I am an endomorph, currently doing alternate day fasting and so far weight is coming off. I also want increase my muscle mass at some point. Is it possible to cut fat and put on muscle at the same time if I weight train on eating days and do some cardio on fasting days?
Or should I wait until I reached a reasonable body weight/fat percentage to start weight training?
It’s possible. But u can’t be fasting and gain muscle efficiently. It’s like a fire that needs fuel. In this case the fuel being a sufficient amount of protein.
Depending on if ur excercising or not that day, the amount of ur needed daily protein intake changes. The amount of protein depends on ur LBM(lean body mass) as well as ur body fat percentage.
Also, I wouldn’t recommend doing cardio if u wanna put on muscle because it stands in the way of ur gains. And if u wanna lose weight u need to put on muscle to increase ur BMR(basal metabolic rate).
U can lose weight doing cardio too but is not as effective.
Yay! I’m glad it’s working for you. I’m also an ADF-er and there is no better way to go IMO if you can handle the fasts.
There are mixed opinions out there as to how much muscle mass can be improved while losing weight on IF. I don’t have strong opinions one way or another.
I really like this NIH paper on the topic. It gave me a lot of information about the whole process of weight loss while trying to maintain muscle mass. It’s fascinating what they’ve found about muscle mass vs. muscle strength and quality and how it interacts with weight loss and exercise. Definitely worth a look.
This is my second pass through IF. I lost a bunch and gained it back. This time it’s for good. Both times I have established my IF / calorie restrictions before adding exercise. Both times I’ve restricted myself to cardio every other day. I like to do it at about 24 hours into my 36 hour fasting window. My energy is good and stable and it feels right to me. I’ve found adding cardio neither accelerates nor slows my weight loss progress. I have not done any weight training while on IF. My plan is to add that on maintenance. I feel like the muscle retention is fine. My strength remains good throughout. I don’t have direct experience to share on the topic of resistance training while doing IF though.
I think it would be fine to add it and alternate like you said. The only thing I would pay attention to is how much it increases appetite or adds to the difficulty of staying on plan with the fasts. This is what I’ve noticed with exercise, it increases my appetite and hunger. It’s why I have gotten established in my fasting pattern before trying it. I wanted to be stable on my plan and then add exercise.
I think either way will be fine. Listen to your body and make sure you can stay on plan. The Endomorphism adds a layer of challenge for you. If you have something that works, keep with it and don’t mess with weights if it messes up your progress in any way. Best wishes.