Intermittent fasting

[cubby2112]

IYM - Yes, I am doing it as an experiment, but also because I feel great during the fast. I figure so long as I get some post workout nutrition in, I should be just fine.

Johan and anyone else interested - I found those studies veganmaster posted about fasting and intermittent fasting. Here is a link to his post on his blog about fasting. He lists a bunch of studies and links to them at the bottom. I haven't gone through it myself, but will probably get around to it tomorrow. I hope there is some good information in it.
http://veganmaster.blogspot.com/2008/08/postabsorptive-metabolism-from-fasting.html#links

[cubby2112]

I read through the studies. The only one of much interest at all to IF is the first study veganmaster cites. It just shows the shift that occurs from glycogen usage to fat oxidation, as people go longer and longer without food. I can't wait until the Lean Gains book come out. There will likely be many studies in there to look at.

[xjohanx]

I can't wait until the Lean Gains book come out. There will likely be many studies in there to look at.

Same here. I bet it will be awesome

[cubby2112]

An update: I've noticed the past couple of days how much I am leaning out. My abs are popping pretty well already. I am still aiming for the same number of calories as when I was bulking, and have not increased my cardio. It could be due to the extra walking (lots of extra) that I am doing in Chicago, or IF. I think it is a combination. I don't end up munching on nuts at the end of a meal now, thanks to IF, so I think that helps a lot.

[lobsteriffic]

Hmm...the more I read this thread the more it makes me want to try out IF. But I typically work out first thing in the AM and I'm not sure I could eat all of my meals during the first part of the day and then eat nothing around dinner time since that's when I usually cook and sit down with the husband and etc. I might try and do something like Mary and just try not eating after dinner and working out in the AM on an empty stomach. I don't take BCAA's or EAA's though, should I take some of those before I workout? I don't know much about them or what the difference is between the two. I tried Googling it but that just confused me more as I found pages discussing the two and pros and cons and it wasn't clear which one was better. Sorry for my newbie questions.

[MaryStella]

That is one of the reasons I use my slow cooker so I can easily eat when the get home and be done with it all rather quickly and onto other things. I am usually hungry when I get home too so I want to eat then and not wait for things to be ready. IF you try it out let me know what you think.

[lobsteriffic]

This weekend I really need to get my act in gear and pull out the slow cooker. It sounds like it makes life so much simpler!

[cubby2112]

It would be difficult to follow IF with morning workouts. Just skipping dinner might do the trick, if you can manage that.

Johan uses isolated amino acids before and I think after workouts. The Leangains guy recommends using them. Basically, what is nice about isolated AAs is that your body absorbs them quickly, since they are already broken down. They are great pre-workout.

[soulrage25]

I have a few questions on this topic of IF. I have injuries from the military mainly. Scar tissue in my left chest muscle, falling arches so I wear foot levelers insoles, my right hip rotated slightly and never healed right so I literally lean slightly to the right, right collar bone lower than the left, and a stressed left knee from leaning to the right. The point I am getting at is until I can get starightened out, literally, would Intermittent Fasting be something I could do since I am not very active to help keep off extra pounds? Does my age matter either? I am a 27 year old male, five foot four approximately 145 pounds, work full time, and do farm work with light workouts. A workout for me is a few reps of low weight just to maintain being and looking somewhat fit.
I have been vegan for almost two months now.
Thanks,
Brian

[cubby2112]

I think it would do a lot to help you keep weight off. I have been a fan of consuming fewer meals for awhile, since I started following Dr. Fuhrman full on. Skipping breakfast and having all your meals later in the day really does help keep your caloric intake down. Eating smaller ones just makes you want more. So, if you find yourself munching food a lot because you are not satisfied, IF will definitely be a help.

About your hip problem: I had the same problem and went to doctors and physical therapists for a long time, but they couldn't do a thing. They were ready to give me injections for the rest of my life to control the pain. I then went to a chiropractor on someone's suggestion, and he fixed me right up, with a series of visits. I am not saying that doctors and physical therapists are worthless, it is just that if you have a bone out of alignment, especially in the spine, a chiropractor will be better suited to fixing you.

[soulrage25]

Wow, I was not expecting to get a response so thanks! Well, I have actually been seeing a chiropractor and as time goes by, I am needing less and less adjustments. When I lie on my back and do scissor kicks, I still have popping in my right hip even after all these adjustments. What would be another step to figure out what is going on?
I was told to do exercises that specifically work the back side of the shoulders to strengthen everything, and then I can throw in harder workouts. I still don't know what to do about the scar tissue in my left pectoral muscle. It is by my arm pit.
The foot levelers insoles help but my arches will probably never go back to normal. I suppose for my knees I could do some kind of upper leg workout. Know any good upper leg exercises that are not hard on the knees?
Back to the intermittent fasting, lets say I have a light breakfast since I get hungry in the morning, then the rest of the day just listen to my body and eat only if I am hungry? I compliment what I eat with a Rice protein shake for breakfast and supper.
Thanks,
Brian

[cubby2112]

Following your hunger and eating substantial meals will help a lot. I dropped my body fat quite a lot by doing just that.

Depending on how bad your knees are, you could start with light front squats. Front squats allow you to sit back into a squat more, and therefor put less pressure on your knees. Going below (or above, if below doesn't work for you) parallel also helps, since your knees are most vulnerable right at parallel. Romanian deadlifts are great for your hams and glutes, but don't involve knee flexion or extension. If your chiro practices sports medicine at all, or if you know a physical therapist, I would ask one of them about exercises to use. They can look at the condition of your knees and give you a better idea.

As far as what to do about your hips, the popping may be the bones slipping from stretched tendons, ligaments, etc. I don't really know for sure. Just stick with your adjustments. The chiropractor should know best in this area.

[lobsteriffic]

Thanks for the reply above, Cubby - it was helpful.

[xjohanx]

Following your hunger is a great start. The thing with IF is that your hunger signals acctually adjusts if you change your meal pattern, it takes about 3-7 days for most people. And I think it's easier to control your calories if you acctually do the 8 hour feeding window strict and not eat a small breakfast and/or small night snack etc. The most popular way to do IF is by simply skipping breakfast and make lunch the first meal of the day, which means start eating at atound 12. You can then have a light snack if you feel like it or just have dinner at around 7 since the "window" ends at 8.
If you really want to try this I would recommend skipping breakfast (most people acctually enjoys this and feel more focused on the afternoon etc). As I said it takes some time to adjust but 3-7 days is nothing really. Drink hot calorie free beverages in the morning, like coffee or tea instead. It helps a lot the first days.

[soulrage25]

Today I skipped breakfast and had a huge vegan burrito from Chipotle around 11:45 AM. I feel pretty good actually. I may try this more and more. I do have Red Tea which is caffeine free but all the benefits of green tea so that may work for breakfast.
Thanks for the info on the exercises. I will try doing some light squats on my crossbow machine. I will also look more into the hip problem and find out about specific exercises for that and for my knees. Mainly it is the left knee.