Thread: Intermittent fasting

It it pretty much the same as I like it.

My wife is so AMAZING she cooks it up for me in the AM so it is all ready when I eat at 8 PM.

I start off with veggies for health of it also it helps blunt the blood glucose spike.
Then I have some steak and eggs and chicken.

After that I will have some cereal as I love it.

Then I just keep repeating the above over the next 2 - 3 hours until I have eaten:

1lb of steak
1 Dozen fertilized eggs(this I eat raw for various reasons)
1lb of chicken
veggies such as peppers, onions etc
Fruit almost always strawberries, pineapple, melon and bananas.

Sometimes I will have a box of cherios with splenda which is probably too much but I am still losing fat so it can't be too bad right lol

I did Starting Strength for 6 months and recently switched to Greyskull LP and a lean gains diet. I was never much a breakfast person and work out at night, but so far I am loving both programs and think they go really well together.

I´ve been doing IF for years and was probably one of the first 10 clients of Martin Berkhan from leangains.

It really helped me break free from the obsessive behavior I had previous to my switch and I wish I had started doing this years earlier rather than carrying around a bunch of food containers everywhere for years.

I´m not as serious as I was before since I have a little baby girl now but this really helps me to stay in shape and to look good.
I have to stress that it is good but not great though.
I do not have great genetics, was overweight as a kid and while I am lean now, I´ll probably never be as ripped as some of the clients on his page.
IF really helps with diet adherence, lifestyle and fixed some issues I was having but it is not magic.

Originally Posted by PatrickP

My wife is so AMAZING she cooks it up for me in the AM so it is all ready when I eat at 8 PM.

Isn´t the steak all like.. dried out rubber by then?

Originally Posted by PatrickP

1 Dozen fertilized eggs(this I eat raw for various reasons)

Which reasons?
I believe a boiled egg´s protein value is higher than that of a raw egg.
Also salmonella not an issue?

I started IF just recently as well as lifting heavy. Really curious to see what kind of effect it has to my body. I took some measurements (chest, biceps, waist etc) when starting. Took some pics too and stepped on a scale. Will be interesting to see the changes in data and looks

I just finished a month trial of IF/low carb. I ate one meal per day, so about 23 fasted hours between meals. I had about 1 cheat day per week, which wasn't really planned but just came up because of social gatherings or whatever.

I was pretty strict on the calorie count and ate at a very significant defecit (at least according to online calculators). I lost quite a lot of weight the first week (which is usually attributed to water) and then pretty much nothing thereafter, though I've been back on carbs for a couple of weeks now and haven't gained any back, so maybe the weight loss caught up to the water loss.

I actually felt pretty great while doing the above, and I was never really bothered by cravings. I was quite full and sluggish after dinner, but it wasn't a problem since I ate late in the day. I think my days were more focused, and I felt like I gained quite a bit of productive time due to being able to skip lunch and then not wishing I could take a nap afterwards.

I'm trying to keep the same eating schedule (and calorie count) this month but with fruits/vegetables/nuts instead of meat/dairy. The weight loss seems better, but it's been harder to fight off the cravings thusfar.

Whoa, did I post on this forum that i have been doing IF? I sort of follow leangains and a 16hour fast... but i do not train fasted. because of the workouts i do if i worked out in the middle of the day I would not be able to work or think the rest of the day, LOL.

I have cut some BF so far i stated at about 15% I think I am at 14% right now... i forgot to check this morning. SO far it seems like an easy to follow lifestyle change. I dont know how well it'll workout later in the year when i get back to gaining.

Originally Posted by PatrickP

I don't understand why you think a 36 hour fast would work better seeing as how a 16 hour fasts did work for you.

Also it is physically impossible to over spike your blood glucose level. They spike( I don't like that term) but eating more than say 2000 calories wont make it spike more. In fact you probably ate extra fast and protein which would blunt a spike.

So you need to eat properly when you end the fast.

For example my fasted BG level is 70 - 75. If I eat pineapple it will spike to 125. BUT if I first eat some fats first it will only go to 105.

You simple ate too many calories when your ended your fasts. That is why you got fat doing IF.

I don't believe frequent 16 hour fasts provide as good of health benefits as a less frequent 36 hour fast, and health (not purely weight loss) is my primary goal.

Yes, I did over-eat with 16 hour fasts which spiked my glucose/insulin levels putting my body into fat storage mode. Are there things I could do to manage this? Yes.

