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Anecdotes on IF and electrolytes?

TL;DR Does anyone have experience with IF (intermittent fasting) and taking electrolyte drinks? Do you notice a big difference? Is it a big deal to you? \--- On average, I fast around 16 hours a day. Some days, this is extended up to 18 hours, sometimes even 20 hours. During the first half of my day, I'll supplement with micro doses of caffeine / L-theanine powder. I aim to work for about 4-8 hours with breaks on top of that. I also usually go for intensive cardio or an intensive weightlifting session for about 60-75 minutes during that time. Recently, I moved to a hotter country (10+ degrees Celsius compared to where I used to live) and the sweating during sleep and during exercise is substantial. I happened to stumble on an electrolyte drink. Not convinced it did anything (empty water, I thought), I figured I'd give it a try since I had a couple in the fridge. I had half of a small bottle about 18 hours into my fast and after a VERY intense weight lifting session. I haven't felt this clear headed in days. Haven't even upped my caffeine dose yet. Been deep diving into for the last couple of hours and I'm quite surprised about what people say. That being said, it seems to be primarily recommended for longer exercise sessions (e.g. marathon runners) and extended (multi day) fasts? Happy to receive any feedback & thoughts :)

Answer

This is an interesting question and quite timely, as i just experimented with something similar today. I do time restricted feeding most days, usually going between 20-24 hours fasting and a 1-2 hours eating window. I have been doing this a lot over the last few years and it has helped me reduce/maintain weight at 165-170 pounds 5’10” height. I have only recently realized how much i was deficient in electrolytes and so for the last week or 2 I have actually been taking sodium/potassium/magnesium glycine at the quantities recommended in the sidebar, and overall i feel much better during my fasting periods. I also try to get plenty of exercise with walking, running, and weight training, which usually occurs during my fasting periods due to schedule. Today when I began my weight training (pull ups and squats) I noticed that I was feeling fatigued quite early on and looked at the clock to find i was close to the 4 hours that i space my electrolyte doses out, so I paused the workout, went and took one of my 5 daily doses of electrolytes and then resumed the workout to find that I wasn’t feeling quite as fatigued and my muscles weren’t burning as much or as quickly as before I topped up my electrolytes. Now, this wasn’t a huge boost or anything, but it did help me complete my planned sets/reps, and yes, it wasn’t double-blind or anything so there could be some placebo effect, but it was enough that i will continue to watch my electrolyte dosing closely as it relates to starting my exercises because the early indication is that for me personally it does make a difference, even if we’re talking about relatively short fasting periods, and relatively frequent dosing of electrolytes.