Intermittent fasting and workout timing question

Christismylife
Christismylife Posts: 93 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If you choose to do intermittent fasting (something like the 16:8 model), when do you work out? I’m trying to figure this one out. If you’re normally a morning workout person but don’t eat until around noon, how can that work? Do you have to move your workout to afternoon or evening?

Replies

  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    As long as your workouts aren't very unusually long (2+ hours of intense exercise) there's no real need to fuel them from food just eaten - you have plenty of fuel onboard already.

    Some people feel better working out fasted and perform better, some feel the opposite. Suggest you experiment to find what works best for you. If time restricted eating is a new thing for you then a period of adjustment might be required, how you feel at first might not be the same as how you feel after a period of weeks and you might want to build up the intensity and/or duration steadily.

    I'm mostly in the third camp where fed or fasted makes no difference to how I feel or how my exercise performance is or my hunger signals. Time of day makes more of a difference to me than when I last ate.
  • mim619
    mim619 Posts: 33 Member
    I used to work out at 10:30 and break my fast at 12. Since rona I have to work out when someone is home to watch the kids. Could be 6am could be 4pm. I don't honestly notice a difference in hunger or workout performance. Do what works with your schedule and you should be fine.
  • jayemes
    jayemes Posts: 865 Member
    usually eat 1-8pm-ish. I prefer to work out 8 or 9 am. Usually it's fine. Occasionally if I have a 9:30 class at the gym that's extra strenuous I find I hit a wall by 10:15. So for me, through trial and error, I know I'm fine to work fasted, but if I'm doing a later morning class I may have a few bites of yogurt beforehand. Just do what works best for you.
  • frankiesgirlie
    frankiesgirlie Posts: 667 Member
    I workout around noon. I only have coffee in the morning and don’t eat until about 4:00pm.
    I’ve never had a problem, but I prefer exercising fasted, because my energy levels are higher then.
    Plus all my workouts are short 30-40 minutes.
  • stacybaker707
    stacybaker707 Posts: 126 Member
    I do OMAD and eat between 5-6. I do my workouts after work, around 230 and stay for about an hour. Afterward, i go home and shower and cook dinner. I’m down 23 pounds since August 1st, and I just started working out two weeks ago. It’s working great!

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