Intermittent Fasting for Strength Training and Fat Loss - Part Two

[alemus]

well ive been on about a 5 month cut from about 20+%, i got kinda fat, was 230 lbs..., got it down to about 15 percent just laying off the amount of food i was eating.... so after that i started IF again and over the last 3 months ive cut down that additional 5%... (cock has been gettin much bigger without all that fat[no homo])

my workout is just on intuition, but normally i only work one, sometimes two muscle groups at once. sometimes ill just come in and do a bunch of sets alternating between inchline and flat bench with 135, with vary rests between 30s to 1.5m, sometimes ill come in and hit 275 for a few sets then just do a bunch of flyes.... i never really plan it.

macro is ~20/50/30 but when i first started IF i never even considered anything that i ate, i just ate whatever.... i guess i just need to get realistic and cut out the halloween snickers and cheese/steak/egg burritos ive been making lately and get back to the basics....

bu

The only way I break my plateaus is I eat clean, I even cut out shakes I eat whole foods. All that kinds has a lot of sugar :-/ maybe one here and there is cool but if you keep eating like that you may as well look like it.

[belmont316]

i am not rage, bro..seriously, just trying to help...


315 what?

Seriously, you need more fat, less carbs and more protein...read the stickies

315 bench, just sayin you dont need to adhere perfectly to some 'magical' routine to look good imo, but also not implying you believe in magic ;p.

i make an aggressive, concerted and savage effort in the gym. i do loosely follow a routine but i modify constantly due to my schedule, life, etc. i may have to miss a day for a microbiology test i have coming up and i need to study, so maybe the next day ill combine chest/shoulders to make up for the loss of the day, and hey since im combining chest and shoulders ill do a bunch of chest work, then start super setting chest/shoulder exercises, you know, and maybe i strained my elbow the week before somehow some way, so im going to focus on reps and form and cut the breaks between sets very short. life is malleable, the body is malleable so too can a workout be.

that being said i have 17 inch arms.

second, i asked a question in regard to plateaus. maybe im just lucky i can eat snickers for dinner and still look decent, but call me greedy im always looking for a way to look even better and eat whatever the F i want.

i have done a full keto diet before and it sucks but you know if i have to drop my carbs i can do it, but since this is the IF thread i thought i would inquire about other ways to break plateaus that are particularly more effective when using IF (am familiar with carb/cal cycling), just testing the waters for anecdotal evidence brah.

appreciate the input tho.

[peteyboy1015]

not enough fat, protein, too much carbs...read the stickies and get a lifting routine

Vitor, I go pretty low on fats myself....around 50-55g. Carbs are upwards to ~500g and protein's pretty low...usually 130g to 150g. When you are in a caloric surplus, protein becomes less of an issue, and fats are not as easily as oxidized...their fate is to be stored. That's just how it is. Read this for more info.

Belmont, if you've hit a plateau in your cutting cycle, I would personally advise you to drop carbs to 15-25g. And then re-access. Keep fats and proteins stable. In a caloric deficit, protein becomes much more important than it is in a caloric surplus.

The only way I break my plateaus is I eat clean, I even cut out shakes I eat whole foods. All that kinds has a lot of sugar :-/ maybe one here and there is cool but if you keep eating like that you may as well look like it.

Eating "clean" does not do anything. Macros are macros at the end of the day, although it's highly advised to eat mostly whole foods to obtain proper micronutrients for good health.

[vitornoob]

Vitor, I go pretty low on fats myself....around 50-55g. Carbs are upwards to ~500g and protein's pretty low...usually 130g to 150g. When you are in a caloric surplus, protein becomes less of an issue, and fats are not as easily as oxidized...their fate is to be stored. That's just how it is. Read this for more info.

he is into %, not macros, i know about the fat that there is no need to be that high, but since he is cutting, i would say that protein is more important than carbs, as is said in emma's post

[alemus]

Vitor, I go pretty low on fats myself....around 50-55g. Carbs are upwards to ~500g and protein's pretty low...usually 130g to 150g. When you are in a caloric surplus, protein becomes less of an issue, and fats are not as easily as oxidized...their fate is to be stored. That's just how it is. Read this for more info.

