I'm not doing IF right now. I'm on the Zone, trying to condition myself for when the semester starts. I end up having long days once or twice a week that piss me off and throw off my schedule. IF didn't work for me with those long days because I was irritable (I also have an anxiety disorder that sometimes makes me feel like I need to eat or pass out). I think IF is great if you can do it and if your schedule cooperates. A good thing to try is simply to do IF one day a week and see how you respond. Do it on a day you can have full control over what you do - like a Saturday. Then see about extending to two days a week, etc. Yes, Bulletproof coffee breaks the fast, but it doesn't break the sugar fast if you don't sweeten your coffee. You'll be in ketosis much of the day.
I have been IFing for several months and it really doesn't bother me at all. I think my biggest concern is should I break my fast(other than BP Coffee) after I work out. I generally work out at 5am and don't eat until 11am or so, sometimes later or earlier depending on schedule and how I feel. I feel like I am making moderate gains, but just wanted input on whether it is detrimental to NOT eat after a workout.
The podcast discusses Shana Alverson's experiences with it. I recommend you listen to it. The short answer is that if you don't crash, then you can keep fasting and not have to worry about a "metabolic window" that some discuss - a time within which you MUST consume protein or throw away your workout as it was useless. There's just no compelling evidence that such a thing exists. As long as you eat within six hours of your workout, there's no difference so far as anyone can tell.
I am in meetings all day, but I am going to grab that for later. Thanks for the info. My goal is to get in good enough shape that I can maintain a fairly healthy lifestyle through body weight exercises, pretty far away from pullups atm, and kettlebell/functional fitness work outs.
All I can say is Macro's people. Finding how many calories you need daily to lose weight (typically 250-500 less than normal daily) and finding the right balance of Fats-Carbs-Protein. For me, my body is terrible at using carbs for energy and I gain weight the more I eat carbs. So I'm on a lower carb diet, eating only complex carbs when I need to in the form of veggies. Most of my caloric intake comes from protein. I eat A LOT of ground turkey in many forms and found this to be my ideal diet. I'm not too worried about Fats as I don't eat too much saturated fats and more good ones found in avocado's and tree nuts. I eat standard meals a day. Pretty basic, boring stuff, but don't ever fast. In addition to my non-Creatine preworkout and post workout Whey protein, I started taking BCAA (Branch Chain Amino Acids) and found that helped with recovery and muscle growth a lot. Over the past 3-4 years I went from overweight (190lbs, 25%+ body fat) to skinny fat (170lbs, 20%+ bf) after I discovered carbs were the enemy, to back to (185lb around 15% body fat) now and the best shape of my life and compliments on my fitness. Trial and error finding what's best for YOU. Everyone's different and have to find the right path to where you need to go. The worst thing you can do is starve yourself and eat the wrong things. Diet is 90% of the battle imo.
