Trying to make IF work

[jimmybro1]

Thanks Riccado but I think your wasting your efforts here.

[DCYPL]

Thanks Riccado but I think your wasting your efforts here.

Why?

[FellowshipOfTheRon]

jimmy i agree with you but you are wasting your time arguing here. most of the people who flock on to IF (it went viral some time last year i think thanks to hodgetwins) are newbies and don't want anything to do with counting calories... for some people it's working simply because there is less snacking through the day. others just because they've committed themselves to a regiment that when they finally do eat, they are a little more careful in what they indulge in.

whatever it is, it generally works for at least a little while. once it stops working, they can come back to the diet section and learn more about calories in vs out.

DCYPL just because you are working out fasted doesn't mean all the activities you do are fueled by your fat stores. most likely you are just using up glycogen stores

Yip just flogging a dead horse apparently

Are you two for real? Have you even read about IF or what it does? Firstly, IF is not just about eating with an 8 hour fast, it still requires you to be in calorie deficit to lose weight, so people who do IF properly do it counting calories, IF doesn't dispute calories in vs calories out. I suggest you do some searching on the previous threads last year and read through them.

Secondly, the benefit of IF, as you obviously haven't read through the science behind it, is increased fat loss and muscle retention due to the muscle sparring and fat loss benefits of increased growth hormone secretion. Fasting is probably one of the most powerful stimulators of GH release. There are other hormones in play here also but I can't be bothered giving a lecture so go read up on leptin, GH, cortsiol and the hormonal entrainment of meal patterning on the leangains blog. Further to this, many people can't eat breakfast in the early morning, it makes them sluggish and they feel like crap. Some people even get incredibly nauseous, this of course is individual but even those who don't, more often than not, report feeling more awake, alert, have more energy and can better focus on tasks during the day. It's also really convenient not having to eat every 5 minutes and enjoy large meals at the end of the day and going to bed feeling really full.

For the first few weeks it can be tough adjusting but once your satiety hormone secretion profiles adjust, you're away flying. Trainings aren't really affected at all either and many report being stronger, while being on a calorie deficit.

Lastly, the Hodge twins did not invent IF, it's been around long before them, they are just some random dudes who tried it and made a youtube channel about it. IF has been around in the scientific community longer than the Hodge twins.

EDIT: re; your comments about glycogen, yes glycogen is used up as energy, but it is used up as energy eating 6,8,12,24 meals a day also. I don't get your point? Glycogen can only fuel so much of your daily activity, at some point it will be replenished and at some point the rest of your energy expenditure throughout the day has to come from somewhere else, it can't be created from nothing can it? (The first law of thermodynamics).

1) we agree that it requires a caloric deficit to work properly, that is the point we were arguing in the first place. brb going to read up all about hormonal system, leptin, GH, coritisol all that good stuff, brb still getting fat on IF because in 2k caloric excess.. not saying OP is in that much of an excess but he has expressed disinterest in finding that figure out. i really don't think jimmy was so out of place for suggesting he count the cals a little. it's so easy but meh, for some people it takes some time to come around to it and some never do and just jump to the next 'it thing'.

2) no one said hodgetwins invented it, i just suggested they may have been responsible for last years huge surge in IF related discussion among all fitness forums as well as youtube fitness channels (viral manner). there was no intention to discredit or credit anyone for the creation of IF. just stating that because of the viral impact, this is most likely a lot of peoples first attempt at a food regiment. the point there was actually to jimmy, stating that the new guys jumping on IF don't care about calories and just expect a bit of magic out of nothing.. the couple theories i listed are just assumptions at best of why those aforementioned individuals may still experience results

3) yes i agree, my point about glycogen was indeed pointless :pfft:

Thanks Riccado but I think your wasting your efforts here.

Why?

ain't nobody got time for real science

[DCYPL]

ain't nobody got time for real science

IF makes you cooked out, you can snap a girls neck like a pencil stick...

then get to the gym and SMASH, SMASH, SHAYISH!

[vracula]

It still is a calorie in vs calorie's out game

IF preety much tells the nutrient timing theory to go f*ck itself that's all.

[Android]

It still is a calorie in vs calorie's out game

IF preety much tells the nutrient timing theory to go f*ck itself that's all.

How? by having its own timings.....like EMOs who hate the establishment and conformity yet, all conform to the darkside look :pfft: okkkkay

People who achieve great results on IF is all that matters, if it works then awesome! Not sure having to prove it through studies is required, IF it works it works.

I will say, the whole "my energy levels go up" is a bit old, mine go up as well when I lose bodyfat....that's normal on any "diet"

Srs question...any true non-enhanced people on IF gaining above normal muscle mass? Doesn't matter, just keen to know IF it works for natty BBers holding decent amount of mass.

[Pseudonym]

OK, I’ve been promising this for ages, so finally...

Here are my thoughts on Intermittent Fasting.

First of all, I’m not claiming that IF is the best way to put on muscle, or even to just get lean. However, it has both pros and cons – and for me, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages.

I started IF after seeing the changes in a friend who was on it. He was eating huge amounts of crap and still getting leaner. The convenience factor of IF appealed too, so I thought I’d give it a go.

My results were okay, but not quite as spectacular as my friend’s. I’m not sure why that is. (He was coming from an endomorph-mesomorph body type, and I know a lot of the big proponents of IF are the same. Perhaps these people respond better to IF than ectomorphs like myself? I don’t know – it’s just a wild theory of mine.)