Belmont, if you've hit a plateau in your cutting cycle, I would personally advise you to drop carbs to 15-25g. And then re-access. Keep fats and proteins stable. In a caloric deficit, protein becomes much more important than it is in a caloric surplus.



Eating "clean" does not do anything. Macros are macros at the end of the day, although it's highly advised to eat mostly whole foods to obtain proper micronutrients for good health.

^^True story, but I used to be overweight 45lbs+ So if I even look at a dirty food I my @$$ gets fat :-o maybe he is lucky like he said that he can eat a Snickers for dinner and still get results.

[volara]

Hi!
On Monday I start leangains lifestyle. I want to get muslce gain slowly. Do you think it's good plan?
Plan
Nutrition:
I want to get muslce-gain slowly in workout days i take days off and 2700kcal 2000kcal 2500kcal about my maintance
- 3g/bw for protein should be entered? My weight 164lb.with 9-10% bf. (74kg) so i need 222g of protein?
- How many carbs and fats? How can i calculate?
Timing:
-I wake up at 6:30 am
-8:00 I'm in my office, but before I drink a cup of coffee in the morning and taken to the eye of the fish oil, multivitamin
- 2PM i take my first meal (20% of my total Calorie)
-5pm: I'm going to the gym to do my workout
7pm, i take my second meal (60% This Is The Biggest)
10pm, i take my last meal (20%)

Look-How are the days when weight training is not just cardio? When the first eat? etc. .. ?

Traning:
Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Abs and Cardio
Wednesday: Upper Body
Thursday: Lower Body
Friday: Abs and Cardio
Saturday, Upper Body
Sunday: Cardio

Upper body:
Chest:
Incline DB Press
Decline Press
Incline flies

Back:
Various grip pull-ups/Chins
deadlifts
Bent over rows

Shoulders:
Shoulder Press / Military Press
seconded with cable side raises
shrugs

Triceps:
Dips
Skullcrushers supersetted with close grip bench
Tricep pushdowns

Biceps:
Various Grip Curls
Hammer Curls
Chin ups

Lower body:
ATG squats
Leg press
Leg extensions
Seated calf raises
standing calf raises

But, i do not know How many sets and REPS reccomended

Now eat 6x a day But I always hungry. Parties that I will not endure not to eat until 2 pm so when I'm hungry I drink a cup of coffee.

So what do you guys think? Jo will be the start. I thought that I was doing a forum where every day I'm going to document my body transofrmation. I look forward to the proposals.

It looks like you were only recently introduced to weightlifting.

Do Starting Strength or some other program for beginners.

[volara]

When you are in a caloric surplus, protein becomes less of an issue, and fats are not as easily as oxidized...their fate is to be stored. That's just how it is.

That's a good point lots of people seem to miss amidst the whole protein+diet hoopla.

[milkneggs786]

Holy cow, I forgot how fast this thread moves!

I hear you I went from always hungry with the 6x/day eating to my appetitie being suppressed this is so weird! and Ive been only doing this for 3 days, whats gives?

Lol, I did the 6x/day eating cutting diet thing for the first half of my journey, and man was I miserable. Even my sister commented on how crabby I was during those first couple of months. I felt like a hungry rodent scurrying around always hunting for my next sliver of a meal.

Maybe eating 6 times a day just trained our brains that we were going to get a meal every two hours, so when 1 1/2 hrs rolled around, our minds automatically signaled "hungry time." Maybe its a hormonal change thing, lol I dont know, all I do know is that I love it and im doing it for life. Great cuts by the way, well done on your transformation.

I didnt read alot of the post (please forgive me), but I noticed alot of talk about plateaus. In my journey, I found that if I plateaued on fatloss, I would adjust my calories for each day down 100 cals and up my cardio. Recently, throwing in some HIIT freestyle swimming on cardio days has really increased muscle separation and definition.

Hope this helps and good training to you all.

EDIT: just some additional info- I follow a EOD (every other day) nutritional regiment where I alternate Lifting and cardio days (no rest days), and eat a ton on Lifting days, and eat less than a ton on cardio days.

