Intermittent Fasting(Lean Gains)

[joshwillard3]

I am thinking about giving it a try, but I am worried about muscle loss in the 16 hour fast. Will I lose muscle in that time frame even if I am eating good sources of protein, carbs, and fat in the 8 hour time frame?

[Flyin Ryan]

Short answer: No.

[PBateman2]

Hell no.

Severe conditions need to be present for muscle loss.

<<<<This crazy fool has been training fasted for five years. Not for everyone but worth a shot.

[KingCrimson]

You will not lose muscle in a 16 hour fast, or 18 hour, or 20 hour or 23 hour. I've been on IF since I started lifting and I've done nothing but gain since.

Also I second ^^^ this, fasted training is the ****

[Couthos]

16 hour fast doesn't sound too extreme.. Question for you two fasters^ do you eat the same amount you would on a normal bulk only all in the 8 hours or do you cut cut out or add more calories?

[Flyin Ryan]

16 hour fast doesn't sound too extreme.. Question for you two fasters^ do you eat the same amount you would on a normal bulk only all in the 8 hours or do you cut cut out or add more calories?

I also do Intermittent Fasting. My fasted time is about 20 hours verses a 4 hour eating window. And yes, I am bulking as well.

Eat whatever calories you would if you were to eat throughout the day.
In the end, it's still cals in vs. cals out.

[a4a]

It'll take you days of fasting to start losing muscle, 16 hours is nothing.

[joshwillard3]

so does that mean that your body uses only fat as fuel during the fast? It is hard for me to accept just because of the magazines and media really pushing the whole "eat every three hours or you'll lose muscle."

[MAX.MAREK]

I am thinking about giving it a try, but I am worried about muscle loss in the 16 hour fast. Will I lose muscle in that time frame even if I am eating good sources of protein, carbs, and fat in the 8 hour time frame?

ur 155lbs at 5'8" and u wannna get smaller? wth dude.....

[joshwillard3]

ur 155lbs at 5'8" and u wannna get smaller? wth dude.....

I am doing this because I am sick of eating 6 meals a day, but I am going to be bulking in about 2 more weeks

[Wapadaigo]

so does that mean that your body uses only fat as fuel during the fast? It is hard for me to accept just because of the magazines and media really pushing the whole "eat every three hours or you'll lose muscle."

http://www.leangains.com/

answers to all your questions buddy

[KQguy]

I have been IF'ing since December,there are times I go 23 hrs. without eating.I don't feel as though I have ever lost any muscle from it.

[MAX.MAREK]

I am doing this because I am sick of eating 6 meals a day, but I am going to be bulking in about 2 more weeks

if ur sick now, youll be sick then when ur eating more. makes NO sense. 6meals per day is cake.

[joshwillard3]

if ur sick now, youll be sick then when ur eating more. makes NO sense. 6meals per day is cake.

.... Sick as in, I dont like the hassle of constantly looking at the clock worrying about when to eat and packing food if I want to go hang out with friends.

[FemmeFatale28]

I have only been doing it two weeks (IF) and I train fasted. So far my muscles havent fallen off. Im pretty sure they wont, and magazines are bullchit

[joshwillard3]

so during the fast without protein, how is it possible to spare muscle?

[KingCrimson]

so during the fast without protein, how is it possible to spare muscle?

What about "you will not lose muscle during the fast" do you not understand? Your question comes from a misconception about how the body works. A better question would be, why would your body eat away at your muscles, which are needed for your to survive, after just 16-20 hours of not eating? Makes no sense from a survival of the fittest standpoint. Your question comes from an understanding which has been created through lots of bro-science. If you doubt that your body can retain muscle without "6 evenly portioned meals w/ protein" throughout the day, why don't you try it out and then maybe you'll be able to answer your own question.

[KQguy]

I think alot of the supplement companies did a good job over the years to convince everyone we need to consume protein every 2-3 if you want to keep that hard earned muscle.They have made millions from it.

