Intermittent fasting, sorted by goal: what 16:8 does for weight, why the autophagy hour has no human study behind it, and the schedule with better evidence.
Great writing with so much detail. I’ve experimented for about 8 years now with IF. The 16 -8 is a good threshold for me. I usually wait until around 12 to eat and don’t have any food after 9pm. 8pm is even better but not always doable.
When it comes to training and eating, I find that if i train immediately first thing in the am I can go without food, but training in the afternoon with no food just isn’t possible.
I think the biggest thing is to make sure the meal after training is the biggest meal of the day since that’s when metabolism is the highest. With lots of protein of course.
My gut health improved drastically when I started eating later in the day. For so long I was convinced I needed to eat immediately upon awakening but that was not good for my overall sense of well being, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Thanks. I like that you’re treating it as something to learn from rather than a rule you have to force. The right eating pattern has to work with your training and your life.
I like the way this challenges the idea that skipping breakfast is automatically a healthy choice just because it’s popular right now. The bigger point for me is that health advice makes more sense when we look at the person, not just the trend.
Love the rich body of research you've tied into your own experimentation here :) I'll say this carefully, as any self respecting scientist does these days: I don't recommend anything in particular. I've personally found, through my own experimentation, that when I'm seeing my own personal signs of systemic inflammation, which are very unique to me and my bio physiology, I go into a strict 20-4 fast for a few days until I see and feel those markers improve. 😀As I said, that's just me. No 10 years long double blind supercalifragilisticexpialidocious control tell blah blah blah blah. 😉 I've got skin in the game for health reasons, so I'm willing to be a bit higher on the risk, reward perspective for myself. The risk is being hangry towards my boyfriend 😉 the rewards of fasting...
I appreciate the distinction between personal experience and evidence. That’s exactly why the question of what fasting is doing, and for whom, still needs careful study.
Right!? And who on Earth wants to research a FREE health intervention? Harder to package up and make money off that... Although I'm sure a smart cookie out there could find a way 🙌 but I'm voting in favor of NO hunger-games-esque fasting pills, please...
I think the real question after 45 is not “Should I eat breakfast?” but “Does my eating pattern protect muscle while supporting metabolic health?” Fasting should remain a tool, not an ideology. If the eating window becomes so restrictive that getting enough protein, recovering from training, maintaining energy, or preserving muscle becomes difficult, then the trade-off deserves another look. For me, two substantial meals work better than OMAD because they allow me to maintain a long fasting window while still supporting protein intake and recovery. The best eating pattern is not the one with the longest fasting window -it is the one that supports your physiology, your activity, and your health for years.
I think that’s the useful way to look at it. The eating window should fit around the things you’re trying to protect, especially training, protein intake and recovery.
Great writing with so much detail. I’ve experimented for about 8 years now with IF. The 16 -8 is a good threshold for me. I usually wait until around 12 to eat and don’t have any food after 9pm. 8pm is even better but not always doable.
When it comes to training and eating, I find that if i train immediately first thing in the am I can go without food, but training in the afternoon with no food just isn’t possible.
I think the biggest thing is to make sure the meal after training is the biggest meal of the day since that’s when metabolism is the highest. With lots of protein of course.
My gut health improved drastically when I started eating later in the day. For so long I was convinced I needed to eat immediately upon awakening but that was not good for my overall sense of well being, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
Thanks. I like that you’re treating it as something to learn from rather than a rule you have to force. The right eating pattern has to work with your training and your life.
I like the way this challenges the idea that skipping breakfast is automatically a healthy choice just because it’s popular right now. The bigger point for me is that health advice makes more sense when we look at the person, not just the trend.
That’s an important distinction. What works well for one person may not be the right approach for someone with a different goal.
Love the rich body of research you've tied into your own experimentation here :) I'll say this carefully, as any self respecting scientist does these days: I don't recommend anything in particular. I've personally found, through my own experimentation, that when I'm seeing my own personal signs of systemic inflammation, which are very unique to me and my bio physiology, I go into a strict 20-4 fast for a few days until I see and feel those markers improve. 😀As I said, that's just me. No 10 years long double blind supercalifragilisticexpialidocious control tell blah blah blah blah. 😉 I've got skin in the game for health reasons, so I'm willing to be a bit higher on the risk, reward perspective for myself. The risk is being hangry towards my boyfriend 😉 the rewards of fasting...
I appreciate the distinction between personal experience and evidence. That’s exactly why the question of what fasting is doing, and for whom, still needs careful study.
Right!? And who on Earth wants to research a FREE health intervention? Harder to package up and make money off that... Although I'm sure a smart cookie out there could find a way 🙌 but I'm voting in favor of NO hunger-games-esque fasting pills, please...
I think the real question after 45 is not “Should I eat breakfast?” but “Does my eating pattern protect muscle while supporting metabolic health?” Fasting should remain a tool, not an ideology. If the eating window becomes so restrictive that getting enough protein, recovering from training, maintaining energy, or preserving muscle becomes difficult, then the trade-off deserves another look. For me, two substantial meals work better than OMAD because they allow me to maintain a long fasting window while still supporting protein intake and recovery. The best eating pattern is not the one with the longest fasting window -it is the one that supports your physiology, your activity, and your health for years.
I think that’s the useful way to look at it. The eating window should fit around the things you’re trying to protect, especially training, protein intake and recovery.