Week 145 :: What Kind Of Effects Can Fasting Have On A Bodybuilder?

[the_fake_webmaster]

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* Note: How can I win? 1. Answer all questions in the order that they are asked. 2. Go over reviews (located at the bottom of past TOTW articles) and see what was said about those that did not win. Good Luck!
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TOPIC: What Kind Of Effects Can Fasting Have On A Bodybuilder?

For the week of: October 31st - November 13th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

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We are constantly reminded how important it is for bodybuilders to eat a properly balanced diet and to NEVER skip meals. However, for religious or medical purposes some of us will probably have to fast at some point.

What kind of effects can fasting have on a bodybuilder?

What are some of the pros to fasting?

What are some of the cons to fasting?

BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever fasted? Did you experience any noticeable effects?

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* New Rule (beginning: June 1st, 2006): Any exercise not listed on our exercise listing (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm) must be accompanied by a full and complete description and pictures (or a link to the exercise(s) where pictures and description are given).

Thanks.

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $75 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it. Become famous!

Thanks,
Will
Webmaster
Bodybuilding.com

[justinc911]

Here is my article for topic of the week(145), fasting and the effects on bodybuilding.

Because of the extreme number of words I felt it was better to include it as an attachment.

Thanks and have a great day!

[dre_nelly21@hotmail.com]

well...... i;m a muslim from singapore...
as a muslim, we used to fast once a yr for a month....
fasting took a great toll on my body...
for that mth, i lose at least 5pound of muscle the most...
got terrible head ache and stomach discomfort as we could not
consume any liquid or food for at least 14hour....
as for the pros... after the fasting mth has ended i started to eat heavy,
train heavier than before and gained strength
but honestly, i would not recommend this for those who tried to gain weight
and for those who trying desperately to lose weight,. this is the best way to do it.... beside for the religious act, u can fast for at least, ten hours.... more than that, it would do harm than any good...

[Joseph AA]

------------------------------------------------------------
* Note: How can I win? 1. Answer all questions in the order that they are asked. 2. Go over reviews (located at the bottom of past TOTW articles) and see what was said about those that did not win. Good Luck!
------------------------------------------------------------

TOPIC: What Kind Of Effects Can Fasting Have On A Bodybuilder?

For the week of: October 31st - November 6th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are constantly reminded how important it is for bodybuilders to eat a properly balanced diet and to NEVER skip meals. However, for religious or medical purposes some of us will probably have to fast at some point.

What kind of effects can fasting have on a bodybuilder?

What are some of the pros to fasting?

What are some of the cons to fasting?

BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever fasted? Did you experience any noticeable effects?

-------------------------------------------------------------

* New Rule (beginning: June 1st, 2006): Any exercise not listed on our exercise listing (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/exercises.htm) must be accompanied by a full and complete description and pictures (or a link to the exercise(s) where pictures and description are given).

Thanks.

Don't discuss any other topic in this section. ONLY discuss the question above.

The best response will get $75 in credit to use in our online store! The other good responses will be used in an article on the main Bodybuilding.com site, with the poster's forum name listed by it. Become famous!

Thanks,
Will
Webmaster
Bodybuilding.com

I took alittle health science. My specialty is muscle building, but I do know this. Your body has different sources where it gets energy. In a nut shell your body will use up sugars first then fats then proteins(muscle). If you do not hold to a proper diet your body will burn protein (or muscle) for energy which will result in a decrease in lean body mass(muscle). This all depends on how long your fast is

[dondo86]

I read that fasting for several hours can have benefits. But the fast only benefits bodybuilders/weightlifters who have been eating clean/strict, basically like a pro would for a few years. After eating strict for a few years your body starts to tell you that it doesnt want this surplus of clean food anymore and it gets really hard to consume healthy foods. The answer to this is to fast for several hours. Remember I have only read this, I havent tried it. Reference: Extreme Muscle Enhancement, Carl M Colker

[mastrunk]

