Intermittent fasting

[cubby2112]

If you would ever find it convenient to fast on workout days, and still do morning workouts, Martin has a protocol for that, too.

http://leangains.blogspot.com/2010/05/early-morning-fasted-training.html

[Ruz]

I've been doing "eat stop eat" for 2 months now and have to say that I've seen the biggest changes in my physique that I've seen for MANY years! it was very hard at first and I got dizzy when I trained, but now i feel sharper. I eat twice a day and fast once a week for 24 hours (I actually work out twice during this fast). Here is an interesting video about working out when fasted..judging from the results I am seeing its all true!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da2pc3vMkSc
The book is really interesting and there have been some fascinating studies conducted into exercising when fasted. Contrary to what is said in most muscle mags, the evidence shows that you don't burn muscle when you work out in a fasted state..only fat, infact after 3 days of fasting, you STILL dont lose muscle mass..only your endurance is affected. Anyone who wants the book send me a PM..I downloaded it for free but if you can't find it I've got a copy
I'm starting to think that practically all the information I've read out there is bull!! I'm using "turbulence training" with "eat stop eat" and therefore train my whole body 6 times a week...obviously my muscles don't have the "recommended" time to recover..but you should see what's happening to my core and legs..amazing!
One interesting thing I'd like to say about fasting is a note on hunger itself. Hunger pangs don't last long..only a few minutes usually. The more your body gets used to fasting the less you feel hungry and in a 24 hour fast I usually only feel hungry once or twice..each time the sensation, though sometimes intense, only lasts a few minutes. With a 24 hour fast you can eat every day. I fast saturday, so I have a late dinner on Friday, at about 9pm, workout on saturday and dine at around 10pm on saturday...its not that hard, really..and its also nice to not have to wash up or prepare food for 24 hours!! LOL. However, that said, I am alone in the house on saturday and I dont know how I would feel if I were surrounded by people eating or food smells..I think it would probably be much more difficult.

[chrisjs]

With a 24 hour fast you can eat every day. I fast saturday, so I have a late dinner on Friday, at about 9pm, workout on saturday and dine at around 10pm on saturday...its not that hard, really..and its also nice to not have to wash up or prepare food for 24 hours!! LOL. However, that said, I am alone in the house on saturday and I dont know how I would feel if I were surrounded by people eating or food smells..I think it would probably be much more difficult.

Glad to hear this other type of IF is working for you. One of my favorite aspects of the one I'm doing is not having to bother with food during the day, then at night I can pretty much eat as much as I want. I'm still eating under maintenance most days (I'm not strictly tracking it) but I do think it'll be a challenge when I go back to eating more.

I find it hard to stick with it on weekend when I'm home and preparing food for my daughter. Somehow a stray pasta noodle always makes it into my mouth then it's all over.

[I'm Your Man]

Cubby, I think it is you who wrote few weeks ago that you fast during the day but you fill your belly to maximum in the evening and often feel bloated. You're loosing the benefits of fasting doing this, you digestive system suffer more than eating smaller meals at regular times. Then why doing this, if only for esthetical reasons of low bodyfat or for athletic reasons to improve performance during workouts on empty stomach ?

Ruz, it seems interesting your training program and IE schedule, and the positive results too ! I'll look at the link soon.

I've been fasting 19 hours per day for 7 days, I was at a Vipassana meditation center. We eat breakfast at 6:30 and then lunch at 12. I was eating apples and bananas at 5pm for the first 3 days but it was causing digestion problems so on Day 4 until the end of my stay at the center I was only drinking green tea at 5pm.
I didn't exercise at all during those 10 days and walking just a little bit, but didn't notice any loss of lean mass, and no difference of bodyfat due to fasting. I was eating a lot though, at breakfast and lunch.
I think I'll keep on with something similar, but about 15 hours fasting per day, and only raw food after noon, last meal at 5pm. If I eat later in the evening it will be only vegetables, salads, or cucumbers, etc...

[Ruz]

Just a side note...fasting may not be possible for someone living in a very hot climate. Recently its been over 44 degrees here in cordoba and I have had really low blood pressure when fasting with so much heat. I will have to leave the fasting until it gets a little cooler

[beforewisdom]

Just a side note...fasting may not be possible for someone living in a very hot climate. Recently its been over 44 degrees here in cordoba and I have had really low blood pressure when fasting with so much heat. I will have to leave the fasting until it gets a little cooler

Of course, by 44 degrees, you mean Celsius........you metric using communist!

[Linanil]

I hope it is ok to resurrect this thread. Is anyone doing this currently? I was reading a blog I found somewhere in my search on this forum and it explained how fasting works scientifically. Although that blog hadn't been updated in a while so I was looking for more information. Are there any books that you guys would recommend? The ones on Amazon seem to promote a high meat diet.

[lobsteriffic]

Leangains.com isn't updated that frequently, but when he DOES post it is usually a really high quality post, I love that site.

I'm doing IF right now. I find it works pretty well for me. I lift at my lunch break 3x a week - I take some BCAA's beforehand and then eat a large lunch afterwards, which is my first meal of the day. I never thought I would be able to lift on an empty stomach, but I've made some great strength gains.

I don't think xjohanx or cubby post much anymore, which is too bad because they were really knowledgeable about IF.

[Linanil]

So what time is your last meal? I might start switching to lunch time workouts although currently, I workout in the evening. My biggest issue is I haven't been able to lose weight and even though i'm about 60 lbs overweight, I decided to try to stop stressing about weight loss. Then my appetite took off and my normal portioned meals weren't cutting it. I figure if I eat 2 larger meals, it might be better for me.

[lobsteriffic]

Usually I eat lunch at 12:30 PM or so. If I'm hungry in the afternoon I will have a protein shake around 3 pm. Then I eat dinner around 6:30. So my big meals are lunch and dinner. I go to bed pretty early, so evening hunger isn't really an issue for me.

If I eat smaller meals throughout the day I never feel satisfied.

[MaryStella]

kool to see this thread up again. i am not a strict IFer but I basically eat dinner around 6 at night and then don't eat again until after my morning workout around 7 or 8. I find it works for me.

[Linanil]

I read over leangains.com this weekend and I did find it useful, especially the post where he breaks down the various IF plans. I'm thinking this is something that would work for me.

[Nicholas_Weir]

This thread has officially been bumped!

[multipass]

doing a day of wheat grass/green juice fasting every week or 2 is very beneficial for your digestive track. give it a rest, as most of us never give it a break.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzbAxwBguFY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZgOIMbJUVA

[vegansludge]

Leangains.com isn't updated that frequently, but when he DOES post it is usually a really high quality post, I love that site.

Definitely not vegan but you might also want to check out http://www.thespartanwarrior.com. Dan is a big supporter of IF/IIFYM and is extremely knowledgeable about IF/IIFYM and debunking bro-science when it comes to nutrition. He also keeps his own training log online (tswlog.tumblr.com) so you can see how he utilizes these concepts himself.

I've gotten back into IF the last week or so after not being able to make it work once I started having two jobs, not sure if I'll keep up with it again since I'm recomping before I start bulking and I can't imagine trying to slam 1,200 calories in one meal (I'm a food-weakling still) but I can honestly say IF rules.