Looking for studies, or even anecdotal evidence, and opinions. Better to:
Calories and macronutrients all the same, what would have more benefit from a body composition stand point?
TLDR - scroll down to “Primer 52 Overview”
I’m not aware of any studies that have looked at this.
I have tried both on fasting days and prefer cardio (cardio for me is ultra-low intensity, i.e. walking, staying active). The rationale is that when you are truly fasted, your insulin levels are low - which allows hormone sensitive lipase to increase and fat burning to be ramped up. This can be further magnified by the presence of cortisol. This is probably why many physique athletes swear by fasted cardio. And while the science may be mixed on that point, there is other good science showing the more fat-adapted you are the more fat you will burn in comparison to someone fuelled by glucose.
I personally have been doing something similar (fast Mon-Wed-Fri and and eat carnivore the rest of the time) and have had no issues with energy or performance.
@JamesBrawn007 I do very similar. I have been fasting Mon/Wed, keep to a low calorie PMSF on Friday. These days are cardio or rest days. Other days I keep it very low carb, with occasion bouts of cyclical keto.
My performance is solid. Certainly am more explosive when fueling with carbs. From a satiety and body composition perspective, this works great for me. There may be a slight drop in strength following a fasted day, but I don’t think it’s largely compromised until extending beyond 48 hours.
Yes, and that is where the science comes into alternate day fasting (ADF). As widely recognised, one issue with traditional daily energy restriction is a drop in resting metabolic rate (RMR) - which occurs pretty quickly. Similarly, the recommendation to eat small frequent meals spikes insulin - which attenuates fat oxidation. This is not the case with ADF - despite severe caloric restriction on certain days of the week. As elegantly demonstrated in one study, for example, the group on ADF saw a drop in RMR of only 83 kcals after 21 days on the diet. Further, daily fat oxidation rose from 64g to 101g and carbohydrate oxidation fell from 175g to 81g after the same period.