Having said that, I was measured at 9% body fat – and that was without any real effort at dieting... the odd icecream, burger, chips, etc were all part of the diet. I think that my caloric level (or should I say, perceived caloric level) on a regular 6-meal diet would probably have me sitting at 12-14%.

So after playing around a bit, and looking at various theories including carb backloading, here’s what I’m currently doing...

I fast all day. Other than a splash of milk in my coffee, no other calories are consumed.

I finish work sometime after 6 and get to the gym about 6.30ish. I had experimented with meals beforehand, but currently I’m doing my workout fasted. This means that when I do eat post-workout, because I’m coming from a fasted state, I get a steeper blood sugar spike, which produces a larger insulin response, which pushes more nutrients into the muscle and boosts the metabolism. I find that insulin spike is enough to put me to sleep (which is another reason I’ve stopped doing it at work).

I have my post-workout shake with several heaped tablespoons of brown sugar. Right now, high blood sugar and insulin are my friends.

My next meal also contains carbs, a shitload of protein and – ideally – low fat. I find carbs are good in the first couple of hours post-workout, but after that they seem to hinder fatloss a bit. So I taper them off, and increase the fat a little instead.

So what’s the benefit of IF?

For me, the biggest thing is convenience. Having recently started a new job with longer hours, I was really struggling to fit work, gym and forum admin into the day. Preparing tomorrow’s 6 meals was just too much. I also felt guilty about constantly eating at work. IF means I cook two or three big meals instead of six, and my schedule means I can eat them all at home. It saves me money and time.

Strength – haven’t noticed as much of a drop as you’d expect. After the initial acclimatisation to IF, I think a lot of it’s just mind over matter.

Appearance – because of the massive glycogen uptake resulting from the insulin spike, muscles actually appear bigger and fuller. Certainly not the flat, depleted look that so often comes with traditional dieting. The downside is that carbs make me quite soft, and on a no-carb diet I appear much harder. I’m still playing around with the type of carbs on IF to see if I can find a way to get the best of both worlds.

Muscle growth – hard for me to say how IF compares here, because I’d pretty much hit my limits (at least, as far as my genetics and commitment level could take me), and so naturally growth had been quite slow anyway. It feels like I’ve been growing on IF, but that may just the glycogen size. So given that, I would say it’s probably creating a damn good environment for growth. I certainly haven’t wasted away.

Hunger / Energy – again, it’s all in your mind. I get the occasional 10-second pang of hunger, but it passes almost instantly. Energy levels are fine (or would be if I got more sleep, but that’s not the diet’s fault!)

I’m sure I had more pearls of IF wisdom to impart, but this is all I can think of now. In a nutshell – IF works for me. It may or may not work for you. The only way to know is to try it.

[Cameron_R]

I fast all day. Other than a splash of milk in my coffee, no other calories are consumed.

I finish work sometime after 6 and get to the gym about 6.30ish.

What time do you stop eating each night?

[Pseudonym]

Whenever I go to bed - when usually seems to be around 12ish. :doh:

One thing I forgot to mention was increased vascularity. I'm not usually vascular at all - even when competition-lean. But on IF, I see a lot more veins (by which I mean, "some" ) - particularly with a carb meal pre-workout. IF definitely seems to do interesting things to glycogen storage.

[Cameron_R]

Whenever I go to bed - when usually seems to be around 12ish. :doh:

One thing I forgot to mention was increased vascularity. I'm not usually vascular at all - even when competition-lean. But on IF, I see a lot more veins (by which I mean, "some" ) - particularly with a carb meal pre-workout. IF definitely seems to do interesting things to glycogen storage.

Ta.

On the topic of vascularity: I always assumed I am not vascular because I am not big enough, but over Xmas I noticed a couple people who are long distance athletes who are skinny as a rake, but are vascular as hell. Got me thinking WTF not me?

I read this in Experiments with Intermittent Fasting by Dr. John M. Berardi with Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon and Nate Green

"On vascularity and blood pressure/ volume

When you see someone who’s very lean, but not vascular, it means one of two things: either they’re cold and blood is being shunted to their core to preserve their core temperature, or their blood volume and blood pressure have dropped, usually due to a low carbohydrate intake and low body fluid levels.

In the past when I dieted hard and got very lean using lower carbohydrate diets, my blood pressure would drop down. (I used to do research with a cardiovascular medicine group and used ambulatory blood pressure monitors to measure this. My lowest recorded blood pressure was 75/35.) During those days, if I wanted to appear more vascular, I’d have to eat a bunch of carbohydrates,

add sodium to my diet, and drink more water. Do that, and voilà: blood pressure pops up to 110/70 and you get instant vascularity."

The effects of Blood Volume and the cold I get, but isn't low blood pressure supposed to be a good thing for health!?!?

[vracula]

It still is a calorie in vs calorie's out game

IF preety much tells the nutrient timing theory to go f*ck itself that's all.

How? by having its own timings.....like EMOs who hate the establishment and conformity yet, all conform to the darkside look :pfft: okkkkay

It's easier to plan 3 meals than 6 meals that's really the whole crux of it.There is no timing involved.There is nothing magical about it,It's simple to follow that's why people like it.