Intermittent Fasting discussion thread!!

[RickRock13]

I've been receiving a lot of PMs lately on how to properly set up an intermittent fasting diet, and a lot of other related questions pertaining to it, so I thought I would throw this thread up so everything can be discussed and more questions can be answered.

I've been doing this diet for a good amount of time now, and had quite a bit of success with it. I've used it for purposes of cutting fat, adding muscle, and even doing both at the same time. I'm not a fan of using the words "cutting" or "bulking". I simply adjust my calories accordingly to shift emphasis one way or the other towards adding muscle or cutting fat.

I am not the go to expert in this area, by any means but I can certainly help out most people with questions they may have. I know there are also a lot of others out there that follow this same protocol, and their input is also welcomed in here as well so as many people can benefit (including myself) as possible.

I will try to Copy and paste information from around the web when I see need to from time to time. I have got a lot of my info, and the real start to my interest in intermittent fasting from using Martin Berkhans "lean gains" protocol, though I have incorporated a lot of my own input into making it "my own" and I have come up with a plan that seems to work best for me that way. That is the best way to use intermittent fasting in my honest opinion. Tailor it into your specific schedule to best suit your lifestyle, and it will do great things for you as long as you stick to the basic principles in which make it so great and effective.

So feel free to ask any and all questions you may have on IF, and let's get some good discussion going!

 

[shirlene29]

what do you think of stop eat stop (or is it eat stop eat) in comparison?
and what macro ratio do you (personally) incorporate for IF?

 

[Mh48500]

Im in. Ive been doing IF for 3 or 4 weeks and have really liked the results. I was initially trying to add as much weight as possible, I got up to around 230lbs(6ft 2) but just didnt like the way I looked. I went to the beach and when I saw the pictures I didnt like the BF%. Anyways I started IF and kept my calories around 3500-4000 and I have lost a good amount of body fat. I actually dropped weight but think I look a lot better. Im sitting around 219 with a small waist, no six pack yet but gettng there.

I would still like to add a little weight, keeping body fat as low as possible. My question is that I am having a hard time fitting more meals into an 8 hour window, and so how do I add the right calories? It is already hard enough to eat the 5 meals I do, and I am not moving up. I have tried to front load my first meal, eat upwards of 1200-1300 calories the 1st meal. But by the 3rd meal, I feel I have to work to put the last 2 down.

Thanks and look forward to your thoughts.

 

[mad4training]

IF is really effective, I love it. I fast from 4pm to 8am next morning. Have shredded my abdominal fat. In conjunction with paleo, recovery and body composition and health has never been better. Reading iv done suggests it's favourable for metabolism, growth hormone secretion and insulin sensitivity. Highly recommend for competitive athletes in speed strength disciplines and also for cutting.

 

[shirlene29]

Martin posted an interesting article on breakfast recently...
what intrigued me is I'm never hungry in the morning anyway and if I ever forced myself to eat in the morning I would be ravenous for several hours and way over eat.
I got sick of being told you HAD to eat breakfast and you HAD to space out 6 eats a day when this just made me overeat and feel like crap whenever I did it...
I stopped telling people when I actually ate because I was tired of broscience when I knew something just wasn't right for me with it.

The flaw I have with his latest write up however is he contends people that have great insulin response are affected by this breakfast phenomenon... I was and am inclined to be insulin resistant

 

[muscleaddiction]

Yeah, I am gearing up to start IF again to try and drop some more bodyfat...just have to write up my plan and goals (calories, weight I want to be at, etc) and give it a go again. I did it while on a SARMs cycle a month or so ago, and I truly did feel much better during it.

Planning is key with IF, prepare your meals ahead of time, make sure you have plenty of BCAAs (I like a few products for this...Powerchews BCAA for on the go immediate BCAA with no need for water, Gear (when it is back in stock) for pre & post workout, and Modern BCAAs to sip in my water during the fasting portion of my IF. I also utilize need2slin for my carbohydrate meals as well...and prior to my fasted cardio.