Fasting is the abistience of food for religious or medical purpose.According to the greek word it is to cover ones mouth.I am a minister who fast at least once a week and three days once every three months.When I fast for one day before bedtime I will eat a snack full of carbs for the next morning is a workout.What I have noticed about fasting then going into the gym the following is that I feel refreshed.What is really neat is the bible even says your health will spring forth speedily after you have fasted. Fasting teaches you discipline on how to control your food.Fasting releases toxins out of your body.Fasting for a long period of time can really mess your eating habits up. Fasting also begins to eat the muscle away do to the body starving itself for some nutrients.The many times I fasted I have not been affected that much in the gym unless I have fasted for a longer period of time than 24 hours. After a 24 hour period fasting becomes easier to deal with.

[crazy_1]

looks like nobody will win this week considering the only real entry was copy and pasted from wiki

[BigTruckGuy3500]

I got some good stuff to write, but I've been to busy. I'll submit something tonight or tomorrow if it still counts.

[The Crush]

We will extend this an additional week. I look forward to reading your descriptive (and not plagiarized) submissions.

Good luck!

Scott

[BigTruckGuy3500]

We will extend this an additional week. I look forward to reading your descriptive (and not plagiarized) submissions.

Good luck!

Scott

Cool, thanks. If it's for another week I'll take a few days to write it well.

[zenon]

gotta remember to enter this one...

[Richard2002]

Fasting mean no Gain

[justinc911]

We will extend this an additional week. I look forward to reading your descriptive (and not plagiarized) submissions.

Good luck!

Scott

Was this met to be directed at someone Scott?

[FireMedicMike]

a friend of mine who is a fairly successful amatuer bodybuilder fast's every Sunday for religious reasons. He approaches this day of the week very systematically. He uses Saturday as a cheat day, ie consumes copious amounts of red meat and carbs all day long, he also trains legs very heavy in the morning. He begins the fast at midnight that way sleep is incorporated in the fasting period. On Sundays he consumes a gallon of water and a cup of black coffee every 4 hours, no real strenuous physical activities on this day as it may cause the slightest muscle loss w no nutrients coming in for the day. At the strike of midnight he consumes 6 egg whites, 3 whole eggs and 1 cup of oatmeal, then goes to bed about an hour later. He claims that he feels his very best on Monday mornings bc his body is cleansed of all toxins and radicals. This is a second hand account, i've never tried it but as I said he's fairly accomplished in bodybuilding.

[justinc911]

Using SOURCE as a link back is an approved method of reference for online documentation, but I did reformulate my article realizing I forgot to put quotes around a little section, and got rid of the overview section which would have been more of the sources information than my own.

I hope this is okay now if it was me you were referring to above.

Have a great day.

[dondo86]

oh crap, i didnt know this was a contest, I just thought it was a questions some guy had

[Mighty Kev]

Well here's my first attempt at the article of the week contests... wish me luck!

TOPIC: What Kind Of Effects Can Fasting Have On A Bodybuilder?

For the week of: October 31st - November 13th
Tuesday @ Midnight Is The Final Cut (Mountain Time, US & Canada).

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are constantly reminded how important it is for bodybuilders to eat a properly balanced diet and to NEVER skip meals. However, for religious or medical purposes some of us will probably have to fast at some point.

What kind of effects can fasting have on a bodybuilder?
The human body is always under the stress of having to create energy and nutrients from whatever is available to it. In normal cases, the body metabolizes foods that are consumed such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins. There are a few uses for these nutrients. Proteins can be used by the body to create new lean muscle when needed. Carbohydrates are basically the energy providing nutrients, while fats act as another energy source. They all have other uses, but we'll try to keep this a simple explanation for now.

In the case of bodybuilders, there is always a great deal of stress on the body from the intense lifting sessions that we force ourselves to go through. This causes muscle breakdown, which requires protein from the bodybuilder's diet to rebuild the muscles bigger and better. When there is no free protein, the body will attempt to rebuild that muscle from whatever is available, which would be protein from already existing muscle. This means that in order for the muscles to rebuild from the stress of the workout, other muscles are put into a catabolic state and are broken down to rebuild another muscle. Basically this means the loss of muscle tissue somewhere to rebuild muscle somewhere else. For instance, if doing a leg workout while fasting, you would be losing bits of hard earned muscle from your upper body to repair those legs. Does this sound like what a bodybuilder wants? ABSOLUTELY NOT! This is essentially the moving around of muscle from muscle to muscle, without adding any additional mass!

