Intermittent Fasting: Martin Berkhan

Nutrition
41

[quote]Dolce wrote:

Ok, I’ll have something by Monday then.

To tell you the truth, I’ve been “cutting”, using a carb cycling diet, since the middle of February however I’ve had quite a few “breaks” since then. My birthday was in April, and a planned “refeed birthday dinner” turned into an all out gorge fest for 2.5 weeks. That really set me back, lol. I’ve also had the same situation happen a few times but for not as long, just a few days.

I didn’t start IF till around May and I’ve been much better at staying compliant with dieting. The reason is because I get so full from what I eat post workout, that I don’t feel the need to gorge out on junkfood.

So its difficult for me to say how long I’ve actually been on a steady diet. If I had to guess, I’d say I have about 10-12 weeks worth of successful dieting.

I don’t really count specific macros. I sorta have a rough idea of what I’m eating. I make sure to get enough protein and fat on off days and enough carbs on workout days. I’ll probably have to dial this in very soon, but for now I’m riding it out, because my weight keeps dropping and my strength is staying stable.

To give you an idea of what I eat:

On workout days carbs are high-very high, protein is moderate-low moderate, and fat is just a couple fish oil.

A sample workout day would look like this:

Meal 1: 3 cups of brown rice, stirfry vegetables, 2 chicken breasts, 2 fish oil

Meal 2 (pre/peri workout): 2 scoops SWF, 4 scoops anaconda, 1 scoop MAG-10

Meal 3 (post workout): 1 banana, 1 scoop whey

Meal 4: 5 cups brown rice, kimchee (can’t eat this earlier in the day or no one will talk to me), 2 chicken breasts, yogurt with frozen fruit

On nonworkout days carbs are low, protein is high, and fat is moderate.

Meal 1: Two grass-fed NY strip steaks, 2 cups vegetables, 1 large baked potato

Meal 2: 2 scoops whey, 5 fish oil

Meal 3: 3 chicken breasts, 2 cups vegetables, 2 servings natty PB or walnuts, 5 fish oil

Hope that helps. I promise to share something by Monday night =)[/quote]

Looks great, congrats on your success. Like you said, if its still working without having to count cals/macros then thats perfect.

Keep us updated.

42

[quote]forbes wrote:

[quote]ethanwest wrote:
I was reading through this thread and it got my interest which led me to read up on the interview at elitelifts meantioned on the first page. I’m interested to see how many calories people are consuming on these types of IF diets. I would assume there is still some sort of calorie restriction going on?

I used to eat 2 big meals a day and I started getting pretty fat like that, so I have a hard time seeing how this works, but the testimonials seem to be very good.[/quote]

Your two meals contained too many calories for your energy needs that day. [/quote]

This.

Can you tell us exactly what you were eating each day, how much of it and how it relates to your daily caloric needs?

If not, then don’t blame the IF for getting fat, blame yourself.

43

Intrigued, but shit, I like to eat too much to be able to do this!

44

[quote]Amonero wrote:
Intrigued, but shit, I like to eat too much to be able to do this![/quote]

Sadly x2. I tried it in highschool when the warrior diet came out but the hunger was just too much plus my body temp dropped like crazy and I was super pale… one day again maybe.

45

This is strange. I just heard about this last Friday (July 9), read over everything that day and decided to give it a go. Since then, without searching for it, I have seen it every day in different threads on here, especially the leangains site (where I read about it to begin with).

I have been doing it since Sunday and haven’t had a problem whatsoever. I actually add in 30 mins of stationary bike in the morning while I study (CCIE recert) and drink about 3 quarts of water between waking and first meal (PWO) to take care of the empty stomach feeling.

I do have more energy and my training (12-1PM) is actually more intense than my normal training has been (5:30-6:30 PM and/or 7:00-8:00 AM).
Like I said, only been 5 days, but it really isn’t hard, I go to bed with a full stomach (which NEVER happens when dieting) and energy is actually up.

