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Intermittent fasting


xjohanx
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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!!

hhttp://ttp://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.

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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.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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...

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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

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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!

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  • 8 months later...

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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  • 8 months later...
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.

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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.

 

 

I absolutely agree 100%, that is a BLOODY GOOD SITE!!!

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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.

 

 

I absolutely agree 100%, that is a BLOODY GOOD SITE!!!

 

Dan completely changed my perspective on nutrition, lifting, and myself. It sounds so silly but I really look up to him. And Nate Green as well as this other guy who posts on Bodybuilding.com and logs on Fitocracy - Erik Stevens. All of whom are really inspirational and rad dudes.

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Im another IF'er, have been for close to a month now. I train at 630am and eat from 1200 to 2100. Meals are 2 x 1200 calorie feasts + a large smoothie and nuts. Works out to be 3800 calories. I currently don't cycle my calories but as my weight gain appears to have stalled (which at 160ish bodyweight I do not understand!) I am looking to try and eat more on workout days... I also take 10g of BCAA pre workout, 8am and 10am.

 

Oh and I love this way of eating!

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  • 2 months later...

Hi VBBers,

 

This is my first week on Leangains. So far so good - I'm not getting too many hunger pangs/discomfort and my first meal breaking the fast always feels AWESOME! I am full and satisfied for hours, and my fasted workouts are great - I feel really strong.

 

Getting enough protein for the day is surprisingly easy, but I'm running into trouble with the amount of carbs - especially on my Rest days. I worked with a friend who was successful on LG to develop appropriate starting macros for myself, and they put me at only 50g carbs on a Rest day. Even if I endeavored to get all of my protein from just tofu, I'm still going to go over my carb allotment for the day. Either that or I'll be drinking a ton of protein shakes!

 

Wondering if anyone here can give me some tips on keeping the Rest day crazy-low in carbs while keeping protein high. I use (and love!) the Vega meal replacement and protein, but obviously want to get as much of my protein as possible from whole foods.

 

Any advice for a newb? I really appreciate it.

 

(If it helps - my complete Rest day macros are 180g protein, 60g fat, 50g carbs. Have yet to figure out some food combos that get me this much protein with this little carbohydrate... looking at a mix of tofu and protein shakes right now.)

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I really love intermittent fasting, I've been doing it for about 2 weeks now but my body is still adjusting and I get hunger pains through the day, usually not bad but today was real 'bad' I think it might have to do with how hard I lifted yesterday and I may need to eat more on lifting days when I lift that hard. IF, cardio, and lifting also might be affecting my metabolism, but I am not sure.

 

I eat from 3PM to 11PM and usually go to bed at 12 or 1 AM, wake up, have tea or coffee, then throughout the day a lot of water, sometimes another cup of tea or coffee. If it's my totally off day I break fast with my biggest meal, about 1,000kcal, then a protein shake, about 400kcal, then a big bowl of oats, about 500, then a smaller protein shake, around 250, and some almonds and an apple between 'meals'

 

On cardio and lifting days I break fast at 3pm with a bit of soy protein because I am too cheap or BCAA, then run 30-45min. Come back and have a protein shake, apple, and some almonds, then my biggest meal, another shake, and a big bowl of oats.

 

I love not having to worry about food throughout the day.

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  • 1 month later...
Intermittent fasting (IF; reduced meal frequency) and caloric restriction (CR) extend lifespan and increase resistance to age-related diseases in rodents and monkeys and improve the health of overweight humans. Both IF and CR enhance cardiovascular and brain functions and improve several risk factors for coronary artery disease and stroke including a reduction in blood pressure and increased insulin sensitivity. Cardiovascular stress adaptation is improved and heart rate variability is increased in rodents maintained on an IF or a CR diet. Moreover, rodents maintained on an IF regimen exhibit increased resistance of heart and brain cells to ischemic injury in experimental models of myocardial infarction and stroke. The beneficial effects of IF and CR result from at least two mechanisms--reduced oxidative damage and increased cellular stress resistance. Recent findings suggest that some of the beneficial effects of IF on both the cardiovascular system and the brain are mediated by brain-derived neurotrophic factor signaling in the brain. Interestingly, cellular and molecular effects of IF and CR on the cardiovascular system and the brain are similar to those of regular physical exercise, suggesting shared mechanisms. A better understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms by which IF and CR affect the blood vessels and heart and brain cells will likely lead to novel preventative and therapeutic strategies for extending health span.

 

Whoops, you've got my attention. Do you have sources to these studies?

I study rodents and am writing a book on updated care for rats, which I'm assuming they tested on.

Infact, whenever y'all come across a study that shows something beneficial or harmful to t rats (or rodents) send it to me plz!

 

And to get this straight, IF is basically eating between a set of hours and then fasting? Is there a specific time of day or something?

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