Hello,
16/8
I WFH and have a flexible schedule but want to start going to the gym during the lunch hour.
My question is should I break the fast before or after working out?
The only time you’d want to break fast before a workout is if you’re going hard on cardio. If you deplete your blood glucose, your body can only convert fat into ketones so fast. So if you’re going super hard you can hit a wall where you run out of energy, it’s a bit rough, feels like it’s hard to even stand let alone keep going.
Weight lifting is very unlikely to deplete ketones faster than you can make them. Though, I find I get the best results if I do a not-super-intense workout right at the end of my fasting window to maximize the optimal fat-burning window. Then follow it with restorative foods, for weight lifting a lot of lean proteins, vegetables, maybe some brown rice.
More than anything, consistency and routing make everything work best.
TL;DR: Nope.
It was reported that our testosterone and HGH levels are higher during IF, and insulin levels are lower. It sounds to me that we could do more during fasted workout, and we could also burn more body fat.
Keep in mind that it takes at least 2-3 hours for our bodies to digest solid foods and convert into energy. Also, our glucose and insulin levels are higher after meals which inhibit body’s ability to burn fat.
Every person’s body is different. It depends on how fat-adapted your body for fuel. I personally found that I perform better doing fasted workout than non-fasted. After workout, I use sauna at my gym which science says could activate autophagy.
Give it a try and see how you feel.
I do not have an answer to your question so I’ll wait for others to chime in but I always thought that it is best to eat after the workout. It is hard for IF’ers because we might have to workout during the tail end of a fast and it feels like a weakened state.
I workout in the afternoons, fasted. It took a second to get used to but now I wouldn’t have it any other way! The thought of exercising on a full stomach makes me queasy. Lol
I do weightlifting (bodybuilding and oly) and HIIT everyday. Sundays I do my cardio endurance training at 8 am for about 90 min. I am sometimes break my fast early on Sundays but do a minimum of 16:8
Whatever feels the best for you, for example I simply cannot train fasted… I lack energy I feel lethargic when it comes to lifting weights… just can’t do it properly. I am absolutely fine otherwise while fasted but strenuous weight lifting just doesn’t work for me while fasted. I just have a banana before workout and I’m good… it depends on the person really.