intermittent fasting with physical job

aaaanni

Hey folks,

Need some advice on intermittent fasting and how to make it work with a physically denanding job. Im a park ranger and burn arou d 3000-3500 cals daily (without additional workouts) according to my body media device and have been reading a lot about IM and carb cycling and want to try it but im not sure how to do it correctly due to my job. I also want to start working out to tone up and get fitter but dont want to fall into a heap or screw up my muscles etc.

There is a lot of info about training days and non training days but im not sure if everyday I work is a training day or does thisrelate specifically to workout days? Should I be eating high carbs everyday I have hard days at work?

Also, ive ben trying to stick with 1500cals a day (29 female and 169cm) but am not sure if this is too much or not enough? I eat mostly low carb now with high protein and fat - lost of meat, veg, eggs, avocado, sweet potato, dark chocolate, low fat dairy, some fruit and I do indulge in champagne or low carb beers occasionally. I dont do well on grains or lots of fruit/sugar. Should I be eating more carbs?

I lost 8kg last year following 1300-1400 cal, workouts and less demanding job but have recently put a couple back on from weekend party binging (9 weddings in 4 months! !) And would like to lose 3-5kg and get stronger. Currently I stopped exercising as my new job just makes me buggered but without making me 'fit and strong'. Ive signed up for a tough mudder in october and rejoined the gym so keen to make this work.

Ive been trying he 8/16 fast over the last few days with my 8hr feed time between 10-8 but im running out of steam at work (7:30-4pm) so not sure if my body just needs to adjust or im not eating enough or whats happening. I also dont sleep well which is another thing im hoping the IM will help with.


Any advice would be great!!

dayone987

You burn 3000-3500 (not including workouts) and eat 1500 calories?

I don't know about IF but overall you need to eat more!

SteelySunshine

It's not a good idea to drop calories that drastically. I do the 16/8 kind sometimes the 15/9, but I like the former a bit better, but my schedule doesn't always permit. So, what this means is after dinner I don't eat again for and then I go to bed, sometimes I skip breakfast it doesn't matter just so long as its been 16 hours since my last meal. I eat breakfast, then 4 hours later lunch then 4 hours later dinner. I get at least 1800 calories in a day, sometimes more if I did a lot of exercise, but I don't eat back all my calories and I won't until I am certain I have a good handle on how many I am burning with the particular activities I am doing. Anyway, I would think you need at least 2000 calories and it's an excellent idea to cut carbs wherever you can. So adding lots of vegetables (non starchy) to your diet and upping proteins and fats while cutting back on white carbs can help you lick those pesky hunger pains. I am hungry before I go to bed, but that is my trade off, being hungry once during the day instead of all day everyday like before I started dieting.