intermittent fasting for 8:30-5'ers

[mrsym0r]

I've read enough testimonies of the intermittent fasting plan to believe there's probably something to it. I'd like to drop my winter pudge, and want to give IF a crack, but are unsure how to fit it around work - most people say they train fasted in the mornings, this isn't really an option for me. I've heard of people who simply take two days fasted, from say 7:00PM until 7:00PM the following day. Has anyone tried this with any success?

[Phedder]

I'm assuming you usually train after work then? You don't have to train fasted. You could eat lunch as normal, have a small meal around 4-5, train after work and then have your PWO feast.

[tomsammce]

2x 24 hour periods per week without any food?

Lol bro that's totally unnessercery

[Kiwijuice]

Wtf is the point, the rest of the population manages to lose weight just fine without doing anything stupid like that, why not just exercise more and eat healthier ?

[Phedder]

Wtf is the point, the rest of the population manages to lose weight just fine without doing anything stupid like that, why not just exercise more and eat healthier ?

Some do, some don't. It's no magic fix, it still requires the same effort in training and diet. For some it makes it easier to manage cravings and hunger on the lower calorie intake for weight loss. Instead of spreading meager portions through the day, they get larger, more satisfying portions less often. We've had these debates more than enough times, feel free to go resurrect any of those.

mrsym0r, the 2 separate full days of fasting is Brad Pilons Eat Stop Eat methodology, I've never tried this or read much into it but if you google for some discussions on the protocol I'm sure you'll find some useful information and testimonials. From my understanding you eat as normal for 5 days of the week, and fast for the 2 other days, with at least 48 hours in between the fasts. They should be rest days, and these fasting days will be what creates your caloric deficit. So on training days you can eat at maintenance, or probably slightly higher to best maintain muscle and strength, and let the fasting days help you drop fat.

[tomsammce]

Im sorry but thats just ridiculous lol

[Ninja]

Im sorry but thats just ridiculous lol

Strong agree here

Just eat a little less and exercise more no need to starve yourself

[bbingprincess]

Im sorry but thats just ridiculous lol

Strong agree here

Just eat a little less and exercise more no need to starve yourself

this fasting fad is stupid. Eat healthy and exercise like has been said.

Its calories in vs calories out.

[maccaz]

yeah fasting seems like an excuse for people who can't control themselves eating normally spacing meals out through the day, so starve themselves afterwards. but of course some people swear by it so each to their own.

[crazyfacials]

One thing I've seen is a lot of muslims do the fasting thing too during Ramadan and 9/10 they just get fatter during the month

[Deez]

I've been doing IF for almost 2 years (way before it caught fire in the fitness community)..also not wanting a gold medal for it. Prior to that I was a proponent of 6 meals a day for 10 years...so i might know a little tiny bit about each method.

Both work so there you go. Easy. But with IF you don't need to starve yourself, that's extreme. All you need to do to simplify IF is shift your breakfast to later in the day, say 1pm so breakfast becomes like a brunch of whatever you call it. Train fasted if you can but stick to the same approach over a consistent basis. Don't f*ck with it and do 24hr fasts if you're new to IF. Get a solid 3 months under you with an IF protocol first.

[jacked]

i know someone whos doing this way of fasting to loose weight but not eating for 2 days is not something hes doing. hes fasting from 10pm at night till 11am next day and then starts eating his meals with window breaks. starving wont get u anywhere. eat healthy and train with lots of cardio and proper form of lifting

[Bruce L]

I heard doing a 2-3 day fast with a multi vit is good for detoxing your body. No energy is used for digesting.

[cruxis]

Not eating for 24 hours is not starvation. Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamins, malnutrition. There is no such thing as "starvation mode" from fasting for such a small amount of time.

But the end its still comes down to cals in vs cals out.

Intermittent fasting works becuase your in a calorie deficit. So is eating 6 small meals if they are in calorie deficit too.

Fasting more than 24 hours gives diminishing returns. So I would not do that.

[Phedder]

Good posts Deez and Cruxis :nod:

Just to clarify to those of you saying it's ridiculous, the other method he mentioned isn't 2 whole days of fasting back to back, it's 2 separate 24 hour fasting periods. Say Wednesday and Sunday, eat as normal the rest of the week. 24 hours without food is not starvation, it just helps create the calorie deficit. Same principles of conventional dieting still apply.