[belmont316]

^^True story, but I used to be overweight 45lbs+ So if I even look at a dirty food I my @$$ gets fat :-o maybe he is lucky like he said that he can eat a Snickers for dinner and still get results.

You know just to put this out there, I broke my fast today with:

4 fun size snickers, 1/4 gallon of milk
1 medium sized burrito with steak/egg/potatoe/cheese
organic barbeque chips, 10 or so
1 banana
1 large bowl of frosted mini wheats
~2 cups of left over take out chinese chow chow mein

... still getting results, but becoming more of a recomp than a cut now. so maybe losing .025% BF per week

EDIT:

Took it with
1 centrum performance multi
1 Fishoil
1 D3 gel tab
1 b-max complex tab
25mg zinc
500mg niacin
10g BCAA caps
3000mg AAKG
2 yohimbe caps
1 ephedrine/1 caffeine tab
1 herbal energy tab

Then i went and workout, (let food digest ~2.5 hours) skin was about to explode (arms day)

PostWO: 30g protein shake, 1 large bowl of chocolate frosted flakes

1 hour post workout: 1 large breakfast burrito, 2 big handfuls of tortillas chips and homemade beandip, a few BCAA caps...

srs. Thats how I roll.

[determined4000]

WOW great advice thanks so much! :-D Im competing in DEcember so I HAVE to do my MMA I cant NOT do it. I think the way you laid it out would be coinvenient for me. Is this weird that Ive been IF for only 3 days so far and my abs are poppin like crazy?? I was going to give it at least 3 weeks but how the heck am I already appearing so lean??!

Just curious on your 'rest' days do you cut your fasting time shorter?

fasting "time" doesnt matter
If you find it easier to eat less if you eat less on rest days, than you could
I eat the same every day though and my feeding window will largely depend on my schedule/how busy I am
Normally its about 6 hours long.

[alemus]

Holy cow, I forgot how fast this thread moves!



Lol, I did the 6x/day eating cutting diet thing for the first half of my journey, and man was I miserable. Even my sister commented on how crabby I was during those first couple of months. I felt like a hungry rodent scurrying around always hunting for my next sliver of a meal.

Maybe eating 6 times a day just trained our brains that we were going to get a meal every two hours, so when 1 1/2 hrs rolled around, our minds automatically signaled "hungry time." Maybe its a hormonal change thing, lol I dont know, all I do know is that I love it and im doing it for life. Great cuts by the way, well done on your transformation.

I didnt read alot of the post (please forgive me), but I noticed alot of talk about plateaus. In my journey, I found that if I plateaued on fatloss, I would adjust my calories for each day down 100 cals and up my cardio. Recently, throwing in some HIIT freestyle swimming on cardio days has really increased muscle separation and definition.

Hope this helps and good training to you all.

EDIT: just some additional info- I follow a EOD (every other day) nutritional regiment where I alternate Lifting and cardio days (no rest days), and eat a ton on Lifting days, and eat less than a ton on cardio days.

YES! I was always hungry with 6x meals/day I wanted my next meal before 3 hours were up I hated I did it for 3 years!! What the heck was wrong me with, I like your advice on plateau. Ive used this as well and noticed a big difference man sometimes I think cardio is king it really rev's the metabolism for me. LOVE that you DONT rest, rest is for injuries IMO.

[nkiritsis13]

this is great advice thanks! yeah I HAVE NOT found anyone who has mentioned they train 2x/day. I train 2x/day probably about 2x/week especially right now Im going to compete in December I've been adding in extra cardio sessions at night which is my MMA is great cardio You GATTA try MMA its the best thing Ive ever done! I seriously think my abs came out because I started doing it :-p Im sure it helped that I cleaned up my diet. But anywho Im going to take your advice and push back window feeding time. Just curious how do you feed on your rest day? How long do you fast for since you dont really have a 'post workout meal' I rarely rest daily cardio is a must for me I like to kepp my heart healthy but I dont consider that 'real' training.

Multiple training periods is rough on the body, so here are some things that I find help a ton:

Pre/Post workout supps - I don't just mean pre workout powder, I mean taking your vitamins.
It's simple and it makes a huge difference in how you feel, even emotionally. My fast is technically broken with this because I take my fish oil, CLA, and sesamin along with a shot of my other vitamins, but I like taking all of them on an empty stomach and separated throughout the day before I eat. Having a fishy aftertaste suddenly appear when eating eggs is not a good experience.