[ErickStevens]

Man, somebody should totally create a thread dedicated to IF where you could ask all these questions and have them answered personally by the creator of LeanGains himself. Totally.

[Wapadaigo]

Man, somebody should totally create a thread dedicated to IF where you could ask all these questions and have them answered personally by the creator of LeanGains himself. Totally.

You think then people would go THERE with their questions?

[eriram]

You think then people would go THERE with their questions?

Nope

[bbejj123]

^^^ haha ya obviously not, because he already has his own thread in the advanced nutrition section

[Oneirowatts]

I think fasting is very good to help repair the digestive track and can ultimately make it more efficient in the long run. I'm gonna start fasting more.

[Dr.Mabuse]

so during the fast without protein, how is it possible to spare muscle?

Damn it, why is there no info available about IF on BB.com? ..........Oh wait, how about this huge "Intermittent Fasting for Strength Training and Fat Loss" thread in the "Advanced Nutrition" sub forum?

Dude seriously, start reading!

[zpm]

No muscle loss on IF.Only muscle gain.

[sabush79]

Hello Thank you for all the helpful information and above post. I was wondering how weightlifting and muscle gain stacks up with ADF 4:3?
So three no eating days perhaps 36 to 42 hours of fasting. And then on the other days and eating window of anywhere between 6 to 8 hours? I need to lose a bunch of fat and I also want to bulk up at the same time. That possible was such a fasting pattern? Thank you

[Horizon92]

Hello Thank you for all the helpful information and above post. I was wondering how weightlifting and muscle gain stacks up with ADF 4:3?
So three no eating days perhaps 36 to 42 hours of fasting. And then on the other days and eating window of anywhere between 6 to 8 hours? I need to lose a bunch of fat and I also want to bulk up at the same time. That possible was such a fasting pattern? Thank you

You need to seperate diet and training completely, because while they certaintly do impact each other, they are seperate things.

When it comes to weight loss, whatever you do you need to be in a caloric deficit. Doing any sort of fasting can help with this for obvious reasons. My personal opinion is that any extreme fasting protocol like alternate day fasting is unlikely to be adhered to long term, and thus essentially pointless - because you need to form permanent habits to create permanent change.

You say your goal is to lose fat and bulk up at the same time. This is totally possible for most individuals. The less muscle mass and the more fat mass you currently have, the more muscle you can gain while losing fat. Understand that the fat loss is going to be a result of your diet and overall activity levels putting you in a deficit. The muscle building will be a result of a proper training program with sufficient intensity to force adaptation. The process of building muscle and losing fat are separate. Muscle building will require energy, and will thus aid in your fat loss journey as well. The most important thing is to stay consistent with your caloric intake while staying in a deficit to maintain a steady loss of fat, while training hard and getting sufficient protein (about 1g per cm in height).

The main issue with ADF is that it is for most individuals unustainable and requires more willpower and effort to maintain. If you have experienced the opposite, I cannot tell you that you shouldn't do it. But from personal experience and observational experience, most people will do better eating anywhere from 2-5 meals per day. I stick to around 2-3 with an intermittent fasting routine. Its important to understand that there is nothing magical about fasting in terms of weight loss - the deficit you create is what will dictate rate of weight loss. When you're trying to build muscle at the same time, it should be a priority to make sure that the diet aids the muscle building process. An obvious issue with ADF in that context is that you will be going long periods with no protein intake, which is likely sub optimal for muscle gain. This might be mediated by making sure to for instance training as early as possible on your eating days, getting most of your calories post workout, and resting on fasting days. However it would probably be a better idea to just eat every day and train more often, both for muscle building and energy expenditure purposes.

At the end of the day, ADF is an extreme weight loss protocol that is a very effective tool for weight loss at the expense of a lot of other things like sustainability and performance in the gym. I would advice you to utilize a more moderate approach to fasting while still creating a caloric deficit.