Intermittent Fasting - Yea or Nay

[Ronin]

I first read about IF on bb.com, in a discussion of the Warrior Diet. The basic premise was that the proponents claimed that they were able to gorge themselves on whatever they felt like for 4 hours (1800 - 2200), then fast for the rest of the day. Naturally, my initial reaction was to laugh it off as a ridiculous idea. However, I've read a lot further on the subject and there seems to be a lot of support for the idea. Of course there is also a lot of resistance to it. The warrior diet is only one example of IF, and it doesn't recomend gorging on pizza, donuts and whatever else claimed in the first discussion I came across.

I'm quite keen to have a crack at this, as I like to experiment with new and varied ideas. Before I do though, I'd invite comment from those members who are able to offer it in a constructive manner. ie I'm not loking for comments like "na thats bullshit, everyone knows you have to ......" If you have experience, research or knowledge, whether pro or con, I'd like to hear it. There appears to be a dearth of reliable knowledge out there, with most of it coming from blogs, and "this is how I did it" websites, due to a shortage of reliable research carried out on human subjects. What research has been performed has been either animal-based, or plagued by questionable methodology and small sample sizes. Doesn't mean it doesn't work, just makes it harder to find reliable research.

I'm currently planning to go for an eating window of 4-5 hours, and combine it with low-carb eating while maintaining a calorie deficit. At this stage I'm thinking I'll try it for 2 weeks and then evaluate. I can't really see this being a long-term plan for me, but it could be a useful tool to pull out from time to time.

Righty-oh, have at it. The floor is yours.

[Chemo]

Hey man just had a read of it. I wouldn't suggest it unless you have good genetics, it looks quite catabolic especially if your hitting the weights hard on a calorie deficit. Why do you want to do this? for strength or weight loss?

If your willing to go through IF you may want to look at Protein deprivation, it's just as crazy with a lil science behind it, its all the rage in the states :roll:

Basically with protein deprivation you shock the body into producing more testosterone to preserve mass. I tried it for a week, and found it incredibly hard to sustain, my body was screaming for food. I think with any serious training you're gonna want to eat often, its just too tiring otherwise.

My suggestion would be to look at keto diets or a good ol meat n veg diet will keep ya trim whilst training. If you end up doing it tell us how it goes, would be interesting to see how it goes.

[rose]

I say yea. However. I can't offer any scientific backing or studies or whatnot cos all I've read is Pman's info.

Catabolic only comes into it when you're a bed ridden vegetable on life support and feeding through a tube or something. Word.

I didn't change what I ate at all (have always been ultra high protein anyway, like 98 octane 8) ). I prefer this method to cycling low cal for example. Squishing it all into a shorter timeframe is more feasty and is an awesome method of fueling up for ME trains =P~

[Ronin]

Chemo, cheers for the input. At this stage I'm looking more towards fat loss, still got a ways to go before I'm happy on that score. As noted in my journal, I've been using keto for a while, and been on the anabolic diet for about 6 months. I've enjoyed good results with it, and found it to be extremely easy to stick to. Like I said, this is just something I want to try, as a bit of an experiment. If it ends up producing the results I need, I'll certainly keep it in the toolbox. If not, I'll have learnt something new.

Rose, similar thought pattern here. Ever since I first heard about high pro/low carb, it's been my preffered way of eating, even before I started training. Originally cos it was an excuse to not eat my greens :pfft: , but hell, the end justifies the means So I plan to eat pretty much the same foods as I have been, just packed into a shorter timeframe. Hopefully that'll free up a bit of time during the day as well lol.

Gotta don my dunce's cap for a second though...ME training?

[cantygirl]

I say, good for you, unless you're prepared to take up the challenge, you'll never know how your body will react.

Im on my second day of no carbs (including veg), never have I had a no veg scenario. Ive been eating low carbs total calorie per day under 1000 but have been in a plateau for 2 weeks. This new eating plan is interesting, abit like Atkins in that fats and protein are it. Most nuts are okay in moderation, scrambled eggs, a little bacon, chicken, salmon, prawns, white fish, plus ive thrown in a low carb protein shake. When I am desparate for some crunch, I get some nuts. In not hungry at all, no gas or side affects.

[Ronin]

Thanks Canty, and good on ya for taking the no carb path. Personally I love it. But did I read that right? Under 1000 cal per day?? Wow.

If you're after some good low-carb recipes, check out http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/recipes.html

[weajo196]

hey ronin its pretty interesting huh, im currently studying my PHD in this sorta stuff. another article i remember reading a wee while back on bb'ing.com was john berardi's "nutrient timing". it might of just been me but i def found it interesting. th whole nutrient timing issue def makes ya think! all the best mate

[rose]

Gotta don my dunce's cap for a second though...ME training?

ME = Max Effort. Westside Barbell etc. I don't do low carb. I just meant I've always done high octane, and continue to now.

The idea of IF (I thought) is to eat a similar amount of calories, but in a shorter timeframe. So you're still getting the calories to support your daily activities. Ask this man, first posted here. I guess if you're not monitoring calories there's the potential to end up eating less etc...

Naw IF = Intermittent Fasting.

The idea is to fast 16 hours and then fit your meals into an 8 hour block of eating. So I skip breakfast and load up on stimulants instead (way more fun), and put the first meal off til noon or 1pm. Then eat several very protein-biased meals until 8-9pm.

It's not a deliberate dieting strategy since I don't count calories or anything else, but it does seem to lead to nice gradual losses in fat and doesn't mess up my energy levels for lifting since I get the bulk of my food before and after the workout.

And stuff 1000 calories, that's whack :doh: A 45kg chick might be able to subsist on that if all she does is lie in bed all day. Starving yourself (as in continually not meeting daily calorie requirements), if even for a short timeframe, is asking for a quick stall IMO.

[cantygirl]

And stuff 1000 calories, that's whack A 45kg chick might be able to subsist on that if all she does is lie in bed all day. Starving yourself (as in continually not meeting daily calorie requirements), if even for a short timeframe, is asking for a quick stall IMO.

Bodybuilding precomp (5 weeks out), somethings gotta go. Either I increase my cardio which I don't want to do for fear of tapping into myhard earned muscle, or lose some calories. Latter wins. Normally I kick around with 1800-2200 cals per day but I guess I eat a bit of shit food along with all the good stuff.

[ThePman]

If you want more info on IF for a sports performance or aesthetic/bodybuilding viewpoint, you need to read Martin Berkhan's site.

[Sportsgirl]

I've tried it for bulking only and I had awesome results. I only put on a little weight but actually partitioned too so I also lost fat at the same time.

It was hard work though.... I had to eat about 5000-6000 calories on my training days. By golly that was a lot of food.

[rose]

It was hard work though

I hope you're joking Miss :pfft:

[Ronin]

Thanks Pman, Martin's was actually the first site I found when I started looing for real information on IF, and what actually convinced me there might be more to it than the ridiculous claims I'd read on bb.com. I haven't read everything on his site, but am working my way through it.

Sportsgirl, sorry for the noobishness, but what exactly is "partitioning"?

Anyhoo, today's the first day, so far so good. I'll go into more detail of this journey in my journal, and will come back here with an update in a couple of weeks.

[rose]

what exactly is "partitioning"?

Energy partitioning for body composition, i.e. manipulating calorie surpluses for fat loss/muscle gain.

[Sportsgirl]

Perhaps I used the wrong word - my brain is rather muddled these days :doh:

What I meant was - I not only gained muscle, but I improved my body composition at the same time. So although I only gained about 2kg from bulking, because I lost fat simultaneously, I actually gained more muscle than just 2kg.

Hope that makes sense now!