It is somewhat challenging to get all of your calories in an 8 hour period because it seems that is all you do for 8 hours, but having meals prepared, knowing your schedule for the day makes it easy to figure out what food will be the most convenient to pack...for instance my first meal after my fast I am usually in the office, which is around noon, so I have a microwave accessible. But when I am out in the field in the afternoon, or in a meeting, I will need to pack something that doesn't require reheating such as tuna or a mixed green salad with chicken on top...baslamic & olive oil dressing of course, or even a protein shake with a handful of almonds (or one of my homemade organic protein bars ). IF (no pun intended) you prepare in advance and put thought into how you can achieve getting in all the required calories and macros in your 8 hour period, then you will have great success.

Water...water...water! Make sure you drink your water! Very important to stay hydrated and during the fasting time due to it helps you feel full, so the hunger feeling is tolerable. Also required for burning fat, metabolism, and shuttling the nutrients from your food into the muscles for growth...I think everybody knows this.

Man I am getting excited again! Thanks Rick for starting this thread, I will check back in here after I start back up to get ideas and or just see how others are doing and offer some insight as well.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using EliteFitness

 

[themondtster]

Subbed for info. I've been doing a slight fast every day and notice it helps. Won't eat for 12-14 hours after my last meal of the day.

 

[RickRock13]

what do you think of stop eat stop (or is it eat stop eat) in comparison?
and what macro ratio do you (personally) incorporate for IF?

I've used and incorporated some principles from Eat, stop, eat which is basically ADF (alternate day fasting) I believe, but I'm still not familiar with all the ins and outs of that protocol. I'm still planning on picking that book up at some point and learning more on that specific style of IF

My macros that I'm currently doing on intermittent fasting are pretty similar year round. There is a slight shift one way or the other on surpluses and deficits, but I always eat an over maintenance surplus on workout days and I always eat a defective on cardio or rest days.

Currently I'm sitting at about 3200 cals on workout days with 250-300g of protein and 250-300g of carbs

On cardio or rest days I have kept cals under 2k, and often times as little as 1500. Protein is always at least 200g these days and usually closer to 250g and carbs are kept usually very low at under 50g typically.

I never really count fats, but my fat intake is low on cardio/rest days and moderate on workout days

 

[RickRock13]

Im in. Ive been doing IF for 3 or 4 weeks and have really liked the results. I was initially trying to add as much weight as possible, I got up to around 230lbs(6ft 2) but just didnt like the way I looked. I went to the beach and when I saw the pictures I didnt like the BF%. Anyways I started IF and kept my calories around 3500-4000 and I have lost a good amount of body fat. I actually dropped weight but think I look a lot better. Im sitting around 219 with a small waist, no six pack yet but gettng there.

I would still like to add a little weight, keeping body fat as low as possible. My question is that I am having a hard time fitting more meals into an 8 hour window, and so how do I add the right calories? It is already hard enough to eat the 5 meals I do, and I am not moving up. I have tried to front load my first meal, eat upwards of 1200-1300 calories the 1st meal. But by the 3rd meal, I feel I have to work to put the last 2 down.

Thanks and look forward to your thoughts.

There is no need to put that many meals in on IF. Your fast breaker meal is recommended to be your biggest meal. I usually go with around 60% of my total cals for the day in that meal and will have as much as 2k in that sitting with 120-150g protein and 150g carbs (on workout days). I actually prefer 2-3 meals a day. Usually it's 3 meals on workout days and 2 on non-workout days

 

[RickRock13]

IF is really effective, I love it. I fast from 4pm to 8am next morning. Have shredded my abdominal fat. In conjunction with paleo, recovery and body composition and health has never been better. Reading iv done suggests it's favourable for metabolism, growth hormone secretion and insulin sensitivity. Highly recommend for competitive athletes in speed strength disciplines and also for cutting.

Yes, IF is great for overall health as well as all those other things you've mentioned. It's been a complete lifestyle change for me, and the payback has been huge