Intermittent Fasting: Martin Berkhan

Nutrition
61

He supposedly has a book coming out, or has had coming out for the past 2 years. But the “Leangains Guide” on the blog pretty much lets you know everything you need to run the diet. I figure the book may go into the science a little deeper, provide recipes and give you macro breakdowns.

I’ve been following it with a pretty balanced approach 40/30/30 - Pro/Fat/Carbs. I load the majority of my carbs and calories (approx 75% of carbs and 50% of cals) after my workout. On non-workout days, I pretty much just cut the carbs out of the same meals I was eating on workout days.

I’m doing this for maintenence currently and I find it as a more enjoyable way to eat because of the size of the meals.

62

[quote]forbes wrote:

[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![/quote]

Thanks man. I was pretty lean before hand, probably around 9-10%… but that’s just an estimate. I carb cycle for sure - my training days are much higher in complex carbs, lower in fat. Rest days are relatively low in complex carbs, high in fat with protien intake being high regardless. I also tend to cycle my kcals too, 500-700 more on training days than on rest days. I keep a food journal, so here’s what I ate the other day:

7/14/10 (Rest Day)

Meal 1:
1 med Chicken Breast: 350 kcal
1 can Tuna: 150 kcal
4 slices Ezekiel Bread: 320 kcal, 60 g CHO
1 c Cottage Cheese.: 180 kcal, 14 g CHO
1 c Berries: 84 kcal, 21 g CHO
1/4 c mixed nuts: 200 kcal

Meal 2:
1 med Chicken Breast: 350 kcal
2 salmon burgers: 400 kcal
1 3/4 c cottage cheese: 300 kcal, 25 g CHO
2 TBSP olive oil: 240 kcal
1/2 c mixed nuts 400 kcal

Daily Totals: 2974 kcal, 120 g CHO

**This doesn’t include the veggies I consume, which is a TON.

63

The claims of higher focus/alertness are substantiated, your catecholamine + GH levels rise while fasted, which Berkhan believes has metabolic effects. You definitely have more energy and TIME to actually do stuff.[/quote]

This. Me + Coffee + Fasted State = super focused, productive, and positive. The mood elevation for me is quite significant.

64

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:

[quote]forbes wrote:

[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![/quote]

Thanks man. I was pretty lean before hand, probably around 9-10%… but that’s just an estimate. I carb cycle for sure - my training days are much higher in complex carbs, lower in fat. Rest days are relatively low in complex carbs, high in fat with protien intake being high regardless. I also tend to cycle my kcals too, 500-700 more on training days than on rest days. I keep a food journal, so here’s what I ate the other day:

7/14/10 (Rest Day)

Meal 1:
1 med Chicken Breast: 350 kcal
1 can Tuna: 150 kcal
4 slices Ezekiel Bread: 320 kcal, 60 g CHO
1 c Cottage Cheese.: 180 kcal, 14 g CHO
1 c Berries: 84 kcal, 21 g CHO
1/4 c mixed nuts: 200 kcal

Meal 2:
1 med Chicken Breast: 350 kcal
2 salmon burgers: 400 kcal
1 3/4 c cottage cheese: 300 kcal, 25 g CHO
2 TBSP olive oil: 240 kcal
1/2 c mixed nuts 400 kcal

Daily Totals: 2974 kcal, 120 g CHO

**This doesn’t include the veggies I consume, which is a TON.
[/quote]

I hope you have some tasty sauces for that.

Blandest.
Diet.
Ever.

65

haha yeah, there’s a lot in those meals that I don’t keep track of. I only record the items that impact my daily kcal total. For example in the first meal,the tuna was made into a tuna salad with mustard,horseradish, lemon, and seasonings, then put into two sandwiches with onion, tomato,romaine and Cholula Chipotle Hotsauce. Chicken was cut up served with a variety of sliced raw veggies. The cottage cheese and berries were mixed together with some cinnamon for dessert. There was a bunch of steamed broccoli on the side too.

In the second meal, the salmon burgers were cut up and mixed into a HUGE salad with a rediculous assortment of fresh veggies in a homemade EVOO/lemon juice/red wine vinegar dressing. I sauteed a pint of cherry tomatoes/vidalia onion/ fresh garlic in the EVOO, then added the cottage cheese and pre-baked chicken and served that over some more steamed broccoli. As you can tell, I have a serious vegetable fetish. For all the things that my diet may be, it is definately not bland, but I can see where you got that based on the info I posted.

66

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
haha yeah, there’s a lot in those meals that I don’t keep track of. I only record the items that impact my daily kcal total. For example in the first meal,the tuna was made into a tuna salad with mustard,horseradish, lemon, and seasonings, then put into two sandwiches with onion, tomato,romaine and Cholula Chipotle Hotsauce. Chicken was cut up served with a variety of sliced raw veggies. The cottage cheese and berries were mixed together with some cinnamon for dessert. There was a bunch of steamed broccoli on the side too.

In the second meal, the salmon burgers were cut up and mixed into a HUGE salad with a rediculous assortment of fresh veggies in a homemade EVOO/lemon juice/red wine vinegar dressing. I sauteed a pint of cherry tomatoes/vidalia onion/ fresh garlic in the EVOO, then added the cottage cheese and pre-baked chicken and served that over some more steamed broccoli. As you can tell, I have a serious vegetable fetish. For all the things that my diet may be, it is definately not bland, but I can see where you got that based on the info I posted.[/quote]

Much better, still very clean.

