Intermittent Fasting?

[dbkyser]

Wondering if Intermittent fasting is a bad idea for those who work out in the morning and do not eat till early afternoon.

Do you need food / protein shortly after a workout or is it okay to wait 5-6 hours after working out to eat.

My goal is to increase strength and muscle while loosing weight and fat.

[Partyrocking]

In that case, I would not do IF. You don't need to rush and eat protein right after a workout but peri-workout nutrition is relevant. I would not start a fast, workout, and then keep fasting afterwards. That's probably the worst way to time your meals.

[heatwave13]

I would also love to learn more about intermittent fasting, especially from those that have been successful with it. Sometimes, I have to intermittent fast by default due to my work schedule and lack of opportunity to eat at certain times.

Let me know if you find out anyting about it. I need to shed a few pounds before summer swimming season starts up !!

[Plateauplower]

Wondering if Intermittent fasting is a bad idea for those who work out in the morning and do not eat till early afternoon.

Do you need food / protein shortly after a workout or is it okay to wait 5-6 hours after working out to eat.

My goal is to increase strength and muscle while loosing weight and fat.

I have tried it before, doesn't work well for me to wait very long after training to eat, I start getting pretty cranky. What does work well for me training early morning, is having my last at around 5pm going to bed before I get hungry (7:30pm or so) waking at 3:15am having coffee and BCAAs intra WO around 5am, then having my first meal by 7. thats a 14hr "fast" which allows me to eat more food during the 10 hours. IF is just a strategy to be able to eat more or less restrictively because you have more calories to work with in a shorter period of time. I don't think there is anything special or even beneficial to it. You can argue GH peaks from fasting, but I would rather eat through the day and try to be in a positive nitrogen balance. YMMV.

[pastorgbc]

If you work out in the morning, you may want to look into the Warrior Diet, which is a type of intermittent fasting, where you under eat during the day and eat the majority of your calories during a three hour window in the evening.

This type of diet will permit a post workout shake, a small breakfast and lunch, before you get after it later in the day.

There is much more to it than this, but it is worth looking into.

Ray

[kimm4]

I've been using IF for years and this is my typical schedule:

I work from home and work mostly late night. I normally sleep till 11 a.m. I hit the gym anywhere between 1-3 p.m. I don't eat my first meal until 6 p.m. and my last meal is around 1-2 a.m.

16-17 hr fast all depending on the day.

[BJE]

I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. I've been doing it for most of my life. I very seldom ever eat anything before noon. I work out generally in the mornings but sometimes midday in the afternoon or in the evening.

I am really good at going without food. I generally do not notice any difference in energy levels regardless of when I last ate. In fact often times I feel more energy when I haven't eaten for quite a while than just after eating.

Do what you like but remember if you're eating pre or post workout during the time that you would generally be fasting then you're not doing intermittent fasting and will not get the benefits of it.

[dbkyser]

I'm a big fan of intermittent fasting. I've been doing it for most of my life. I very seldom ever eat anything before noon. I work out generally in the mornings but sometimes midday in the afternoon or in the evening.

I am really good at going without food. I generally do not notice any difference in energy levels regardless of when I last ate. In fact often times I feel more energy when I haven't eaten for quite a while than just after eating.

Do what you like but remember if you're eating pre or post workout during the time that you would generally be fasting then you're not doing intermittent fasting and will not get the benefits of it.

I feel the same way, but only recently started lifting so wasn't sure if I should change things up now that I am. I am doing the 5X5 strong lifts so only lifting 3 days and doing cardio a few days a week also. I have no problem eating between 1 and 8 pm and keeping my energy up as long as I am drinking lots of water.

[BJE]

Going to leangains.com and reading about intermittent fasting there may help you decide how to go about it.

[acrawlingchaos]

Wondering if Intermittent fasting is a bad idea for those who work out in the morning and do not eat till early afternoon.

Do you need food / protein shortly after a workout or is it okay to wait 5-6 hours after working out to eat.

My goal is to increase strength and muscle while loosing weight and fat.

It won't make much of a difference really. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have protein in the morning.

I would not start a fast, workout, and then keep fasting afterwards. That's probably the worst way to time your meals.

Why? Unless you are incredibly lean, I don't see how timing will make that much of an impact.

[DuracellBunny]

5'10" and 298lbs. Any way of controlling intake will work to drop fat for you atm. There is nothing special about IF, it's just a way of controlling total calories and appetite. Pick a method that works for you psychologically, as sticking to it is more important that what it actually is. If IF is something that you can stick to, great; if not, then find something else that you will stick to.

