Agreed. My goals at 45 (today actually) are a balance between continued recomp and overall health.
Exact same boat my man...45 as well....and Happy Bday! lol
Have had experience with both intermittent fasting and keto style methods of eating in the last 5 years or so.
I have found that I can still gain mass/strength with intermittent fasting (usually a 6-8 hour feeding window).
Have been into lifting weights for over 25 years and for a good part of that growing up there was no bigger sense of fear than the feeling of...HUNGER!!!
It was only until recently that Longevity has began its way into becoming as much of a value as strength and muscle always has been.
I just recently took like 3 months off training and pretty much blew intermittent fasting out the window with bowls of cereal and sugar filled oatmeals for breakfast while still keeping my somewhat eccentric eating habits throughout the later part of the day.
Lets just say not training, eating carb filled meals throughout the beginning of the day and being off Test can add up (although sneakily) around the waistline!
I'm heavier than I have ever been and after only being back at training for the last month or so it is obvious I have also lost muscle mass...duh.
Anyways...never thought I would be that guy who weighs the most he ever has in an untrained state...ugh. lol
Anyway, yeah...my point was that my experience of hunger was the devil.
It wasn't until I did my first 24 hour fast that I realized I wasn't going to die and that i actually felt pretty facking fantastic.
Fastforward and I am also looking into how to best incorporate Fasting while maintaining musclemass (as much as possible).
Sounds like you are educated enough to have come across the quite interesting studies that were done with how much more muscle mass was maintained with fasting with a set amount of calories being eaten at the end of the week as compared to the group who ate the same amount of calories throughout the day, throughout the week. ?
The 24 hr fast really helps reset things nutritionally.
It makes going onto a Carnivore or keto type diet SOOOO much easier.
I have actually begun to like the feeling of being somewhat hungry or in a fasted state.
Its like I'm never tired.
Because fat loss is HIGH on my values right now with only maintaining muscle mass as my goal...I am intermittent fasting (and even leaning towards OMAD "one meal a day") low carb style with a 6-8 hour window.
So far liking everything about the low carb (mostly eating only animal products...mainly beef) as it allows me to somewhat keep that edge of having an elevated sense of awareness that fasting gives me in its initial stages while still giving me the protein for the best odds of maintaining muscle.
My curiosity has been nudged enough to want to experiment with longer fasts as I have also seen some interesting psychological benefits from it as well.
It will be baby steps...after seeing I can go 24-36 hours of fasting with only beneficial results its given me confidence to potentially adventure further.
I really couldn't imagine going a full day without eating anything until just recently,
Has been an interesting eye opener.