46

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I’ve been IFing ala Leangains for a while now, and I found that it’s worked quite well for me. I’m pretty strict with the 16/8 protocol, although at times I will fast for a bit longer than Martin calls for… 20 hours at the most. This is purely for the convenience factor, as I work weird hours and find that my appetite is curbed quite effectively while fasting. I typically stick to only 2 meals a day, both post-training. My schedule varies, but typically it looks something like this:

8am: Wake up, drink a bunch of black coffee(just cause I like it that way) and water
10am: 10g BCAA
10-11am: Training
11am: 10g BCAA
1pm: 10g BCAA
3pm: “Breakfast”
9 or 10pm: Last Supper

Rest days are basically the same, minus the amino supplementation and macro breakdown of the meals. You might think that “fasted” training as outlined above would be catabolic and counterproductive, but I have great energy in the gym, experience good pumps, and have consistently been getting stronger. I haven’t tried to bulk in earnest with this approach, but this fall/winter I may give it a shot (albiet with 3 meals instead of 2).

I don’t have any good comparison pics from before Leangains, but heres a couple semi-recent ones.

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one more

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[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
one more[/quote]

Impressive leanness. How long have you been eating like this? What about other supps- fish oil, creatine, etc? How has your weight changed since starting?

49

[quote]Icarus wrote:
This is strange. I just heard about this last Friday (July 9), read over everything that day and decided to give it a go. Since then, without searching for it, I have seen it every day in different threads on here, especially the leangains site (where I read about it to begin with).

I have been doing it since Sunday and haven’t had a problem whatsoever. I actually add in 30 mins of stationary bike in the morning while I study (CCIE recert) and drink about 3 quarts of water between waking and first meal (PWO) to take care of the empty stomach feeling.

I do have more energy and my training (12-1PM) is actually more intense than my normal training has been (5:30-6:30 PM and/or 7:00-8:00 AM).
Like I said, only been 5 days, but it really isn’t hard, I go to bed with a full stomach (which NEVER happens when dieting) and energy is actually up.
[/quote]

I’m experiencing the same thing. It sounds like most people tolerate 16:8 fasting well. I think this is something I could stick with long term.

50

[quote]Hog Ear wrote:

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
one more[/quote]

Impressive leanness. How long have you been eating like this? What about other supps- fish oil, creatine, etc? How has your weight changed since starting? [/quote]

Several months. Fish oil, BCAA’s, multi, and the occasion scoop of whey. Oh and a shit ton of coffee/green tea. I’ve only lost a few lbs, 2-3 or so. But weightloss isn’t really my focus currently. I initially started the 16/8 protocol while eating maintainance kcal just to get a feel for it/see if I could actually consistently fast without suffering. Since switching over, I’ve managed to double my carb intake, eliminate cardio, cut my training volume in half, get leaner/stronger simultaneously.

It’s worth mentioning the amount of food you can put down in one sitting… I routinely have a 2000 kcal meal post-workout. When you condense a days worth of food into 2-3 meals spread over 8 hours (sometimes less for me), each meal is huge and satifying.

51

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:

[quote]Hog Ear wrote:

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
one more[/quote]

Impressive leanness. How long have you been eating like this? What about other supps- fish oil, creatine, etc? How has your weight changed since starting? [/quote]

Several months. Fish oil, BCAA’s, multi, and the occasion scoop of whey. Oh and a shit ton of coffee/green tea. I’ve only lost a few lbs, 2-3 or so. But weightloss isn’t really my focus currently. I initially started the 16/8 protocol while eating maintainance kcal just to get a feel for it/see if I could actually consistently fast without suffering. Since switching over, I’ve managed to double my carb intake, eliminate cardio, cut my training volume in half, get leaner/stronger simultaneously.

It’s worth mentioning the amount of food you can put down in one sitting… I routinely have a 2000 kcal meal post-workout. When you condense a days worth of food into 2-3 meals spread over 8 hours (sometimes less for me), each meal is huge and satifying. [/quote]

It took me a few days to get used to the large meals- my stomach had shrunk from years of eating 6 smaller meals/day. Now I like the feeling of putting away those large meals, like you said it’s quite satisfying. I don’t think we evolved to constantly graze on food, this nonsense is for the ruminants. I feel like my insulin sensitivity is improving- I’m sure this is why so many have been able to drop massive blubber with 16/8 fasting.

52

Come on TMuscle, interview Martin Berkhan! Pretty please with Surge on top.

53

[quote]Hog Ear wrote:
Come on TMuscle, interview Martin Berkhan! Pretty please with Surge on top. [/quote]

Don’t hold out on that.

54

[quote]ADvanced TS wrote:

[quote]Hog Ear wrote:
Come on TMuscle, interview Martin Berkhan! Pretty please with Surge on top. [/quote]

Don’t hold out on that.[/quote]

Why? TMuscle has integrity- in the past they’ve interviewed people who don’t hold popular views, or advocate abundant supplement usage. That’s the great thing about this site and why I keep coming back.