[kimm4]

5'10" and 298lbs. Any way of controlling intake will work to drop fat for you atm. There is nothing special about IF, it's just a way of controlling total calories and appetite. Pick a method that works for you psychologically, as sticking to it is more important that what it actually is. If IF is something that you can stick to, great; if not, then find something else that you will stick to.

Exactly.^^ There's nothing magic about IF...it's just a different way to eat.

Calorie deficit for fat loss period the end. How you choose to hit your intake is a personal preference.

[Plateauplower]

Exactly.^^ There's nothing magic about IF...it's just a different way to eat.

Calorie deficit for fat loss period the end. How you choose to hit your intake is a personal preference.

It seems to me the main benefit would be being able to really pretty much eat whatever you want (within macro ratios). I know I need to be pretty careful in terms of food selection with a larger eating time frame in order to be satiated and be near my target macro/cal goal by the end of the day (especially in a deficit).

I don't see how you can go for 3 hours after training fasted though. I would not be a very pleasant person if I did that

[BJE]

Exactly.^^ There's nothing magic about IF...it's just a different way to eat.

Calorie deficit for fat loss period the end. How you choose to hit your intake is a personal preference.

The claimed advantage of IF is that by going 12 to 16 hours without food puts your body in a state where the "stubborn fat" such as belly fat for men is released more readily because stubborn fat has more beta receptors and fewer alpha receptors and beta receptor fat is harder to get rid of and fasting increases the hormones that unlock the beta receptor fat or something like that. If this is true I think that IF has a place in getting rid of that last bit of fat that won't go away, but if one has a lot of fat to lose then it probably makes no difference.

Another advantage of IF is that by eating only one or two meals per day you can eat larger more satisfying meals rather than eating three to six small unsatisfying meals.

[dbkyser]

I agree 100% on calorie restriction, after trying every diet known to man have lost 125 lbs using CICO and exercise. I just recently started lifting and counting macros. I do quite a bit of cycling so my legs have stayed muscular. I now want to shed the last of my weight and transform my body.
Although I do not have huge expectations of weekly weight loss, hope for 1% of bodyweight per week and it has become hard even when eating 1700 calories a day, weighing foods.

Just trying to find things to mix it up and get the scales moving again without losing muscle.
Yes I know it takes time, guess I get impatient.

[chubbybones]

You say you do weights 3 x week.Why don't you just use IF on the other 4 days of the week.Sure its not as effective but surely it would have some impact.
Just a thought

[phamine]

IF has worked for me on a cut and a bulk. Like another poster mentioned, I prefer to have larger meals twice a day than 6 smaller ones.
Currently on my 2nd bulk and noticed I'm gaining much less fat than my first bulk.

I train in the morning at 6am and have the first meal of the day around 1pm. Eating and being satiated doesn't increase my performance in the gym anyway so this "diet"

Like other people mentioned, it's a way to eat/lifestyle. If you enjoy it, continue, if you don't - switch it up.

[weiss1967]

I agree 100% on calorie restriction, after trying every diet known to man have lost 125 lbs using CICO and exercise. I just recently started lifting and counting macros. I do quite a bit of cycling so my legs have stayed muscular. I now want to shed the last of my weight and transform my body.
Although I do not have huge expectations of weekly weight loss, hope for 1% of bodyweight per week and it has become hard even when eating 1700 calories a day, weighing foods.

Just trying to find things to mix it up and get the scales moving again without losing muscle.
Yes I know it takes time, guess I get impatient.

try keto, this will get the scale moving. Cycle carbs. IF is actually a lot easier when coupled with keto. And 1% of body weight per week is too aggressive, this is what makes most people fail. My 2c

[kimm4]

Per OP's latest post #15 I wouldn't recommend using IF or keto because he's does a lot of cycling for cardio.

Just my personal opinion.

[dbkyser]

Thanks everyone lots of good info here and things to consider.
I will continue to eat my first meal at lunch time until I see a reason to change it. I am never really hungry for breakfast anyways and have not seen a problem when lifting before I eat.

[weiss1967]

Per OP's latest post #15 I wouldn't recommend using IF or keto because he's does a lot of cycling for cardio.

Just my personal opinion.

Kimm I agree, it really is hard to do cardio while being on keto. Cardio performance comes back after a while, and even improves, but by then keto itself lose its effectiveness. But, with all this, scale will be moving all along, and this is the goal, not the cardio performance.

[kimm4]

Kimm I agree, it really is hard to do cardio while being on keto. Cardio performance comes back after a while, and even improves, but by then keto itself lose its effectiveness. But, with all this, scale will be moving all along, and this is the goal, not the cardio performance.

