When should I eat while on IF?

Adderhold

New member
When should I eat while on intermittent fasting? Should I eat pre workout or would that be counterproductive? Also about how many meals should I eat? I'm 5'5 172 trying to get to about 162-160
 
I've personally tried IF and not a fan on it at all.. But if you're certain that's the route you want to do it, then sweet.

I would say eating before your workout would be the best option, simply so you've got some sort of fuel for your body when training.
 
It honestly doesn't matter. You will not notice any benefit over eating in a 8 hour window, 10 hours window, 12 hour, etc. IF is just an eating scedule people set up due to their lifestyle. Some people cannot eat for certain periods of time due to work, school or any other life situation. Just hit your cals and macros.

The only thing you need to do to reach your weight loss goals is to eat at a deficit.
 
Eat post workout. I've been IF for over three years, it's just so much more convenient and I dig eating bigger meals rather than a bunch of small ones. I usually eat twice in a 4-5 hour window.
 
It makes zero difference WHEN you eat. IF is about restricting the eating window, the timeing off that doesn't matter much.

I'vve done it eating mostly post workout (when I lifted in the afternoons) as well as eating in the evenings only (when lifting first thing in the morning) and noticed zero difference.

For me, its simply a matter of convenience to not have to eat through the day as well as enjoyment getting to eat giant dinners and go to bed full.
 
you can eat pre or post, up to you really. How is your performance fed and unfed? Most would prefer to be in a fed state during their workout
 
The "standard" IF setup is 16:8 - 16 hours fasting and an 8 hour eating window. If you wanted to follow an IF protocol, 16:8 is the most common, but as everyone else has stated above, meal timing is irrelevant.

I did the 16:8 IF for over a year in college for convenience, but at the end of the day fat loss is all about being in a caloric deficit
 
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