Intermittent Fasting

[Juan Cruz Giusto]

What's up people!? I started intermittent fasting some months ago and i would totally recommend it. Mornings are much more productive (you don't need to think about breakfast), i decrease my fat a lot and I'm gaining muscle and strength as well.. The technique consists in stop eating after dinner and skip breakfast going directly to lunch.. The idea is to be fasting 16 hours a day and eat 8. The only way to reduce fat is to be in calorie deficit and this technique is really useful.. If you want to know more just Google it or look for Greg O'Gallagher in YT.. Comment what you think and let's make an interesting discussion. 

[JKG]

I can also just recommend it. I am not even very hungry in the fasting time. The hunger just comes for two or three minutes and then it is gone. I have no problems with not eating until 4pm.

[Cabot]

I've been rocking IF for some time and it's great.
I'm doing a variation now, eating normally for 6 days fasting on water the 7th. The logic being that when I am building muscle I go all in with healthy foods, and one day per week I am focused on fat loss and detox only. 
I'm happy to report there's no (at least significant) muscle loss that everyone fears, I just look more and more ripped every Monday...

It's also a great sense of achievement. I hadn't eaten any calories in 25h now... Lunch in two hours... It's gonna taste so good.  

[Sofia]

what about working out in the morning though?

[Dangirdas]

Been doing intermediate fasting for about 1.5 years now. I usually fast about 8-18 hours. I have noticed that i am more aware and productive while being fasted. I have no needs for breakfast or coffee to work. I have been training for 4.5 years now, and my bodyfat %  plummets like ice cream in the sun. I literally see progress/regression  on the daily basis. The only problem with this, is that building muscle is almost impossible. I have noticed my gains have been limited while doing IF. Luckily my strength has either stayed the same or increased even if i don't go up in weight much. I also like sometimes to do actual fasting for 24 hours or longer.

[Thomas]

I am using Intermittent Fasting with 3-4 hours eating window, placed after workout, so I've been eating one meal a day for about 2 years now.

I find it the easiest way to stick to my eating habit, manage & count macronutrients and.. Goddamn I hate to eat throughout the day, my ability to focus is really affected by that. I also have a huge apetite and what lowering meal frequency does to me is it lowers my apetite through having impact on hormones such as ghrelin (associated with hunger) and leptin (associated with satiety). 
I just feel better and energized throughout the day, I get done much more.
IF is the way to go for diabetes and insulin resistant individuals, including obese people, as it elevates insulin sensitivity.

What guys who are concerned about building muscle should know is that the recent study suggests that limited frequency of aminoacid ingestion is not optimal for maximal muscle-protein-synthesis levels. The estimated difference between regularly spaced out protein in the day and irregular intake was ~25% more/less MPS.
The LeanGains protocol from Martin Berkham, the most popular IF protocol out there includes BCAAs ingestion throughout the fasting phase, so guys who do leangains shouldn't worry about it.

It doesn't mean You, won't build muscle. It simply means it might be not optimal for that goal.
I don't care about maximizing hypertophy at a cost of harder to sustain eating pattern (for me) and I'm in it over the long haul, so that's fine to be "not optimal"

At the end of the day, the best diet is the one You can stick to.

Edited February 8, 2016 by Thomas

[Nick]

Not only it is healthily beneficial for you and it helps you burn fat,  but also in "dark" times you'll be used to going without food for a loong time  you never know when it may come...

[Guest]

Wow, thank you for sharing this information I'm going to study this topic and hopefully try it myself

[Nick]

15 hours ago, caB07 said:

I've been rocking IF for some time and it's great.
I'm doing a variation now, eating normally for 6 days fasting on water the 7th. The logic being that when I am building muscle I go all in with healthy foods, and one day per week I am focused on fat loss and detox only. 
I'm happy to report there's no (at least significant) muscle loss that everyone fears, I just look more and more ripped every Monday...

It's also a great sense of achievement. I hadn't eaten any calories in 25h now... Lunch in two hours... It's gonna taste so good.  

Not only it is healthily beneficial for you and it helps you burn fat,  but also in "dark" times you'll be used to going without food for a loong time  you never know when it may come..."

 

Hi Cab07,

You know why you will not even lose muscle? Because it's kind of a myth. What actually happens is that when you go without food for less than 48 hours, glucose gets out of your muscles, so your muscles just shrink, but its temporary: once you start pumping your muscles up,exercising, it gets however big it was before

It's only after 48 hours of fasting when you lose muscle.

[gian]

I have been doing IF for close to 5 months now and I absolutely love it. It really didn't even take me long to get used to. I went from eating something every few hours since as long as I remember to a 16 hr fast and 8 hour feeding window. I've lost fat without changing diet or exercise plans, my training has even improved. 

 

I am also a vegan and I feel the combination of these 2 lifestyles can work wonders for anyone willing to give it a try!

[Leandro Oliveira]

Damn, I have never heard before about this Intermittent Fasting. I am really curious about this! I'm already starting doing some researches.

Ironically, I used to have 3 meals + 2 snacks a day. But, since I started a healthy diet and eating more vegetables, fruits, food with more fiber, etc, I ended up being not hungry for longer periods. I.e., I've started to eat only 3 meals a day. And, in fact, I am being more productive during the times I'm not eating.