Post workout shower - Sounds silly, but hot steam helps relax the muscles and I find it improves flexibility for later activity. That would probably help out with the moving in MMA so as not to feel stiff after weights. This helps a lot in the long run for enduring more of a workout.

Hydration - Water does wonders, and I find that I don't even need extend to feel fine with proper hydration. A definite must after working out, but to be honest I don't drink much during some of my workouts just so I can focus without having to stop as often for the restroom. A lot of activity and movement just has that effect on the body, so I'll do my cardio with very little immediately beforehand. Lately I've been drinking a lot of iced tea that you can buy. I even lifted today with a bottle and felt fantastic.

More exercise - This one I can't even explain, but I *think* I even read something about this on either leangains or another site recently. Anyway, I have always found that once I get into the swing of working out and my adrenaline starts pumping, my hunger vanishes and I'm good for a while afterwards even. If you push back your window so that you can not do MMA starved and eat afterwards, you might find that you are 1) not worn out from all of the exertion and 2) not famished after the MMA.

Adaptation - You get used to it after a while as your body adjusts to the pattern of eating at specific times. If your abs are popping more, it's likely a sign of losing some water weight from IF. Other than recently after being sick and having to load up on some syrup, I don't have a big problem with water weight or feeling bloated during the day (or night). Best of all, if you are consistent, I find that an immediate post workout meal is not required. My lifting days are tasking, but today as I'm writing, I'm barely hungry as I'm getting ready to eat.

Bonus - Music. Seriously, the stuff just works when it comes to exercise. I know it has been shown to impact your performance for the better and even give the brain a bit of a high. From experience it makes the most arduous workout much more bearable and pretty damn fun. Add it with the other factors, and I feel like during and post workout I am doing better than if I listened to the silence and clanks from the plates. I'm the same way about cardio, and I often forget to include it as "working out," but it is important to consider. I've burnt myself out with it, and I will say small part of that was being a little too motivated with my music! I've turned both cardio and weight days that started less than stellar into great training days with a bit of music.


I've been looking into what's available around me as far as MMA or other martial arts, but Google Maps isn't always the most friendly tool and there is not much around where I live as far as anything cool (in fact, it sucks around here ha ha!). I actually want something useful and fun (like MMA), not doing karate in the local dojo with elementary schoolers!
There is a krav maga center (pretty far though) which, if it is the one I remember looking up before, also has an awesome boot camp program. Hopefully I can run across something a little closer.

guys i been on IF for 3 months, sitting about 10%, please respond. i am hitting a plateau.... anyone get results by taking time off IF then coming back? please respond. stay safe.

I'm just curious, do you cycle your calories through the week? On leangains, Martin talks about making the lifting days (let's say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) basically into smaller refeeds. This helps keep your leptin levels more stable. If you cut for a long time, what can happen is your leptin hormone drops, slowing down your loss of fat. Switching up your days by including controlled high carb days could help get you out of the slump. Otherwise, a much larger refeed could be required. After reading about the former option, I am much more inclined to agree with that method just out of personal experience trying the later (I always would get sick trying to eat so much after getting used to a much smaller diet). Don't worry about IF causing any of the trouble, though.

[alemus]

Multiple training periods is rough on the body, so here are some things that I find help a ton:

Pre/Post workout supps - I don't just mean pre workout powder, I mean taking your vitamins.
It's simple and it makes a huge difference in how you feel, even emotionally. My fast is technically broken with this because I take my fish oil, CLA, and sesamin along with a shot of my other vitamins, but I like taking all of them on an empty stomach and separated throughout the day before I eat. Having a fishy aftertaste suddenly appear when eating eggs is not a good experience.

Post workout shower - Sounds silly, but hot steam helps relax the muscles and I find it improves flexibility for later activity. That would probably help out with the moving in MMA so as not to feel stiff after weights. This helps a lot in the long run for enduring more of a workout.