67

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
haha yeah, there’s a lot in those meals that I don’t keep track of. I only record the items that impact my daily kcal total. For example in the first meal,the tuna was made into a tuna salad with mustard,horseradish, lemon, and seasonings, then put into two sandwiches with onion, tomato,romaine and Cholula Chipotle Hotsauce. Chicken was cut up served with a variety of sliced raw veggies. The cottage cheese and berries were mixed together with some cinnamon for dessert. There was a bunch of steamed broccoli on the side too.

In the second meal, the salmon burgers were cut up and mixed into a HUGE salad with a rediculous assortment of fresh veggies in a homemade EVOO/lemon juice/red wine vinegar dressing. I sauteed a pint of cherry tomatoes/vidalia onion/ fresh garlic in the EVOO, then added the cottage cheese and pre-baked chicken and served that over some more steamed broccoli. As you can tell, I have a serious vegetable fetish. For all the things that my diet may be, it is definately not bland, but I can see where you got that based on the info I posted.[/quote]

you do it right dude. great job.

tworkinhard, what do you do for pre/peri/post workout nutrition?

68

[quote]you do it right dude. great job.

tworkinhard, what do you do for pre/peri/post workout nutrition?
[/quote]

10g BCAA’s right before, 10g BCAA’s right after. Then I’ll take 10g BCAA’s every two hours until I break the fast, usually around 3 or 4. Looks something like this:

10am: 10g BCAA
10-11am: Train
11am: 10g BCAA
1pm: 10g BCAA
3pm: Post-workout meal

The only thing im really consuming during the fast in addition to this is black coffee and water.

69

Dolce, do you make your own Kimchi or is it from the supermarket? I’ve just recently found this stuff, and I love it. I grew up eating sourkraught(sp?), which is also made from fermented cabbage, but Kimchi is way more tasty. Even better, I’ve definitely noticed some immediate gut-health effects from it. I’m looking to start making my own, as the stuff in the store isn’t spicy enough and is expensive…

70

I’m trying this.

Wake up, 5 g glutamine, 20-40 minutes of morning cardio

Pre-workout:
65 g carbs
50 g protein
Glycerol, salt, creatine

During Workout
10 g aminos, 5 g carbs ( comes with the aminos) glycerol, salt

After:
40 g protein

Meal 1:
50-60 g protein
50 g fat
Vegetables
CLA, fish oil, milled flax seeds

Meal 2:
50-60 g protein
Vegetables
CLA, fish oil, milled flax seeds

Glutamine before bed if I remember it.

Goal is to go from being ‘ok’- lean to ‘human anatomy chart’-lean

Starting out at 82 kg. If this works as well as it has for others, I’ll use it when gaining as well I think.

71

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
Dolce, do you make your own Kimchi or is it from the supermarket? I’ve just recently found this stuff, and I love it. I grew up eating sourkraught(sp?), which is also made from fermented cabbage, but Kimchi is way more tasty. Even better, I’ve definitely noticed some immediate gut-health effects from it. I’m looking to start making my own, as the stuff in the store isn’t spicy enough and is expensive…[/quote]

you gotta go to an asian supermarket. you can buy in bulk there. its much spicier and there’s different kinds (cabbage, radish, cucumber). that’s what i do. i actually make my mother buy it for me (lol) since i dont have any asian markets around my house.

72

[quote]Amonero wrote:
I’m trying this.

Wake up, 5 g glutamine, 20-40 minutes of morning cardio

Pre-workout:
65 g carbs
50 g protein
Glycerol, salt, creatine

During Workout
10 g aminos, 5 g carbs ( comes with the aminos) glycerol, salt

After:
40 g protein

Meal 1:
50-60 g protein
50 g fat
Vegetables
CLA, fish oil, milled flax seeds

Meal 2:
50-60 g protein
Vegetables
CLA, fish oil, milled flax seeds

Glutamine before bed if I remember it.

Goal is to go from being ‘ok’- lean to ‘human anatomy chart’-lean

Starting out at 82 kg. If this works as well as it has for others, I’ll use it when gaining as well I think.[/quote]

Quick question: How long after you train is your first meal?

73

[quote]Dolce wrote:

[quote]tworkinhard wrote:
Dolce, do you make your own Kimchi or is it from the supermarket? I’ve just recently found this stuff, and I love it. I grew up eating sourkraught(sp?), which is also made from fermented cabbage, but Kimchi is way more tasty. Even better, I’ve definitely noticed some immediate gut-health effects from it. I’m looking to start making my own, as the stuff in the store isn’t spicy enough and is expensive…[/quote]

you gotta go to an asian supermarket. you can buy in bulk there. its much spicier and there’s different kinds (cabbage, radish, cucumber). that’s what i do. i actually make my mother buy it for me (lol) since i dont have any asian markets around my house.[/quote]

Great suggestion, thanks

74

1009×321 36.1 KB

as promised… here are some pics. i did take them in more suggestive lighting… lol. i really wanted to be leaner before i posted pictures, but i’m not one to say i’ll do something and not do it. i’ll be cutting until labor day, then a small break and then maintenance for a month or so.

edit: the before picture is me at about 225 and the after is about 195, so 30 pounds difference give or take. i’m about 5’ 11.5’’ FWIW

75

need more width and traps… lol

76

994×357 37 KB

oops… forgot to attach

77

926×353 33.5 KB

can’t wait to start bulkin to add some width

78


quads aren’t too bad.

79

2592×1944 1.08 MB

here’s my meal post work that i’m eating right now. its about 2.5 cups brown rice, and a concoction on top consisting of ground turkey and chicken breast, red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato sauce, and black beans. i also added a dollop of cottage cheese. its probably close to 2 pounds of food.

80

So you’re cutting right now?

Keep us posted. I will be tuning in. Im starting to cut, as I have a large waist for a low body weight (at least in my opinion) so I feel that is unacceptable.

What are the details of your diet and training?