But personally - As I said it obviously works for some but I prefer a single fast each week to daily fasting because it doesn't result in the same issue for me.

@MartinV: There was a guy on a couple of forums called Wavelength who did something similar.
He would make a protein shake w/ 100 grams of whey and would sip on that during the day.
Then he would have 1 medium sized meal with pretty much whatever he wanted to eat (burgers, pizza, ice cream, etc).
He was very lean and his log was pure foodporn.

Wouldn´t be my preferred way of doing it, but if it works for you than great.

Originally Posted by Likwid24

Day 2: 14 hours without food. So far I feel pretty good. I'm thinking of hitting the gym now then having my first big meal. My only worry is working out on an empty stomach. I never do that. I'm going to drink a cup of coffee before and take some BCAA's. Hopefully that can push me through the workout until I get used to IF.

Working out on am empty stomach is not much of a big deal. I asked a trainer and what he said is that is how you sometimes lose the last of your fat because that is where you burn your body fat instead of the calories from the food you are putting in your body.

What is the big difference between the 16/8 and the 36 hour fasts? I have never had much of a a problem going a full 48 hours without food but I never did it intentionally, I just have the ability to do it. I need water of course but I wasn't doing IF, I just was in a place where I couldn't get food.

Likwid, How are you feeling doing IF?

Originally Posted by hedgehog757

Working out on am empty stomach is not much of a big deal. I asked a trainer and what he said is that is how you sometimes lose the last of your fat because that is where you burn your body fat instead of the calories from the food you are putting in your body.

What is the big difference between the 16/8 and the 36 hour fasts? I have never had much of a a problem going a full 48 hours without food but I never did it intentionally, I just have the ability to do it. I need water of course but I wasn't doing IF, I just was in a place where I couldn't get food.

I have no problem working out in a fasted state, and I do believe it burns additional calories. However, be careful if you take any pre-workout supplement as taking it on an empty stomach will often increase the effects.

I found 16/8 fasting to be 'easy' but had issues with how/what I ate after it ended vs a 36 hour fasts which is more difficult (at first) but didn't make me want to overcompensate. Different strokes for different folks - try them both out and see what works for you.

Here's a GREAT summary of the different IF protocols, and where I got the idea for 24 hour fasts after cheat days:
Intermittent Fasting 201 | Roman Fitness Systems

Originally Posted by Mexidan

Isn´t the steak all like.. dried out rubber by then?



Which reasons?
I believe a boiled egg´s protein value is higher than that of a raw egg.
Also salmonella not an issue?

No not dried out at all.


I have been eating raw eggs for almost 40 years no problem with salmonella. It is on the outside of the shell not inside.

I eat fertilized eggs raw as I am trying to maximize the amount of follistatin I eat. Sometimes I will lightly cook the whites and do the yolks raw.

Originally Posted by Likwid24

A few people have been talking about this on the forum lately, so I looked into it. Actually spent a couple hours last night reading a book I downloaded from a website.

Has anyone on the forum tried it out? If so, how was you experience?

I have tried this technique off and on. Honestly it makes me feel jittery.

I didn't really notice a difference, but I realize I may have been doing it wrong.

What have you found implementing the technique?

Originally Posted by WealthyMind

I have tried this technique off and on. Honestly it makes me feel jittery.

Why does it make you feel jittery? Are you taking supplements or too much caffeine on an empty stomach?

It took me about 2-3 weeks to get used to not eating breakfast. To keep myself from starving, this is what I did:

-Wake up in the morning and down a glass of water.

-Drink a cup of coffee right after, with a little bit of cream in it.

-This will suppress my appetite for a little bit. I wait a bit, then I drink a green veggie drink. I got this powdered drink from GNC. It has less than 5 grams of carbs in it. I believe it has 2, which won't affect the fast. This allows me to get an early dose of vitamins and minerals.

-During the fasted time, I'll drink another glass or two of water.

-I'll try to get my first work out in before I eat. To power me through it, I put powdered BCAA's in a water bottle and drink it 15 minutes before my workout. This usually powers me right through my workout. I have been getting some really good workouts on an empty stomach, when this was the thing that I feared most.

-If I got really hungry at any point during my fast, I would drink a little more coffee. This usually holds me over.