Hydration - Water does wonders, and I find that I don't even need extend to feel fine with proper hydration. A definite must after working out, but to be honest I don't drink much during some of my workouts just so I can focus without having to stop as often for the restroom. A lot of activity and movement just has that effect on the body, so I'll do my cardio with very little immediately beforehand. Lately I've been drinking a lot of iced tea that you can buy. I even lifted today with a bottle and felt fantastic.

More exercise - This one I can't even explain, but I *think* I even read something about this on either leangains or another site recently. Anyway, I have always found that once I get into the swing of working out and my adrenaline starts pumping, my hunger vanishes and I'm good for a while afterwards even. If you push back your window so that you can not do MMA starved and eat afterwards, you might find that you are 1) not worn out from all of the exertion and 2) not famished after the MMA.

Adaptation - You get used to it after a while as your body adjusts to the pattern of eating at specific times. If your abs are popping more, it's likely a sign of losing some water weight from IF. Other than recently after being sick and having to load up on some syrup, I don't have a big problem with water weight or feeling bloated during the day (or night). Best of all, if you are consistent, I find that an immediate post workout meal is not required. My lifting days are tasking, but today as I'm writing, I'm barely hungry as I'm getting ready to eat.

Bonus - Music. Seriously, the stuff just works when it comes to exercise. I know it has been shown to impact your performance for the better and even give the brain a bit of a high. From experience it makes the most arduous workout much more bearable and pretty damn fun. Add it with the other factors, and I feel like during and post workout I am doing better than if I listened to the silence and clanks from the plates. I'm the same way about cardio, and I often forget to include it as "working out," but it is important to consider. I've burnt myself out with it, and I will say small part of that was being a little too motivated with my music! I've turned both cardio and weight days that started less than stellar into great training days with a bit of music.


I've been looking into what's available around me as far as MMA or other martial arts, but Google Maps isn't always the most friendly tool and there is not much around where I live as far as anything cool (in fact, it sucks around here ha ha!). I actually want something useful and fun (like MMA), not doing karate in the local dojo with elementary schoolers!
There is a krav maga center (pretty far though) which, if it is the one I remember looking up before, also has an awesome boot camp program. Hopefully I can run across something a little closer.

I'm just curious, do you cycle your calories through the week? On leangains, Martin talks about making the lifting days (let's say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) basically into smaller refeeds. This helps keep your leptin levels more stable. If you cut for a long time, what can happen is your leptin hormone drops, slowing down your loss of fat. Switching up your days by including controlled high carb days could help get you out of the slump. Otherwise, a much larger refeed could be required. After reading about the former option, I am much more inclined to agree with that method just out of personal experience trying the later (I always would get sick trying to eat so much after getting used to a much smaller diet). Don't worry about IF causing any of the trouble, though.

YOU ARE AWESOME! love all this advice. I take all these supps right now: CLA, Multi, Vit C, Vit D, B-complex, Fish Oil, BCAA's, Protein powder. But I will start taking them on an empty stomach now I wasnt taking them until I had my first meal. I like your way better. And i probably did lose alot of water weight starting the IF because I knew mentally I couldnt have lost that my BF in 3 days thats just kinda crazy if I did :-o

I cycle my cals 1x/week its my re-feed day or high carb day whatever you wanna call it. I used to do the 3 days low then 1 day high but I wasnt getting lean that way I prefer the 1x/week cycle. althought I prefer to up my carbs more than the actual calories (I know Im weird). Also Im having toruble eating alot PWO I get soooo full but I gatta give it time.

[belmont316]

I'm just curious, do you cycle your calories through the week? On leangains, Martin talks about making the lifting days (let's say Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) basically into smaller refeeds. This helps keep your leptin levels more stable. If you cut for a long time, what can happen is your leptin hormone drops, slowing down your loss of fat. Switching up your days by including controlled high carb days could help get you out of the slump. Otherwise, a much larger refeed could be required. After reading about the former option, I am much more inclined to agree with that method just out of personal experience trying the later (I always would get sick trying to eat so much after getting used to a much smaller diet). Don't worry about IF causing any of the trouble, though.

