I am currently taking part in an intermittent fasting trial via the Zoe Health Study app. I’ve read lots about the benefits and that it’s fine to train whilst doing this. I often have to train in the evenings though, due to life commitments which means I’ll have to train after my eating window. I would usually have something after testing to fuel my recovery but obviously can’t. Is this an issue?
Are you allowed to move the window later and not eat until much later the next morning, so that you’d be allowed to eat a recovery snack?
I tried doing workouts in the evening(post 8pm), but anything above Z2 negatively affected my sleep quality, what the point of doing the work and not giving my body time to recover and adapt. Not eating after a hard workout has been shown to hamper recovery as well. Keeping fit and mentally healthy is a life commitment for me, so I re-prioritised.
I can move the window, and will when practical but sometimes doesn’t work out. I try not to do really hard workouts late, but sometimes is a choice of doing it late or not at all. I think you’ve confirmed what I thought though, it’s not ideal to not have at least a recovery snack so I’ll have to try and move my eating to suit when I can train.
i’ve no answer to your question, but I’ll be interested in hearing your experiences.
I’ve been experimenting with IF recently, it seems to have some interesting benefits for me (but it’s early days so far).
Only 5 days into the 3 week trial for me. Very hungry this morning as I did a work out last night but otherwise not too bad so far, not been as hungry as I thought I would, but yesterday was the first workout after a bit of time off, so will see what happens when my metabolism kicks up. I have to do all my eating in a 10 hour window so it’s not too bad. Out for dinner tonight so couldn’t eat today until 10:30 so was pretty hungry.
Hi @sir_james.p
What is your fasting / eating window e.g 16/8.
After struggling to lose a few stubborn kg I’ve been experimenting with IF for the last month or so.
I’m mainly eating around a 16/8 cycle for 3 or 4 days a week and the rest of the week / weekends eat normally. So far the results are very positive but no doubt could be better if I fasted on more days.
Apart from weekends, I always train in the evenings (generally between 7.00 and 8.00pm) and on fasting days I will try to restrict meals to between 1.00pm and 9.00pm. Depending on how occupied I am at work I have pushed this to after 4.00pm on a few occasions.
So far I’ve never found the evening workouts to be an issue from a fuelling perspective, but have found being well hydrated to be crucial. I will always eat straight after finishing a workout.
The feeling of hunger the following day can be much more pronounced and is probably the main reason I don’t attempt to fast on more days of the week.
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@Dafydd @sir_james.p You might find this blog of interest:
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The trial just tells you to eat inside a 10 hour window. That window can move from day to day, so there isn’t a set fasting duration, but usually eat at the same time, so 14 hours fasting.
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Thanks @JSampson
Strictly speaking none of my evening workouts are in a fasted state (as I will usually eat mid-afternoon) and would all be classed as short duration.
I have done the occasional longer weekend fasted ride (Z1/Z2) of up to 2 hours and may look at adding more of these through the winter.
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