The scales going to move as long as he's staying in a deficit. He's new to running a 5x5 lifting routine along with cardio. I feel setting a reasonable amount of carbs will help to fuel his workouts and help with recovery.

An important part of the overall goal is to be able to perform and feel your best when dieting down...not just a scale movement.

[MiniBK]

The claimed advantage of IF is that by going 12 to 16 hours without food puts your body in a state where the "stubborn fat" such as belly fat for men is released more readily because stubborn fat has more beta receptors and fewer alpha receptors and beta receptor fat is harder to get rid of and fasting increases the hormones that unlock the beta receptor fat or something like that. If this is true I think that IF has a place in getting rid of that last bit of fat that won't go away, but if one has a lot of fat to lose then it probably makes no difference.

Another advantage of IF is that by eating only one or two meals per day you can eat larger more satisfying meals rather than eating three to six small unsatisfying meals.

I lost approx 7stones (44kg) in a year by using the IF. I totally agree with what you said. Being overweight you are so used to eating big meals, that I preferred eating 1 or 2 large meals than several small. It also makes it easier to plan your day to just go home after work for example and eat rather than carry 3 or 5 meals around with you or be stuck in a bad situation where no decent food is avaible. One other thing that helped me was a cheat meal once a week. For example I would fast the day and then my one meal on my cheat day would be some KFC Chicken. This helped me to keep sane. Plus you can't avoid **** food all your life.

Longer term once you've hit your ideal weight, you might want to start to adjust back to 3+ regular meals, this should be easier as your hunger should be less by then.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Longer term once you've hit your ideal weight, you might want to start to adjust back to 3+ regular meals, this should be easier as your hunger should be less by then.

Congrats on taking off the 44kg. It's not usually easier. After long diets people tend to have a long period of adjusting to eating more normally. A lot of this comes from the fact that as we (formerly obese) diet, we tend to get closer to eating our future maintenance. By the end of the diet there is often not as much wiggle room as we imagine. And most inexperienced people have imagined up a lot of eating they will get to do after a diet. Not that I disagree that more meals might be preferable to some.

Another advantage of IF is that by eating only one or two meals per day you can eat larger more satisfying meals rather than eating three to six small unsatisfying meals.

I know people that like to eat fewer larger meals, and I know people that like to eat smaller more frequent meals. More moderate meals are satisfying to some. It's not that important in terms of fat loss which one prefers.

[highiso]

I recently gave up IF after 6 years of doing it religiously. It's merely a calorie restricting tool. I may pick it up again when I get closer to single digit bf. I really, really enjoy eating breakfast again, and it'll be hard to give that up.

[TomB7777]

I started a Keto diet on Jan 20 after about six months of calorie restricted dieting and lots of cardio and weight training. I lost 30 pounds, going from 189 to 159 and 9% bodyfat but found it was really hard to control my eating at the end. I've lost weight in the past and always ended up regaining it. I am also trying intermittent fasting. I'm hoping the IF and Keto will help to heal any damage done to my metabolism and allow me to lose about 3% more bodyfat and then to maintain that fat loss for a good while.

I usually do fasted cardio in the mornings. I've shortened that from 60 minutes down to 40 minutes when I started the Keto diet and IF.
I weight train five days a week with different body parts each day. I've been trying to eat my first meal at 10 AM, lift weights from 11 to 12,
then eat the rest of my daily calories before 2 PM. It's too early to tell how this will work but I am optimistic.

[Jtbny]

I recently gave up IF after 6 years of doing it religiously. It's merely a calorie restricting tool. I may pick it up again when I get closer to single digit bf. I really, really enjoy eating breakfast again, and it'll be hard to give that up.

Same here Gary. I like eating a small morning meal now. IF worked well for me but not sure I'll ever go back to it daily.

[ChristianMR]

I did every other day fasting (800 cals every other day; no restrictions on the off days) to lose about 40 pounds last year. The main benefit is that compliance is much easier than traditional calorie restriction, because you get to eat normally on the off days and counting 800 cals in one meal is quite a bit easier than trying to hit 1,900, etc.

I'll probably do it again in March/April to cut.

[Diatribe1974]

I do mine in a rotating fashion as to keep my body confused as to when it's going to be fed, so it never plateaus. Some weeks I'll eat the bulk of my calories by 2pm then only my protein shakes before and after workouts, then flip it and found for several weeks and have the bulk in the evening. So far, so good for me and rounds I've dropped from 348 to 318.