I do tend to tailor my eating to my lifting. If I am going to hit two muscle groups I eat big, a lot of carbs pre work out. If I feel deflated and flat and watery, despite being 'thinner' I usually carb up. For me that entails eating like 1/3 box of cereal or something.

I do eat whatever I want basically but I don't eat fast food or eat out; Unless its left overs because I hate wasting food. Like today I ate a decent portion of chicken chow mein from the chinese joint. Or I'll eat donuts at work. Whatever haha.

During the weekend/rest periods I just listen to my body, I don't force feed or force cut calories. I really believe in training on instincts after you have lifted 3-5+ years and tried a lot of things. I was about a month ago during some HIIT cardio, and that was keeping my muscles full and helping me cut so I think I'll try that again.

[phain]

for the macros, you should read the stickies, did not understand anything about your calories...what is your maintance? what is your goal? have you calculated calories for the week?

Why do you train 3x upper body and 1x lower? why abs separated?

Suggest you to stick with a begginer routine like Starting Strength, SL 5x5, etc

I wrote..
My maintance : 2500kcal
my goal is : gain muslce slowly
I just calculated for days. Workout days : 2750kcal(maintance x10% slow bulk) Rest days : 2000kcal
Macros :
I use IF calculator
-Work days :
224g/353g/52g P/C/F
-Rest days: 224g/138g/62g P/C/F

I need a full plan for Monday so please help me. I dont know how to eat my kcal on rest days (I think the timing of ) .

[RotaPride]

After a few attempts at cutting using 6 meals a day method & Atkins/Keto/Low Carb I achieved results but could never retain them because I always felt deprived! Cravings were always intense and although they both worked to lose some weight I always bounced back to my previous weight soon after I tried to move into some form of maintenance.

Leangains and Warrior Diet changed my life and was the key to my success, it confirmed my suspicions that 6 meals a day, regular protein intake & forced morning breakfast just wasn't necessary and it helped me shred fat , gain a little muscle and now maintain/build my physique without ever depriving my natural instinct to eat big and never once depriving myself of certain macros! Just incorporating them a little bit smarter than before as per the cyclic nature of Leangains. it may not be "magic" but it damn sure makes it easy to diet.

Previously weighing 94kg (206) - 5' 8" at my heaviest I dieted/bicycled my way down to 82kg (180). Being a fat/thick person naturally I figured that was the best I could do without a lot more exercise or cutting even more calories from my 1700. But after reading Warrior Diet and Leangains.com I put the diet and exercise protocol into motion.

I work 50-60 hours a week in an office job and have a young family that requires a lot of my time after work so I could only hit the gym once a week on Sunday mornings, sometimes Wednesday arv if the stars aligned! ) But in spite of all this, IF has brought me a lot closer to my ideal Bodyfat percentage and goals just by manipulating my diet to a minimum 16-20 hour fast and cycling calories around training to be in a weekly deficit/maintenance eating. And it never once felt like I was dieting always eating till I was full! Often adding to the amazement of family and friends, how I could eat so much and still lose weight, to be honest I think they thought I had worms.

Everytime I thought my physique had stalled, I would always get a big shock when I kept getting leaner and stronger as the fat dropped off and my lifts continued to climb and I was beating PB's on the bike.

After nailing my IF diet 100% I realised I had a serious case of ****-Around-Itis never doing anything in the gym conducive to change! So recently I have put the same devotion into my training schedule, joined a 24 hour gym to make sure I can hit the weights two-three times a week! I've cut back a little on my long distance cycling and put in maximal effort on gym days incorporating RPT and compound lifts.

22 week progress all thanks to leangains and a bit of hard work! Starting weight was 82kg (180) with a 90cm (36") Waist. I am now 73kg (160) with a 77cm (30") Waist. The loss was pretty linear with 1/2 kilo a week dropped.
(I have a picture of my progress uploaded to imageshack.us if someone would like to link for me? Site restrictions won't allow it till I hit 50 posts)

Chest and Arms Measurements have both increased slightly and I feel 100 times stronger both in the gym and on the bike.

I'm sure I could have achieved results quicker with a little more gym time or bigger deficit but slow and steady seems to be working just fine. Martin is a legend for speaking the truth & sharing his knowledge, can't wait for his book to come out. I hope this is proof enough that anyone, no matter what your time restraints or social life, can get results using this way of life! IF (Leangains) for life! Eat Big! Train Hard! FTW!

