Vegan Bodybuilding & Fitness

Fasting ≠ muscle gain

my view exactly

One kilo in 5 weeks.

Intermittent fasting DOES. I see your posts around here a lot. Why don't you take a gander at some fellow forum members here who have achieved results? viewtopic.php?f=6&t=19399&hilit=fasting

I can't contribute much on the subject on IF except to say that I did read a couple of studies showing the promising effects of IF on muscle gain. I couldn't argue with it, and I am very skeptical when reading studies especially those which would seem to support some new "trend".

I also have to put that together with the fact that most people want to base what is natural for us as humans on what our ancestors did and thus our own adaptations to such. If that is the case then IF should be a no brainer because that has basically been the norm for most humans for thousands of years of our history.

We never ate every few hours on some strict schedule. That has been recently promoted by (pro/steroid using) bodybuilders and big supplement companies ($$$) and the muscle magazines they've sponsored for several decades.

It also amazes me that we have over 30 feet of small intestines to process our food, every inch of which absorbs nutrients from what is in them (even the large intestine, to an extent), yet most people with any knowledge on diet believe we are to be eating every few hours or we're "starving ourselves". Meat eaters especially both eat frequent high amounts of meat AND are the biggest promoters of high eating frequency, when they are the very ones who strain their systems so much it could take a whole week before they completely pass a meal out.

BTW I've been following the "frequent eating" trend so long that is what I'm currently doing. I've only begun to read about "IF" so I'm not pushing anything on anyone or saying anyone is "wrong" or "right". As I said though it does look promising and I think it is worth a look for those who may be interested.

The idea behind IF is that when you fast it increases your bodies ability and capacity to synthesize protein, thus unlike a person who consumes food every 3 hours with a digestiibility rate of about 40g protein, a person practicing Intermittent Fasting will be able to Synthesize near to 150g protein in the one sitting. Meanwhile, since your body is fassting, it uses up the bodies fat stores throughout the day for energy, so essentially, you sshould be burning fat and building muscle simultaneously, which is usually near impossible to achieve.

Sorry, this got buried and I totally overlooked it!

I figured them all out over the course of my then current work outs for a full week. I didn't rely on calculating it, I did it physically so I would be exact.

The hard part came when I had to SD (strategically decondition) for a couple of weeks before I could start the program.

My body BLEW UP on that work out, and I did several cycles which took me from 145 lbs to about 175 lbs of lean mass.

Never during the course of any cycle did I fail to achieve my goals and I only progressively loaded constantly.

The reason I stopped is because I got several injuries I'm ashamed to say. Reason was I had gained so much strength and was lifting so frequently doing IMPROPER movements that I tore a back muscle, messed up a shoulder joint, strained the ligaments in my forearms, and pulled a ligament in my knee (childhood injury also).

I stopped because that program put so much strength on me it scared me. lol

I think if you do it make sure you don't over do anything and listen to your body. Take the time to plan everything before you do it because it is very well worth it. I have since learned proper form on every exercise I'll ever be interested in and always practice it, not only for going back to HST but because it is critical for my own personal joints because I'm an "ectomorph" and have the smaller weaker joints. So when I'm ready and prepared I just may go back to it!

My apologies, for not being clearer, I meant, fasting and nnot consuming necessary nutrients does not lead to muscle gain, I do however agree with you that IF achieves results,

If just isn't for me, I have a very demanding job so I need the fuel, I don't schedule my meals just eat when I'm hungry

Way to back peddle Nicholas. And Klatu, Intermittent Fasting "not being for you" is fine, but a far cry from not working.

I didn't say it won't work I just think it's not for me right now, I think it'll be more suited for when I cut in the spring, don't take everything so personally

Yes you said it didn't work. And no I don't take it personally. I just felt a bit of "rage" coming from you. Either way good luck with your diet and exercise. I hope we both learned something to help us along...

Im afraid we have got off on the wrong foot, if you knew me you'd know I'm as placid as they come, I'm here to learn not pick fights, if you have felt hostility I apologise to you

And I apologize to you as well. I meant no disrespect.