I was curious if anyone is trying this approach to leaning out or cutting if you will.
I have been reading several article on this site and others about this and thought I might bring it back up. It seems the results that I have seen (especially on the poster that posted “Shredding Swedish Meat”? His results were phenominal.
This is kind of an older thread. There are numerous threads about Intermittent Fasting and Restricted Calorie Diet while strength training. It seems to make a lot of since once you read it with an open mind.
So are there any people trying this today? and if so what are your thoughts?
I fasted today (for the first time) and seem to be fine. I am just a little hungry, nothing out of the norm though. Just to add, I had very little physical activity today too. I think that if I were to have a high activity day, my calories would need to be higher.
Today is the second day of fasting(according to Intermittent Fasting regulations) except I eat a small lunch, nothing during the afternoon and then EEEEAT at dinner.
Energy level seems to be steady. I dont feel run down at all. My activity level again today is low. Tomorrow however, I am back in the gym. I am interested to feel what happens when my activity level is increased.
I expect to see alot of people jump on my back after bringing this up again. But given the fact that I have been on a “Traditional” BB diet (ie. high protein, mod carbs, fats, etc…) I have not got the results I am looking for.
I have been reading all the article I can find both here and on BB.com. Seems to make a great deal of sense. I even breezed the interview that TC did with the Warrior Diet author (name escapes me)It leads me to believe it can have great effects.
Also, My muscles feel exactly the same as they did before I began this fasting idea. I still feel a great pump in my arm if I flex it a few times. I though that it would give me that “Flattened Out” feeling like I get on a lower carb diet. But not yet!
[quote]Red Son wrote:
But given the fact that I have been on a “Traditional” BB diet (ie. high protein, mod carbs, fats, etc…) I have not got the results I am looking for.
[/quote]
I think that’s the big thing; this diet is a drastic change, and the body tends to respond well to drastic changes. After you’ve eaten like this for a while, I’d bet that you respond really well to a more standard, 4-6 meals a day plan.
Or to paraphrase some people who are much smarter than me, the best thing you can do is what you aren’t doing.
You know, i used to be a big opponent of fasting, though truth be told when i was eating 3500-5000 calories a day I just had to take the weekends off–I might have maybe four meals between saturday and sunday. It was a huge, huge psychological relief. As a teacher used to say, “any system that incorporates systematic violations of the rules is a stronger system”.
On the other hand I’m not sure if fasting is the best way to “lean out”–it tends to cause bloating, dehydration, etc.; the lack of carbs does flatten the muscles. That and after day one energy is zero, you feel like you have the flu, and getting under a squat bar is not happening.
For anyone who cares:
Recently (past year) I’ve fasted two or three times and come to believe that maybe the hippies are right and that there are actually some health benefits, particularly with regards to any allergies, insulin sensitivity, etc. There are a lot of subtleties.
My advice would be to make sure your last solid meal was very high in soluble and insoluble fiber (oats, all bran), and the next day upon waking go for a “salt water flush”–put two or three tablespoons of saltwater into two litres of water, drop in maybe some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar, and drink it all in about an hour, then stay near a toilet with some good reading material. After it’s all done with drink (unsalted) water to replace any you lost… If you are eating every 2-3 hours your liver, intestines and colon can stand to take some time off. That and caloric restriction (and resveratrol mega-doses) remain the only proven life-extenders.
After the first day without food your energy level will fall through the floor, you will feel awful, and be fantasizing about oatmeal every couple minutes. If you have a job/life after day one you should probably go back to eating food again. If you are going to “flush” I suggest having some high-quality super-yogurt, like the 100 billion live culture varieties in four ounce bottles some health-food stores carry, to repopulate the gut with good bacteria.
in the morning I fast with spread out large meals but around workout time it is rapid succession until right before bed. I switch this around depending on when I work out.
I had a great workout on Monday. My energy levels are still up. I have yet to feel sluggish. My workout consisted of Heavy (4-6reps/5sets) upper body. I did have a postworkout meal of steelcut oatmeal and 40g whey protein. For lunch I had a small portion of cottagecheese and a teaspoon of natural peanutbutter. Then at dinner HOG CITY.
Now this morning, I had a much higher volume training session (3sets 15 -20 reps) my calories will be a little higher today as well.
I am not following the fasting idea to a T but try and keep calories extremely low during the day.
I have maintained the diet idea except for Sunday which was my wife’s birthday (BIG 30)
I think I have lost about 3-5lbs (scales are a little off) Feel trimmer, and the lifts seem to be just as high as they were before.
It is extremely nice to not have to worry if I need to eat (What time is it?) type eating.
It’s good to change stuff up every once in a while, and I’m all for interesting new ways to stay in a hypocaloric state. That being said, being completely fasted physiologically cannot be anywhere near the most effective way to diet AND maintain muscle mass. Although less simple, why not just try cycling calories or cycling carbs? This is an extreme and overly simple answer to a pretty complicated question that is the human body.
Axekicker, big spaced out meals are back progress, and if they aren’t necessary due to schedule, they should be avoided.
Nate, it’s good to share similar experiences to try to help shed some light, but your scientific claims are off and anecdotal.
The liver, intestines, and colon do not ever need “time off.” It’s not like if you aren’t eating these organs can have a day off. They weren’t made to need rest. I also have to put forth that many small meals puts much less stress on the organ system than the probably huge meals before and after the fast. I do agree with your first 2 paragraphs and I think they offer pretty good insight.