I'm going to reassess my goals after christmas (Christmas Dinner here we come!!!) But I'm looking at a recomp back up to 75-77kg to gain some lean muscle and hopefully get to 10% BF.

"A man who wants to do something will find a way! A man who doesn't will find an excuse!"

Thanks to all who have posted here, this thread and the previous allowed me to assess and keep changing my own Eating and Training plan making it work for me and my lifestyle rather than trying to change my lifestyle to suit a diet plan.

[RotaPride]

Edit: For those interested I just uploaded a "Before & After" photo to my avatar/body progress, rather than try to link to an image on an external website.

[jzpowahz]

RotaPride: good stuff mate. Big changes!

[alemus]

After a few attempts at cutting using 6 meals a day method & Atkins/Keto/Low Carb I achieved results but could never retain them because I always felt deprived! Cravings were always intense and although they both worked to lose some weight I always bounced back to my previous weight soon after I tried to move into some form of maintenance.

Leangains and Warrior Diet changed my life and was the key to my success, it confirmed my suspicions that 6 meals a day, regular protein intake & forced morning breakfast just wasn't necessary and it helped me shred fat , gain a little muscle and now maintain/build my physique without ever depriving my natural instinct to eat big and never once depriving myself of certain macros! Just incorporating them a little bit smarter than before as per the cyclic nature of Leangains. it may not be "magic" but it damn sure makes it easy to diet.

Previously weighing 94kg (206) - 5' 8" at my heaviest I dieted/bicycled my way down to 82kg (180). Being a fat/thick person naturally I figured that was the best I could do without a lot more exercise or cutting even more calories from my 1700. But after reading Warrior Diet and Leangains.com I put the diet and exercise protocol into motion.

I work 50-60 hours a week in an office job and have a young family that requires a lot of my time after work so I could only hit the gym once a week on Sunday mornings, sometimes Wednesday arv if the stars aligned! ) But in spite of all this, IF has brought me a lot closer to my ideal Bodyfat percentage and goals just by manipulating my diet to a minimum 16-20 hour fast and cycling calories around training to be in a weekly deficit/maintenance eating. And it never once felt like I was dieting always eating till I was full! Often adding to the amazement of family and friends, how I could eat so much and still lose weight, to be honest I think they thought I had worms.

Everytime I thought my physique had stalled, I would always get a big shock when I kept getting leaner and stronger as the fat dropped off and my lifts continued to climb and I was beating PB's on the bike.

After nailing my IF diet 100% I realised I had a serious case of ****-Around-Itis never doing anything in the gym conducive to change! So recently I have put the same devotion into my training schedule, joined a 24 hour gym to make sure I can hit the weights two-three times a week! I've cut back a little on my long distance cycling and put in maximal effort on gym days incorporating RPT and compound lifts.

22 week progress all thanks to leangains and a bit of hard work! Starting weight was 82kg (180) with a 90cm (36") Waist. I am now 73kg (160) with a 77cm (30") Waist. The loss was pretty linear with 1/2 kilo a week dropped.
(I have a picture of my progress uploaded to imageshack.us if someone would like to link for me? Site restrictions won't allow it till I hit 50 posts)

Chest and Arms Measurements have both increased slightly and I feel 100 times stronger both in the gym and on the bike.

I'm sure I could have achieved results quicker with a little more gym time or bigger deficit but slow and steady seems to be working just fine. Martin is a legend for speaking the truth & sharing his knowledge, can't wait for his book to come out. I hope this is proof enough that anyone, no matter what your time restraints or social life, can get results using this way of life! IF (Leangains) for life! Eat Big! Train Hard! FTW!

I'm going to reassess my goals after christmas (Christmas Dinner here we come!!!) But I'm looking at a recomp back up to 75-77kg to gain some lean muscle and hopefully get to 10% BF.

"A man who wants to do something will find a way! A man who doesn't will find an excuse!"

Thanks to all who have posted here, this thread and the previous allowed me to assess and keep changing my own Eating and Training plan making it work for me and my lifestyle rather than trying to change my lifestyle to suit a diet plan.

