Intermittent Fasting (IF) thread

[Jonesy]

So a fair few of us in the weight loss thread have been using this method very successfully for a while now and I thought I'd start a thread on it for those that don't know much about it.

The basic "diet" is that you fast for 16 hours and eat your calories in an 8 hour feeding window. Some people extend the fast out to longer and that is fine. For me that means I eat from lunch around 12noon and finishing my meals by 8pm that night then skip b'fast the next day and eat my first meal at 12noon again the next day.

IF is based on the following principles:

1. Eating multiple times per day does not "stoke the metabolic fire". Your body takes 24-48 hours roughly to properly digest and use food you eat so there is really very little difference between eating 10, 6 or even 2 meals in a day.

2. Fat loss is calories in vs calories out. If your body needs 2500cals per day to maintain and you eat 2000 you'll lose weight. If you eat 3000 per day you'll gain, simple maths.

3. Not eating for a while does not put your body into "starvation mode" or slow your metabolism: Numerous scientific studies show the earliest evidence for lowered metabolic rate in response to fasting occurred after 60 hours (-8% in resting metabolic rate). Other studies show metabolic rate is not impacted until 72-96 hours have passed. In fact the complete opposite is true in that your metabolism actually speeds up when fasting hits 16-24 hours and growth hormones are increased.

4. Most of the known 'facts' behind fat loss and bodybuilding are simply false and not backed by any credible science and are mostly created by the supplement companies who makes billions of dollars each year off these myth's.

This is a breakdown of the overall diet: http://www.leangains.com/2008/06/sur...-fat-loss.html

and a link to the lean gains website www.leangains.com

Now I'm first to admit this diet isn't for everybody but honestly this is the easiest most sustained fat loss technique I have ever used. I never even get hungry during the fast's any more so it's easy to adhere to and allows me to have a nice big dinner with the family every night and still be shedding fat. I've personally lost 35lbs doing this and I see myself eating like this for the rest of my life.

Any questions please feel free to fire away and any of you other guys who have been using it feel free to post up how it has been working for you.

[rspencer86]

Thanks Jonesy. I am starting to feel some of the ill effects of being overweight (I'm 205 lbs now, probably need to be down around 175-180) and am looking to get back to being healthy.

I'm going to read the links you provided, but do you have any personal advice on foods to eat or exercise plans you do?

[Jonesy]

I just try to keep my protein high (around 1 gram for every lb of bodyweight), focus on healthy whole food where possible and I like to do a alternating weight lifting / cardio program with one day off per week. 3 days of weights, 3 days of cardio then I have sunday off completely.

I'm 197lbs at the moment (5'11) and I still want to drop a little more fat to hopefully get down to around the same weight as your goal (180 and very lean is my goal). I was around 235 after Christmas and it's been pretty easy to get to this weight so I'm going to keep on truckin'.

I personally don't count calories any more as I did for ages and got pretty good and judging my cals but i generally try to get around 1800-2000 cals per day.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

Ok so basically I don't eat until noon and I can't eat after 8pm? If that's the case I think I can do that. This is an every day thing? Am I allowed to drink water after 8pm or I can't have anything? Sorry for all the questions.

[Jonesy]

yep anything that is 0 calories like water, tea or coffee with something like splenda or diet soft drinks like diet coke etc.

Yep that's it stop by 8pm and start again at lunch the next day.

You might be hungry for the first few days and it quickly passes and I get really happy and energetic during my fasts now, great for getting work done in the morning.

[iAM-IncReDiBLe-]

Ah ok sounds simple enough. Thanks for the response, ima start this tomorrow at noon an will keep you guys updated. I currently weight 182 pounds an I'm 5'8. I don't have a set goal but I do want to lose the gut I have. I use to be really over weight but I made some lifestyle changes an now I'm in good shape. Its just ridiculously hard for me to lose my gut lol. People would look at me an never think I have one so hopefully this will help me lose it.

[Jonesy]

GL with it man.

There is a good article on leangains about getting rid of stubborn fat which is often around the belly for us dudes.

http://www.leangains.com/2010/06/int...born-body.html

A great thing about this diet is the lack of restriction. There's really nothing off limits per say as long as you are getting in a decent amount of protein. I live by the 90/10 rule that most of the time i eat what is considering traditionally 'healthy' foods like chicken breast, veges etc but there is still room for things like ice cream and pizza a few times per week and you can still reach your fat loss goals unless you go stupid with it.

Like when I know i have a big family celebration dinner or BBQ or something i'll just lengthen the fast and have a small meal in the afternoon then I can have a huge meal with the family and even a few beers or a glass of wine and i'll still be under my cal goals for day so no damage is done.

Add in some daily strenuous exercise and the number of cals you can eat in the evening often feels like a feast and you are still losing fat.

[ryan36]

I'm skeptical all the evidence comes from the lean gains website.