid—each chosen not to replace food, but to heighten the fast itself.
Objections Answered
Won’t I lose muscle?
Not if you refuel wisely. Muscle loss comes from chronic deficiency, not from one fasted session with tea in your system and protein awaiting afterward.
Won’t I feel weak?
Perhaps at first. But with adaptation—and with rituals such as this tea—the body shifts. Many athletes report more energy once their systems recalibrate.
Doesn’t the tea break the fast?
No. None of the ingredients carry significant calories or provoke insulin spikes. The tea supports fasting physiology rather than disrupts it.
Isn’t cortisol dangerous?
Cortisol rises, yes. But so does growth hormone. The balance strengthens when managed with recovery, rest, and nourishment.
How to Train Wisely While Fasting
1. Start with Moderation: Begin with light cardio or bodyweight sessions. Let the body acclimate.
2. Hydrate Deeply: Water and electrolytes matter. Tea, too, can be a companion, but hydration remains king.
3. Keep Early Sessions Short: Forty minutes, not four hours.
4. Listen Closely: Fatigue means pause, not punishment.
5. Refuel After: Protein, essential fats, nutrient-dense foods. Break the fast with intention.
6. Cycle It: Use fasted workouts as a tool, not a dogma. Some days fed, some days fasted.
Beyond Calories: The Philosophy
Fasting and training together whisper a truth larger than fitness:
Discipline sharpens joy.
Restraint makes room for revelation.
Stillness becomes strength.
And the tea becomes part of that philosophy. It is not indulgence. It is alignment. Not fuel for gluttony, but fuel for clarity.
When you work out during a fast, you prove that you are not chained to the myth of constant feeding. When you drink a tea of green leaves, mushrooms, spice, and amino acids, you show that wisdom lies not in abundance of food, but in the abundance of focus.
This is not deprivation. This is abundance revealed.
🏛️ Wisdom Lens
The body does not weaken in the absence of food; it awakens to its deeper design. With fasting and the right rituals, energy rises not from the plate but from the harmony of discipline, clarity, and intention.
🙏🏾 Affirmation
I train not from fullness of stomach but from fullness of spirit. In fasting, sharpened by my tea, I find not emptiness, but strength.
The cup hums with leaves and roots,
a small orchestra before the weight of day.
No feast within me,
yet the body sings.
🪶 Poem
The Fasted Body and the Cup
Hunger at dawn,
yet the kettle whispers.
Green leaves unfurl,
Lion’s Mane awakens,
spice and amino acid
rise in steam.
No feast behind me,
no banquet ahead,
only the quiet furnace within.
The weights rise,
the miles unfold,
the heart remembers
an older fuel.
I do not train in lack.
I train in abundance.
The tea and the fast—
two rivers,
one strength.
RMS INSIGHTS ✍🏾 