55

So this could also be called “eating later in the day diet” or the “skip breakie diet”.

Seems like a less hardcore version of the warrior diet, and what % of us get to train at 1-2pm on a daily basis?!

Not trying to shit all over it, certainly not a new concept just given it a fancy name, it’s like CT and the I,Bodybuilder lark “power troughing” or “donkey-flange muscle surge convexes”.

etc

H

56

[quote]huscarl wrote:
So this could also be called “eating later in the day diet” or the “skip breakie diet”.

Seems like a less hardcore version of the warrior diet, and what % of us get to train at 1-2pm on a daily basis?!

Not trying to shit all over it, certainly not a new concept just given it a fancy name, it’s like CT and the I,Bodybuilder lark “power troughing” or “donkey-flange muscle surge convexes”.

etc

H[/quote]

You don’t have to train at a certain time of the day. The plan is adaptable, fasting for 16 hrs and eating your meals during a 8 hr window is the basis. Check out Leangains if you want to learn how to apply it.

57

[quote]huscarl wrote:
So this could also be called “eating later in the day diet” or the “skip breakie diet”.

Seems like a less hardcore version of the warrior diet, and what % of us get to train at 1-2pm on a daily basis?!

Not trying to shit all over it, certainly not a new concept just given it a fancy name, it’s like CT and the I,Bodybuilder lark “power troughing” or “donkey-flange muscle surge convexes”.

etc

H[/quote]

I train at 6 PM everyday. First meal at around 1-2, pre/peri workout- 5:30-6:30 and my biggest meal of the day around 8:30-9.

At the end of the day, all diets to lose fat follows the same principle- eating less than maintenance calories.

IF is very individual. I don’t think its a good diet for a lot of people. I think it would suck for bulking unless you can really pack away alot of food in one sitting.

Good work tworkinhard. Very lean.

58

[quote]huscarl wrote:
So this could also be called “eating later in the day diet” or the “skip breakie diet”.

Seems like a less hardcore version of the warrior diet, and what % of us get to train at 1-2pm on a daily basis?!

Not trying to shit all over it, certainly not a new concept just given it a fancy name, it’s like CT and the I,Bodybuilder lark “power troughing” or “donkey-flange muscle surge convexes”.

etc

H[/quote]

donkey flange?

59

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:

[quote]Hog Ear wrote:

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
one more[/quote]

Impressive leanness. How long have you been eating like this? What about other supps- fish oil, creatine, etc? How has your weight changed since starting? [/quote]

Several months. Fish oil, BCAA’s, multi, and the occasion scoop of whey. Oh and a shit ton of coffee/green tea. I’ve only lost a few lbs, 2-3 or so. But weightloss isn’t really my focus currently. I initially started the 16/8 protocol while eating maintainance kcal just to get a feel for it/see if I could actually consistently fast without suffering. Since switching over, I’ve managed to double my carb intake, eliminate cardio, cut my training volume in half, get leaner/stronger simultaneously.

It’s worth mentioning the amount of food you can put down in one sitting… I routinely have a 2000 kcal meal post-workout. When you condense a days worth of food into 2-3 meals spread over 8 hours (sometimes less for me), each meal is huge and satifying. [/quote]

Few, curious questions of mine if you dont mind. :wink:

What was your level of leaness when you started?

And what does a typical daily diet look like? Do you carb cycle or eat what you want as long as it is healthy food and fits in with your goals?

Awesome job bro!

60

Thanks Dolce, much appreciated. I agree with you about eating less than maintenance kcal - it’s really the most important factor of any weightloss plan, regardless of the %'s of macro’s. Yeah, bulking’s gonna be an experiment for sure… Gotta make sure I have probiotics/dygestive enzymes on hand for my gut to handle that volume of food.

Hog Ear - Agreed. T-Nation should definately interview Berkhan and hopefully ask some questions that delve a bit deeper than the basics already covered on his blog.

huscarl - There’s a bit more to it than that, but one of the great things about Leangains is its simplicity/flexibility. If you train at night, eat at night. If you train in the morning either 1) have your 8 hour feeding window start in the morning and end in the early PM or 2) train fasted and supplement with BCAA’s to keep protien synthesis pluggin along, breaking the fast in the early PM. But honestly, Martin explains it much better than myself. You should check out his blog if your interested.