Gained about 15 unwanted pounds this year due to a field job changing to telecommute remote.
Former gym goer here and always stuck to CICO 'diets'. This time around, took up IF mainly to give my organs a break from all the shit I've shoved down my face working from home.
Been working out pretty well for 2 weeks now (I do take a little creamer in my morning coffee but thats about it). On some days, no sugar but I've discovered it doesnt really affect anything in the grand scheme of things as long as the total cals are under maintenance.
However, my main issue is my lifts ..I lift in the AM and finding I don't have the gas in my tank to finish the heavy sets. I'd have to drop the weights to push thru. In the past, I'd do oatmeal/whey shake as PWO. Now I do IF and don't really eat till dinner around 6pm. Discovered that morning workouts also really put ghrelin at bay and I don't even get any hunger pangs till late afternoon.
I currently do 3 days cardio which is fine but the 2 days of full bodyweight sets (fierce 5 program) really is a challenge. I've been just 'manning' thru my lifting sessions but wondering how other lifters are staying on IF and still pumping iron?
Cheers.
Answer
Not a heavy lifter, but definitely a morning weight training fanatic (5 days weights, 2 days cardio and stretching recovery). For me I’m always fasted in the morning (last meal dinner around 6/6:30) and use the morning workout to try and exhaust remaining glucose/glycogen to get into ketosis and autophagy faster for the day. What I’ve found is I can usually lift more on a longer fast (41h vs 18:6) due to a boost from HGH (my guess) however I’m more gassed in between sets and have to take a longer rest period than normal. I love super sets and typically combine 3-4 movements into a block. Before IF and longer fasts I’d go from one exercise right into the next with maybe 10-15 sec rest to transition. Now I’m more like 30-45 sec between exercises and for real challenges I rest up to 1min.
I do avoid any sugar and processed foods, keto diet, and pretty well fat adapted at this point. I also don’t do any pre workout other than black coffee. For what it’s worth, I often have to man through my lifting and feel like cutting some sets short, but manage to muster the effort to get them all done and feel great for the accomplishment. Happy to chat more to help eachother out.