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Questions on eating window on 16/8 IF plus exercise

Quick facts:Age: 42, Male, 190 lbs (86 kgs). I lifted weights on and off for years (due to family), I’ve been working out steadily for 5 months and planning to continue. I try to lift 5 times a week, with a PPL routine. I successfully did OMAD for a year a couple of years back and it worked out for me.

I had a lifestyle change recently which means I can cook at night for myself now, and I decided to go on IF again, but while trying to maintain and maybe even adding muscle if at all possible.

I read that the best IF method for muscle maintenance is 16/8. I read an article from 2016 (Journal of Translational Medicine) which supported what I read online. So I will be going on a 16/8. Here are my questions:

  1. I didn’t diet for the first 5 months of strength training, and I’m going to start the IF to cut for a few months before getting off it. Am I wrong to assume I can cut via IF?
  2. My workout hours are 7:30PM - 8:45PM. Which means that by the time I get home and cook, I will be eating until 10PM or so, considering delays. How bad is this delayed window, because I also read that fat loss is best if you stop eating as early as possible? I go to bed at 11PM and sleep around midnight (reading, not twitter). Should I rush to finish eating earlier, or am I worrying too much over the late meal? I can prepare my dinner in advance, but I’d rather do it fresh because my fast-breaking meal will also be prepped to eat at work.
  3. To avoid the late-ending meal, should close my eating window before working out? I would hate to work out and wait hours before eating.
  4. Let’s talk supplements. I take multivitamins and fish oil (since until now I can’t choose my meals, and I can’t eat seafood). I use protein powder and creatine, with carnitine in the morning. Since I will eat at 2PM, some snacks (or another meal) later and last meal ending at 10PM, should I just do the protein powder+creatine “half-before, half-after workout” as usual? Or with IF, would something else work better?
  5. I also plan to do cardio in the mornings. I’ve always had terrible aerobic capacity because of childhood (cured since) asthma, and having covid late-2020 wrecked my lungs even worse. I will follow a modified version of the C25K and build up my capacity somehow. My question is, the possible cardio time will be 6:15AM-7AM-ish. Right in the middle of the fasting window. Is this doable? I mean maybe I start fasting first so that my stomach stops growling after a couple of weeks, AND THEN start the cardio?

Looking forward to reading your responses. Can be based on what you know, what you experienced, or what you deduce.

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Answer

  1. Well no, you’re not wrong. I think most people start IF to lose fat.
  2. Shouldn’t really matter. It’s the total amount of calories consumed that counts in the long run.
  3. You can. It’s really up to preference. Some people are better working out fasted, others need to be fed. Personally I always eat after my workout as digesting food robs me of my energy.
  4. Having protein before and after the workout is ideal for muscle protein synthethis but it also works just having it after. You don’t have to take protein powder in any case if you can manage to take in the appropriate amount via actual food. But speaking for myself I also supplement with whey protein. But in my case it’s part of my actual meal rather than a drink to have around my workout.
    I also take fishoil (daily) and multivitamins (once a week).
  5. I never had a problem with doing fasted cardio. Feels like a breeze for me.
    But there is another possible issue with doing cardio first:
    I’m watching the Mindpump podcast pretty regularly and they (all seasoned personal trainers) always advocate for doing your strength training sessions first and cardio either later in the day or on entirely different days.
    Reason for that is that the body will adapt to becoming more efficient with doing cardio which is not what you want. It will lower your BMR and make you burn fewer calories at maintenance while you might have a harder time building muscle.
    Can’t say how much truth there is to it but that’s what they say.

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