I have a few doubts though, I would like to know if you guys could help me. Let's see if I understood this well: let's say I eat only between the hours of 11am until 7pm. What does it really mean to eat only during this eight hour window?

• I have to be constantly eating during this period or
• I just have 2 meals, for instance, one at 11am and other at 6am?

That's the part I'm not getting that well.

And during fast, do you drink water or some non-caloric fluids?

Edited February 9, 2016 by Leandro Oliveira

[nbolt]

Never really understood the fasting craze, to be honest. I'm already close to being underweight and don't see what starving my body of nutrients is going to accomplish. Isn't it healthier just to stay active and eat well?

[Nick]

2 hours ago, Leandro Oliveira said:

Damn, I have never heard before about this Intermittent Fasting. I am really curious about this! I'm already starting doing some researches.

Ironically, I used to have 3 meals + 2 snacks a day. But, since I started a healthy diet and eating more vegetables, fruits, food with more fiber, etc, I ended up being not hungry for longer periods. I.e., I've started to eat only 3 meals a day. And, in fact, I am being more productive during the times I'm not eating.

I have a few doubts though, I would like to know if you guys could help me. Let's see if I understood this well: let's say I eat only between the hours of 11am until 7pm. What does it really mean to eat only during this eight hour window?

• I have to be constantly eating during this period or
• I just have 2 meals, for instance, one at 11am and other at 6am?

That's the part I'm not getting that well.

And during fast, do you drink water or some non-caloric fluids?

.

..

.hi Leandro

Sorry I don't know what's wrong with this but I have to reply in your quote.

Anyways,

In your eating window, you should eat same amount of calories you normally did. So if you ate 3 meals during the whole day, eat 3 meals in your eating window. The point is not to decrease calorie intake. The point is to  give your body more time tofocus on more growth rather than just food digestion constantly. 

[Leandro Oliveira]

@Nick Thank you very much! But for example, you said that you wake up at 6am and fast till 3pm. You don't drink anything at all neither?

 

16 hours ago, Neill Bolton said:

Never really understood the fasting craze, to be honest. I'm already close to being underweight and don't see what starving my body of nutrients is going to accomplish. Isn't it healthier just to stay active and eat well?

Many people believe that eating five or six small meals daily boosts metabolism, but recent research indicates that's probably false. To increase fat metabolism, allow yourself to be slightly hungry now and then. The best way may be to eat two or three modest meals daily, with no snacks.

Edited February 10, 2016 by Leandro Oliveira

[Nick]

7 hours ago, Leandro Oliveira said:

@Nick Thank you very much! But for example, you said that you wake up at 6am and fast till 3pm. You don't drink anything at all neither?

 

Many people believe that eating five or six small meals daily boosts metabolism, but recent research indicates that's probably false. To increase fat metabolism, allow yourself to be slightly hungry now and then. The best way may be to eat two or three modest meals daily, with no snacks.

During my fast time I drink as much water as I want. Nothing but water. In fact, if you want to burn some extra calories, choose cold water. Your body will have to use more calories to generate heat to even out the water temperature to the body. You definitely do not want to be dehydrated, ever. 

I hope it helps.

If you have more questions, ask away!

Good luck

[Leandro Oliveira]

Very nice, thanks! And I think drinking cold water makes you also more awake. Killing two birds with one stone!

[Hunter Arrington]

On ‎2‎/‎8‎/‎2016 at 1:26 PM, Nick said:

Not only it is healthily beneficial for you and it helps you burn fat,  but also in "dark" times you'll be used to going without food for a loong time  you never know when it may come...

HAHAHA like the humor.

[Patrick]

@Nick

On February 7, 2016 at 1:26 PM, Nick said:

Not only it is healthily beneficial for you and it helps you burn fat,  but also in "dark" times you'll be used to going without food for a loong time  you never know when it may come...

That is so so true. I can tell you right now, it did in fact come in handy for three "dark" days in my life. It's a great skill to have in your back pocket: Complete self-reliance, even from food (temporarily, at least), and endurance to survive in "dark" moments. Hahaha. IF is great. What do you guys think about supplementing IF with bulletproof coffee, for example?: Cheating, or a legitimate method with the same benefits, minus the hunger/mood changes?

[Lynnel]

I can see how this could work but also I'm unusually sceptic for this one precisly because it sounds a bit too good to be true.

I read for instance that you should not skip breakfast because not having food puts your body into the saving energy mode which will stockpile fat, => counterproductive in the end.

[Siim Land]

@Lynnel The breakfast myth is a huge fallacy. Meal timing is irrelevant when it comes to body composition. Think for a moment, how on earth did our species make it through the Ice Ages if our metabolism were so inefficient?

Fasting actually increases metabolism by 3-14% after 24 hours of fasting, increases insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning, decreases protein catabolism, increases human growth hormone and  testosterone - all of the fat burning hormones get elevated and you promote ketosis.

There isn't any metabolic advantage to having several meals a day, you'll be simply eating smaller less satisfying meals and miss our on all of these hormones. 
Does it sound too good to be true? Yes, but it's the truth. Fasting has been considered to be the miracle cure ever since the Ancient Greeks. It clears your body and fights all disease. Eating more often will make your body only more dependent of exogenous calories and prevents you from using your endogenous fuel supplies.