Another less known fact is that protein can be used as an energy source, just like fats and carbohydrates. When a person is in a fasted state, the body needs to get energy from somewhere in order to keep living. Essentially it has three choices. The carbs stored in muscles (glycogen), fatty tissue (that nice keg that?s been making it hard in to fit into your Levi?s), or to take proteins away from muscle that?s already built. Now it seems obvious that we would like the fat to be the choice our body makes, but unfortunately that isn?t true. When the body needs energy, it takes from all three of these sources. Meaning you would lose muscle mass, lose the sugars in your body (making you tired), as well as losing some body fat.

A bodybuilder would be much better off following a diet of moderate calorie consumption (or a small calorie deficit), exercising regularly as well as keeping an overall healthy lifestyle (low stress, loving family, etc.)

Of course for medical reasons such as blood tests or religious reasons such as Ramadan, this is hard to avoid. If a solid diet and consistent exercise regimen is followed, small periods of time fasting such as these shouldn?t have too hindersome of effects on one?s physique.

What are some of the pros to fasting?
The pros of fasting are that a very accurate blood test can be taken in medical circumstances. That of course was a little bit of a joke, but there really aren?t too many pros to fasting other than incredibly fast weight loss. Now this sounds great to some people but the problem with this is that the weight on the scale may go down very quickly, but that will not be fat loss as bodybuilders would like. There will be fat loss, muscle loss, and potentially water loss. Muscle is very metabolically active substance, which means that the loss of it slows down the amount of calories that the body burns in a day. This means that as soon as the fasting has ended, this weight is very likely to come back quickly and often as fat rather than muscle. It really is a negative thing the world of bodybuilding.

What are some of the cons to fasting?
When in a fasted state, the body doesn?t have the proper nitrogen balance to keep all of that hard earned muscle. It has to be broken down for either energy or into its amino acid monomers in order to rebuild other proteins in muscles that have been broken down (for instance when a person lifts weights while fasting.)

BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever fasted? Did you experience any noticeable effects?
I have felt the effects of fasting before. Not being able to eat for a whole day would qualify me to talk about this. Essentially, fasting makes you feel weak. There is just no energy to do anything, including to go and get up to eat oddly. If someone were planning to work out while fasting in the future, I would wish them luck, because it is incredibly hard to do because the weakness as well as the stomach cramping is tough to cope with. As well as the feelings you get, the changes in your physique are also noticeable. You essentially look flat and weak as opposed to the ripped and lean, which is the ideal look. Fasting is definitely not an advisable part of bodybuilding.

-K

[TySJI]

I've fasted for 5 days largely out of curiousity (everyone from Aristotle to Jesus to Ghandi was big on it) and while I didn't lift during them, I didn't notice a decrease in strength after the fast. The idea that your muscle will quickly get chewed away from fasting is bogus IMO as long as you have at least a small amount of fat on your body prior to the fast.

From my experience, hunger diminishes a little after 2-3 days but lethargy (bothersome but definately not debilitating) never did for me. Standing up quickly can result in dissiness (due to slower circulation of blood apparently) but can be countered by lowering a knee. Lifting hard might cause dissiness then I suppose, althought I didn't train during my fast. I never noticed any obvious positives out of it other than about $50 saved from not eating and that food tastes rediculously good (temporarily) when you start eating again.

Perhaps people feel fasting is "unnatural" and therefore necessarily detrimental, but I'd argue that having all of our meals guaranteed is fairily modern and that as our bodies are physically animalistic we're built with the versatility to handle such stress without serious consequence.

[BigTruckGuy3500]

We are constantly reminded how important it is for bodybuilders to eat a properly balanced diet and to NEVER skip meals. However, for religious or medical purposes some of us will probably have to fast at some point.

