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I second this. I too started intermittent fasting ( 16 hours fast, 8 hour eating window) and can confirm benefits that OP has mentioned. I too noticed better sl
by justboxing 9y ago
I second this. I too started intermittent fasting ( 16 hours fast, 8 hour eating window) and can confirm benefits that OP has mentioned. I too noticed better sleep, increased energy and reduced GI inflammation (poop better lol).
I started delaying my breakfast later and later until I was able to eat "breakfast" at 1 PM. I work out (boxing or weights) in the evening at 6 to 7 / 7:30 PM 5 days a week atleast, so my last meal for the day is at 8:30 or 9 PM. I don't eat any meat.
1 added benefit is that you also lose body fat and become lean because it seems that we start burning fat after 12 or 13 hours of fasting.
Initially it was hard, I was feeling hungry, but once you get used to it, you don't miss it. If you are a morning person, do your fast from 5 or 6 PM to 9 or 10 AM. If you are evening person, then do it like me, i.e. fast from 9 or 10 PM to 1 or 2 PM (next day).
Also don't worry about whether you'll have energy for your workout. You get used to it.
- tinymollusk 9y agoIn a similar situation I've felt subjectively less hungry / performed better if I take some branch chain amino acids in the AM. Dunno if this makes the IF "invalid" -- I never felt significantly different during an IF. But commuting on my bike, I frequently felt weak if I was fasting, and BCAA stopped that. YMMV.
- Najtmare 9y agoAnything besides water breaks the IF period.
- 2218653 9y agoWhile BCAAs do break your fast, that's not entirely true. For example, green tea, black coffee, ACV, and likely others do not break your fast.
- maloney 9y agoThis is a pretty hardline approach. Most people allow for coffee and tea without sugar or cream. If there are no calories you're not breaking a fast in my opinion. BCAA's do have calories so I would say they would break a fast though.
- tinymollusk 9y agoPardon my ignorance, but how does the research account for the benefits of caloric reduction? How do we know if it's the disciplined fasting, or if simple caloric reduction is part of the equation? That information would help me decide whether I have to be strict about no eating. Much of the advice I've seen amounts to allowing some leeway in small caloric inputs.
- sethammons 9y agoI tried IF, but I couldn't find a schedule that worked. I work out with high intensity at 5am. So I want to start eating then to maximize nutrient intake. This made "lunch" at 9am and "dinner" at noon. I'd find myself lethargic for the morning workout.