From my research, the best way to use these is with fasting. AMPK rises upon ceasing to eat and rises until you eat again, and is skyrocketed by exercise. Its a metabolic sensor of energy levels. Boosting it helps with lipolysis, storing less energy in adipose tissue, messed up cells die instead of replicating and increased sensitivity of insulin. Fasting is a good way to boost ampk. It goes along perfect with some sort of intermittent fasting regiment.
I don't think you'll want your rats to take gw/aicar during the day if you are eating every 2-3 hours. Its best for getting the maximum benefit out of fasting. IMO coffee works similar during a fast, just not quite as much. I do intermittent fasting with induced ketosis, and if I drink coffee black, I stay in ketosis and dont' ruin the positive effects of the fast. If you don't want to intermittent fast, I would have your rats take GW/aicar right before bed, as that will be the longest time in your day without food.
AMPK inhibits mTOR, which is part of the regulator of protein synthesis, so you don't want your rats to be taking GW/aicar when they want protein synthesis happening. I do 8/16... 8 hours eating (and thus protein synthesis) and 16 hours of fasting. But in reality, its not on/off... there's levels of mTOR and AMPK, one is coming down while the other is going up. So there is a little overlap. So even though I'm eating for 8 hours, I'm synthesizing protein for longer. It all makes sense if you study this graphic.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2iifaJqh4...FE/Kcff3fP4jsw/s1600/mtorAMPKfeedingCycle.png
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