Intermittent fasting

[Charles Izzo]

Originally Posted by klosey

sadly IF is utter crap!

I totally disagree. The proof is in the pudding. It simply works. That is why it is gaining popularity. Personally, I plateaued with leanness while eating 6 meals per day, then tried IF and got down to around 10% (without counting calories).

Originally Posted by klosey

you will NEVER find anyone over 200lb who does this style.

I would also find it highly unlikely to find someone who is truly natural to be over 200 lbs at 5-6% body fat, unless they were like 6'6". One would have to be young and naive to believe otherwise.

Originally Posted by klosey

it has no use for muscle holding...

Why would it have to? All it would have to do is to be proven not to have a negative impact on muscle retention while cutting. And the studies I have seen indicate just that. You can go a short period of time without food without a problem, and you can also go on rather low calories for several weeks without a problem. The real problems come into play when you try to cut calories severely and for an extended period of time.

Anyways, if you discount the differences in weight do to water and glycogen, muscle retention actually is quite easy. A special diet isn't required to do it. Just don't try to lose weight way too fast.

[Charles Izzo]

Originally Posted by klosey

its an unproven method basically pushed on the industry by a guy running a blog.. like FST-7, and silk aminos... just another fad thing in my opinion.

It's been proven. The studies are there and so are the testimonials. It's becoming tried and true for cutting just like how squats have been tried and true for building mass. I wouldn't say that if I didn't try it for myself.

Yes, some people want to capitalize off it, but there is nothing wrong with that. I like Brad Pilon's ideas the best because he is more about simplicity. I hate complicated diet theories. They aren't necessary.

[Charles Izzo]

Originally Posted by klosey

personally it doesnt work for me. i tried it for 3 weeks and all that happened was hunger pangs, lose of strength and desire to do nothing at all.

What method did you try? How long were your fasts and how often?

When I first tried it I tried it with the 8 hour eating window. It seemed to work just fine for me. I've tried other ways, but I liked 8 hours the best.

Anyways, it isn't for everyone. There is no one fits all eating pattern that will work for everyone. The main thing I like about the studies I have seen on the subject matter is that it proves that you don't have to eat frequently in order to be lean and maintain muscle and you don't have to be "incredibly" fussy about the foods you eat and the macros. With that in mind, you develop the strategy that works best for you. If 6 meals per day does it for you, then do it. But personally, I tried both and I seem to like 2 meals per day the best. That is what I feel the most comfortable with. The thing is, you can make both strategies work, so it's all about personal preference.

[Commander]

Originally Posted by Charles Izzo

I would also find it highly unlikely to find someone who is truly natural to be over 200 lbs at 5-6% body fat, unless they were like 6'6". One would have to be young and naive to believe otherwise.

Excellent point.

I am sure we can all agree that Layne Norton, Jim Cordova, Phillip Ricardo Jr and Doug Miller look pretty huge, yet all come in UNDER (some by a lot!) 200 pounds for a contest (according to the stats I could find).

[klosey]

Originally Posted by Charles Izzo

What method did you try? How long were your fasts and how often?

When I first tried it I tried it with the 8 hour eating window. It seemed to work just fine for me. I've tried other ways, but I liked 8 hours the best.

Anyways, it isn't for everyone. There is no one fits all eating pattern that will work for everyone. The main thing I like about the studies I have seen on the subject matter is that it proves that you don't have to eat frequently in order to be lean and maintain muscle and you don't have to be "incredibly" fussy about the foods you eat and the macros. With that in mind, you develop the strategy that works best for you. If 6 meals per day does it for you, then do it. But personally, I tried both and I seem to like 2 meals per day the best. That is what I feel the most comfortable with. The thing is, you can make both strategies work, so it's all about personal preference.

funny enough the 8 hour window.. it worked ok but left me feeling really ill on mornings. im up at 6 and bed at 11pm so it didnt work at all

[Charles Izzo]

Originally Posted by klosey

funny enough the 8 hour window.. it worked ok but left me feeling really ill on mornings. im up at 6 and bed at 11pm so it didnt work at all

Sounds tough. A 19-24 hour fast can be easy to do, but I wouldn't want to do it every day. Similarly, even an 8 hour fast with your schedule would be tough.

Just realize though that you don't have to have a constant supply of food in your system or even to eat every 2-3 hours. You don't have to eat as soon as you wake up around 6:00 AM either. And my bet is that you probably aren't hungry yet at that hour anyways.

If you wanted to give it another shot, a 10 hour window would probably be a lot more comfortable. You could probably even use a longer eating window. Even if you aren't fasting for long enough to reap the best fat burning benefits from IF, the overall point would be to make the diet more comfortable. For example, if you weren't typically hungry at 6:00 AM, you would be much better off waiting a few hours and eating later when you will be able to enjoy it better. Additionally, you wouldn't have to eat every few hours either. The main ideas I am looking at is to make the diet easier to adhere to. That's pretty much it.

Another thing that might have been somewhat helpful for me at first is that I was trying one to two 24 hour fasts per week. If you can do that, 8 hours seems like a walk in the park.

Anyways, one of the best things I liked about IF is the comfort of knowing that I don't have to prepare 6 meals for the whole day. Preparing 2 meals per day is not only painless, but it's enjoyable. And it's a heck of a lot easier to make adjustments as necessary.

[klosey]

Originally Posted by Charles Izzo

Sounds tough. A 19-24 hour fast can be easy to do, but I wouldn't want to do it every day. Similarly, even an 8 hour fast with your schedule would be tough.

Just realize though that you don't have to have a constant supply of food in your system or even to eat every 2-3 hours. You don't have to eat as soon as you wake up around 6:00 AM either. And my bet is that you probably aren't hungry yet at that hour anyways.

If you wanted to give it another shot, a 10 hour window would probably be a lot more comfortable. You could probably even use a longer eating window. Even if you aren't fasting for long enough to reap the best fat burning benefits from IF, the overall point would be to make the diet more comfortable. For example, if you weren't typically hungry at 6:00 AM, you would be much better off waiting a few hours and eating later when you will be able to enjoy it better. Additionally, you wouldn't have to eat every few hours either. The main ideas I am looking at is to make the diet easier to adhere to. That's pretty much it.

Another thing that might have been somewhat helpful for me at first is that I was trying one to two 24 hour fasts per week. If you can do that, 8 hours seems like a walk in the park.

Anyways, one of the best things I liked about IF is the comfort of knowing that I don't have to prepare 6 meals for the whole day. Preparing 2 meals per day is not only painless, but it's enjoyable. And it's a heck of a lot easier to make adjustments as necessary.

2 meals would be a hell of a lot of calories for me lol

[Charles Izzo]

Originally Posted by klosey

2 meals would be a hell of a lot of calories for me lol

LOL! It's working for me at my weight, but I'm not a real big guy.

Your joke reminds me of probably where the 6 meal per day theory originated from. I had a friend who was lean at about 5'6" and 255 lbs, and I saw how much the guy ate. It would be trouble getting that big with only 3 meals per day. With a low meal frequency, you'd be lucking if your stomach didn't pop!

But somehow that 6 meal thing became the common recommendation for everyone. If you ask me, it's just another wide spread myth just like the cardio craze. It's good to know that both are nonsense.