You don't get used to it over night and you don't see results over night. It's a process, just like the Fastlane is a process. I have seen great results and I love it now. Not sure if I'll ever go back to eating 6 meals a day.

Originally Posted by Likwid24

Why does it make you feel jittery? Are you taking supplements or too much caffeine on an empty stomach?

It took me about 2-3 weeks to get used to not eating breakfast. To keep myself from starving, this is what I did:

-Wake up in the morning and down a glass of water.

-Drink a cup of coffee right after, with a little bit of cream in it.

-This will suppress my appetite for a little bit. I wait a bit, then I drink a green veggie drink. I got this powdered drink from GNC. It has less than 5 grams of carbs in it. I believe it has 2, which won't affect the fast. This allows me to get an early dose of vitamins and minerals.

-During the fasted time, I'll drink another glass or two of water.

-I'll try to get my first work out in before I eat. To power me through it, I put powdered BCAA's in a water bottle and drink it 15 minutes before my workout. This usually powers me right through my workout. I have been getting some really good workouts on an empty stomach, when this was the thing that I feared most.

-If I got really hungry at any point during my fast, I would drink a little more coffee. This usually holds me over.


You don't get used to it over night and you don't see results over night. It's a process, just like the Fastlane is a process. I have seen great results and I love it now. Not sure if I'll ever go back to eating 6 meals a day.

In the end...I just didn't like how it made me feel. Nope, not taking any supplements except the occasional whey protein shake after workouts. May try it again in the future, but as of right now going to keep going with my current routine.

Originally Posted by PatrickP

I would HIGHLY recommend going into it slowly. If I were a big breakfast person I think it would have been very difficult.

I believe it best if you look at it as a long term lifestyle change.

I took many many months to get into it gradually. I use liberal amounts of coffee to cut the hunger. Now it is easy to go 16 - 24 hours without eating. And can still go running, working out etc. Walked two hours today on the beach. (I had to get that one in there lol)
.

Wow, 16 hours. I do it differently - I skip a meal a week. So if I am hungry and want dinner on say a Tuesday, I just don't eat and go to bed hungry. Or I just eat in the morning and then at night.

Funny and true comment about abs - I have a friend who's obsessed with 'hitting em hard' for years. Last time I saw him I asked him why he got a gut.. his answer was 'dude everyone is saying it, but it's my abs!' - but with a shirt on, you can't tell. Without it, looks bad too

Originally Posted by Cparsons

There are LOTS of different forms of fasting with varying lengths/timing, etc.

Personally, I follow a healthy slow carb diet with a cheat day each week (from the 4 Hour Body), and follow my cheat day with a full 36 hour fast. So if I cheat on Saturday, I fast from Saturday night till breakfast Monday. The first time I did this it was really tough, but by the 3rd it was easy and now it feels natural.

I've gotten the best results with this single day/week fast vs 20 hour fasts daily or alternating eating days. I also find it to be the most convenient and easiest to stick to. Supposedly women will struggle with fasts this long though and do better with shorter fasts.

I believe there are several benefits to a full day fast after a cheat day. 1. it reduces my weekly calorie intake; 2. it gives my body time to repair all the damage I've done, and 3. The hormonal boost and life longevity.

How is this working for you? What results have you seen?

Edit: Has anyone does this with a 9-5 job? This is getting more and more interesting, but everything I find on leangains.com isn't really set up for people who work. Any insight here?

I typically work 8:30 - 5:00 currently. And when I start working full time on my business, I'll be working a lot more (already working on that after work).

Originally Posted by JasonR

How is this working for you? What results have you seen?

Edit: Has anyone does this with a 9-5 job? This is getting more and more interesting, but everything I find on leangains.com isn't really set up for people who work. Any insight here?

I typically work 8:30 - 5:00 currently. And when I start working full time on my business, I'll be working a lot more (already working on that after work).

Personally, I believe fasting in general is best for people who are already lean (or "fat adapted" as Mark's Daily Apple would put it). I've found that IF requires too much willpower if you have 20+lbs to lose, and at some point you will lose your willpower and pig out. Again, this is just my experience, but I think fixing the food you eat should be the foundation, and once you have lost weight with that over a few months, you can start to incorporate IF.

When I bring IF back into my diet, it will be this (which works perfectly for 9 to 5 job): » Introducing Bulletproof Intermittent Fasting: How to Lose Fat, Build Muscle, Stay Focused & Feel Great The Bulletproof Executive