Thanks for sharing this I JUST started the IF about 1 week ago and I really like that Im not so worried about food ALL the freakin time! Im going to stick out for at least another 3 weeks to make sure its really working for me. Thanks for sharing. My biggest problem is keeping my food in an 8 hour window mine is usually 8-10 hours window. Im not sure if this is super bad or not :-/

[volara]

Thanks for sharing this I JUST started the IF about 1 week ago and I really like that Im not so worried about food ALL the freakin time! Im going to stick out for at least another 3 weeks to make sure its really working for me. Thanks for sharing. My biggest problem is keeping my food in an 8 hour window mine is usually 8-10 hours window. Im not sure if this is super bad or not :-/

Actually, women use 14-10 instead of 16-8 windows most of the time, so you're still good.

[everphilski]

I actually read through both IF threads over the past few months and finally made it to the end.

I've been IFing for 4 months now and it is going great. I break the fast around 11AM with lunch, workout M/W/F around 2:30 (Wendlers' 5/3/1) and finish up dinner with the family by 6PM. Might seem early to some but I go to bed at 8PM to be at work by 5:30AM...

That is all.

No questions.

/i_read_the_f**cking_threads

[BlazerINtheWork]

tried searching but typing xtend into the search is right above typing in "the"


just wanted to check my math since i suck at conversions. anyways, 7g of bcaa per scoop of xtend, correct?


thanks.

[erikscasper]

tried searching but typing xtend into the search is right above typing in "the"


just wanted to check my math since i suck at conversions. anyways, 7g of bcaa per scoop of xtend, correct?


thanks.

looks correct to me

3500 mg L-Leucine
1750 mg L-Isoleucine
1750 mg L-Valine

easy way to convert is to add them up in mg's then divide by 1000. 1000 mg's per gram.

[jzpowahz]

I actually read through both IF threads over the past few months and finally made it to the end.

I've been IFing for 4 months now and it is going great. I break the fast around 11AM with lunch, workout M/W/F around 2:30 (Wendlers' 5/3/1) and finish up dinner with the family by 6PM. Might seem early to some but I go to bed at 8PM to be at work by 5:30AM...

That is all.

No questions.

/i_read_the_f**cking_threads

One of the most sensible posts in the last few pages

[alemus]

tried searching but typing xtend into the search is right above typing in "the"


just wanted to check my math since i suck at conversions. anyways, 7g of bcaa per scoop of xtend, correct?


thanks.

yup thats what it says on the package since the IF program says take ~10g I'll just do 2 scoops with alot of water keeps me full but then again Im only 5 foot 1 at 105lbs im sure Im good with ~7g of BCAA's

[alemus]

One of the most sensible posts in the last few pages

Hahah bump :-p I read through it all just like he did for months but I STILL had questions :-p Im an idiot!

[BlazerINtheWork]

looks correct to me

3500 mg L-Leucine
1750 mg L-Isoleucine
1750 mg L-Valine

easy way to convert is to add them up in mg's then divide by 1000. 1000 mg's per gram.

yup thats what it says on the package since the IF program says take ~10g I'll just do 2 scoops with alot of water keeps me full but then again Im only 5 foot 1 at 105lbs im sure Im good with ~7g of BCAA's

thanks!

One of the most sensible posts in the last few pages

yeah i repped him for it when i came in

[phain]

Please guys i need a very quick answer!
In rest day the first meal the biggest ? Is it a good plan ?
pre workout ( the biggest total calorie 60%)
post workout (total calorie 20% )
3.meal (total calorie 20%)

Please help me.

[erikscasper]

Please guys i need a very quick answer!
In rest day the first meal the biggest ? Is it a good plan ?
pre workout ( the biggest total calorie 60%)
post workout (total calorie 20% )
3.meal (total calorie 20%)

Please help me.

I'd say if thats what you usually do on your workout days then go with it. I think its prob good to keep some consistency when possible.

[ANIMALISTIKZ]

Hahah bump :-p I read through it all just like he did for months but I STILL had questions :-p Im an idiot!

Off-topic but what is your ideal goal? IFBB bikini Pro?