What kind of effects can fasting have on a bodybuilder?

Fasting can have a substantial effect on a bodybuilder, or a minimal effect, depending on the situation behind the fasting and the degree of the fasting. Fasting is essentially just abstaining from food or drink for a period of time. This time can vary depending on if the fast is for medical or religious reasons.

Basically, however, fasting will have mostly the effect that you let it have on you. If you just don?t eat during the day, for several days, without taking the fast into consideration when planning your meals or exercising, chances are you will see some detrimental effects to your strength or your physique.

There are ways that you can combat the detrimental effects of fasting, and leave you with just the positive. For those of us looking to bulk up, I?m sorry but you?re going to have to forget about it if you will be fasting for a long period of time. The reasoning behind it is simple, and that is you simply cannot get enough calories over a long enough period of time to prevent fat build up, and to promote recovery throughout the day. Consequently, training volume usually needs to go down if you are training in a power, or hypertrophy rep range. An alternative to reducing training volume, is changing the training type. One thing I quite often do, most of the time and not just while fasting, is train in an endurance rep range and do mostly body weight calisthenics. I?ve noticed that this doesn?t traumatize my muscle fibers and central nervous system as much as slamming around some heavy iron would. This results in me being able to recover more quickly from each workout and being able to workout each muscle more often in the week.

Training time may also have to change for you. I think that you really have two options here, you can either train early in the morning before you begin your fast, or you can train late in the evening after you have ended your fast. One of the positives to training in the morning is that you can immediately eat afterwards, and come time to break your fast you can also eat dinner straight away. However, doing this can raise your metabolism for the whole day which can make you hungry throughout the day which can bother you if you don?t have mental control over yourself. It can also put you into a catabolic state for part of the day. Alternatively, you can workout at night, either right before you break your fast, or right after. If you workout right before you break your fast, you can eat your post workout meal shortly thereafter or after having your PWO shake. If you choose to workout right following breaking your fast (which is what I think is the best for making gains), you can have a protein shake/BCAAs or half to kick your body out of a catabolic state, and then wait about 15-30 minutes for it to settle down a little and then start hitting the weights. After you are done, finish the rest of your protein, or make yourself a PWO shake, and begin the cool down process. Another 30 minutes after your?re down with your PWO drink, you can hop into your high protein high carb post workout meal. Right now, your muscles are still pretty starved from a whole day of no carbs, and the insulin spike following a high carb dinner should send nutrients flooding into your muscles.

One thing to keep in mind is to stay hydrated. While you may not be able to drink fluids during the day, you can certainly drink before and after. You should be saturating your body during the night with mostly water, and a little bit of electrolyte from a sports drink or something, that way it is easier for your body to maintain a higher level of hydration during the day and after breakfast when you drink your morning fluids.

Breakfast is best to be comprised of lots of moderate to slow digesting protein like from whole eggs and milk, and lots of slow digesting carbohydrates like oatmeal or whole wheat bagels with peanut butter. A little bit of fat does help keep you satiated for longer in the day as well. It wouldn't hurt to take a good multi-vitamin either.


What are some of the pros to fasting?

Some great things about fasting is that it can serve to help clear the mind and help you focus on what is really important. And not to mention it can certainly help clear out the internal plumbing when it starts to get backed up from all the meat we eat and supplements we take as bodybuilders and athletes. While some may agree or disagree, I believe an occasional fast for anyone, even for non-religious reasons can be very beneficial as it allows you to just give your digestive system a chance to expunge a lot of the fatty, dense, commercially processed food that we eat.

Another very common benefit to fasting is to get accurate blood glucose tests. By abstaining from everything but water during the day till you take your test, you can get an accurate representation of blood sugar levels and tell whether you are hyperglycemic (too much blood glucose), hypoglycemic (too little blood glucose), and find out where you may have diabetes or not. A similar test is carried out to test for cholesterol and get an accurate reading based off a fasted state so that what you eat will not temporarily elevate blood cholesterol.