I really don't understand the resistance to fasting, no one's saying you all should do it. It makes dieting easier for some people, how's that a bad thing? Adherence is key for any diet, so if someone's more likely to fail on many meals spread through the day, why wouldn't fasting be a better alternative if they're more likely to adhere to it, and thus more likely to succeed.

[tomsammce]

We know it's not 2x 24hr periods back to back... No one said it was.

24 hrs without any kind of food except water might be alright for u buddy who sits in a Uni lecture all day drifting off to sleep... Some of us are in the real world.

24 hrs without food is rediculous.

[Phedder]

24 hrs without any kind of food except water might be alright for u buddy who sits in a Uni lecture all day drifting off to sleep... Some of us are in the real world.

I don't and have never tried the 24 hour fasts, furthest I've pushed it is 20 hours or so but I usually stick to the 16 leangains style. I don't drift off to sleep either, one of the main advantages for me is being more awake and mentally alert. When I eat breakfast, I get tired and groggy. Without it I'm fine. Many others who use fasting find the same. My degree also involves plenty of practical work, especially in the exercise physiology labs. Trust me I've done plenty of 'hard work' while in a fasted state. Why would the 'real world' change things, most of the real world sit at a bloody desk all day

I really don't see how any of this is relevant though, my point remains the same. For some people, this is a better option due to how they respond. For others, obviously it's not. Why is it so hard to understand that?

Care to explain why you think 24 hours without food is ridiculous, instead of just repeating yourself?

[jacked]

We know it's not 2x 24hr periods back to back... No one said it was.

24 hrs without any kind of food except water might be alright for u buddy who sits in a Uni lecture all day drifting off to sleep... Some of us are in the real world.

24 hrs without food is rediculous.

strong agree \:D/

tbh, not going against the whole fasting therapy way. but not consuming food for 24 hours is honestly painful to the body more than anything.

[tomsammce]

What good is going to come out of it?

What exactly are you hoping for, fat loss or a dollar a day?

[BarBrother]

Training and eating used to be pretty simple..

What the f*ck happened?

Not rubbishing the fasted approach as dont know much about it but sometimes (not all the time) i think people look for a way to complicate eating and training so it distracts from the fact that at the end of the day its going to be hard fucking work.

Im sure the fasted approach works for some but it is probably the exception to the rule rather than the rule (not saying 6 meals a day is gold standard either).

Make a plan and stick to it.

[trainlikeafreak]

intermitted fasting is stupid..why would u want to slow ur metabolism down?

[flexraid]

most people that got onto IF and enjoy using it has also done the 5-7 small meals a day. i don't know how other people have their eating structure but i still eat 6 small meals a day within 8 hours and it works fine for me. your body adapts to the new style within a week and your sussed. none of this tired as shit all day feeling. don't hate on IF simply because its the easy thing to do. at the end of the day what has people doing If have to do with you? you don't like it? sweet that's your opinion, but that doesn't make it any less effective.

[Phedder]

at the end of the day its going to be hard fucking work.

Make a plan and stick to it.

Key points here. As I said earlier, typical dieting principles still apply. Although I'd actually suggest fasting is pretty simple...Don't eat for a while, then eat a lot. Less food preparation, less thinking about food, less time eating, seems simpler to me.

intermitted fasting is stupid..why would u want to slow ur metabolism down?

Seriously :doh: You brought this up in the meal timing thread and it was debunked. Intermittent fasting does not slow down your metabolism, sure if you fast for longer than 72 hours or so, but not the 16-24 hours that is regularly practiced. Either back up your statement with some hard evidence, or stop spouting this bullshit broscience. Baseless claims.

[Riccardo]

Lol Intermittent fasting doesn't slow your metabolism Down. Saying so is stupid. Strong bro science.

[Riccardo]

I'm a strong supporter of IF but I think full day fasts aren't a good idea. Your body runs basically on a 24 hour clock. What you do in that 24 hours is important. There is some leeway from day to day to a certain extent you can make up for lost calories or cut back for eextra calories consumed on a day you went a little crazy but it wouldn't be a good idea to base your entire diet around this.

As for Ramadan the whole IF approach is backed up by data showing improved lipid profiles fat loss and body composition in fasting Muslims.