There are many other possible medical benefits associated with fasting, such as detoxification of the body and like I said earlier, clearing out the old plumbing. But for one reason or another they can be considered questionable because not everyone agrees upon it.

What are some of the cons to fasting?

It can be quite draining over a long period of time if you do not get adequate amounts of sleep and food when you are allowed to eat. So it is important to readjust your calorie partitions between breakfast and dinner. And over a really extensive period of time, it would be extremely difficult for a body builder to make significant gains.

Endurance athletes, or athletes of any type will also find it difficult to perform under fasted conditions as the energy source of muscles, glycogen (a derivative of starches and ingested carbohydrates) is hard to come by after a certain point in the day when your breakfast is starting to wear off.

BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever fasted? Did you experience any noticeable effects?

I have actually fasted for religious reasons for many years, even fasting when I was a child before I was religiously obligated to. As you may know, Muslims fast one month in the year known as Ramadan. I really enjoy it, and look forward to it every year, because it gives me a chance to really focus on what?s important around me, and discipline myself further, and most importantly I feel it helps me focus on my religion.

As far as affecting me from a physiological and psychological stand point, it does indeed do that. As part of the biggest Corps of Cadets outside the service academies, and being an engineering major, I typically have a lot demanded of me physically and mentally. Fasting can and does often drain me in those two areas during the course of the month, but I have learned how to delay the draining effects for longer thanks to a lot of information on this site. And quite frankly, I usually get in slightly better shape coming out of Ramadan than I do going into it. Cortisol does run high through out the month, especially when exam time comes around and I do not get to sleep as much as I need to. But I believe that it is definitely manageable if you take a systematic approach to the month, week, or whatever period of time you plan on fasting, and apply all the knowledge of nutrition that you have, or seek more knowledge if you do not have that much.

[nasnate21]

What kind of effects can fasting have on a bodybuilder?

* Well my personal opinion, I think fasting can have different effects for different people that are bodybuilding. When it all comes down to it, everyone's body works differently as well as metabolisms, breakdowns and weightgain. Also, you have to take into consideration that at what point of the season the bodybuilder is in, off-season or on-season? And you have to take this into consideration becauase this could be an asset or a disadvantage to your body depending on what state of bodybuilding your in. I also believe fasting is already apart of bodybuilding. I think professionals as well as amatures fast a day before they get on stage so its just a matter of how and when you use it. Learn how your body works and think of it as a temple.

What are some of the pros to fasting?

* weight loss
* eating control
* contest prep

What are some of the cons to fasting?

* muscle loss
* stomach shrinkage
* loss of energy

BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever fasted? Did you experience any noticeable effects?

* Yes I have fasted because of hospital reasons, otherwise I would have never done it. And I have a fast matabolism to begin with so I knew I was going to be in for it. Im in bulking stage all day everyday until Im satisfied on my gains so I notices alot of change when I miss a meal or anything. I experienced loss of enery, and deffinately loss in mass size and strength when I returned to the gym. I fasted for about over 10 hrs and I lost about 3-5 lbs and I felt horrible. But like I said earlier everyones different and may workout different for someone else. Personally I would not recommend fasting to anyone unless its out of religion, hospital reasons or your getting ready to get on stage. And remember do your research and learn your body!

[BigTruckGuy3500]

Forgot the following under cons:

One of the biggest cons to fasting is that it can and will most likely slow down your metabolism. To what extent it does so is up to you, because if you're eating quality foods at the right times, and exercising at the right times, you metabolism should still stay at a fairly reasonable level. Either way, after you are done fasting for whatever length of time, it is important to not gorge on food every chance you get, but to sort of acclimatize yourself to the large calorie intake so your metabolism speeds back up to its normal rate.

[Dedicatedforlife]

Good Luck Guys...

[KyleAngleIT]

When you Fast, You lose more % of muscles and % of fat... soo don't throw your hard work away...

[BigTruckGuy3500]

When you Fast, You lose more % of muscles and % of fat... soo don't throw your hard work away...

If you don't take the fact that you are fasting into consideration of your diet and exercise, then this may happen.