Fasting-- Do You Do It? And How?

[DocOctagon]

We're learning more and more about fasting and it's health benefits;

Increased insulin sensitivity
Improved brain function (BDNF)
Weight Loss/improved metabolism
Longevity/anti-aging/cellular repair
Growth hormone increases
.....etc.

Anyone here do it? What method? What have you noticed?

[xfitxm]

There was an interesting article on strengtheory about it this week.

http://strengtheory.com/intermittent-fasting-study/


It helps me keep my calories for later in the days. I find that at a certain point, you are not hungry more and more. So I like to start eating at lunch, to have bigger plate only when I'm not training in the morning and when trying to lose fat.

[Barkadion]

There was an interesting article on strengtheory about it this week.

http://strengtheory.com/intermittent-fasting-study/


It helps me keep my calories for later in the days. I find that at a certain point, you are not hungry more and more. So I like to start eating at lunch, to have bigger plate only when I'm not training in the morning and when trying to lose fat.

Frankly, I didn't get anything from this article. Basically, what it says: "Feel free to skip breakfast if you want to skip breakfast. But just that won't make you shredded."

It is easy tool to count calories for some guys. Fasting itself has its own good effect on the health. Yes. As well as healthy nutrition pattern. As well as diet breaks. "Everything in moderation" is the best way to go. IMHO.

But I do know guys who keep scheduled fasting periods throughout a year. They swear that it makes them stronger and better.

[K.B.]

Yes, primarily for the health benefits - with body composition as a secondary objective. I view it as a big reset button that allows your body to divert the energy needed for digestion to the other things mentioned in your post (Doc).

15-16 years ago I reached a 4.3% bodyfat. My protocol included fasting once a week, and I'm certain it played a major role. It went like this:

Mon-Friday - 5-6 small meals a day/'eating clean' minimum protein etc.
Sat - Cheat day - anything goes.
Sun - Fast until 8pm.

Nowadays I fast for 24hrs once every two to four weeks. It's something I'm looking at doing more of in the future.

[xfitxm]

There was an interesting article on strengtheory about it this week.

http://strengtheory.com/intermittent-fasting-study/


It helps me keep my calories for later in the days. I find that at a certain point, you are not hungry more and more. So I like to start eating at lunch, to have bigger plate only when I'm not training in the morning and when trying to lose fat.

Frankly, I didn't get anything from this article. Basically, what it says: "Feel free to skip breakfast if you want to skip breakfast. But just that won't make you shredded."

It is easy tool to count calories for some guys. Fasting itself has its own good effect on the health. Yes. As well as healthy nutrition pattern. As well as diet breaks. "Everything in moderation" is the best way to go. IMHO.

But I do know guys who keep scheduled fasting periods throughout a year. They swear that it makes them stronger and better.

It only says that the study found that for body composition it's the same thing as counting calories. The result won't be faster. It's a way to restrict calories. So use it if it helps you to be in deficit. For health benefits it may be different but not stated.

[xfitxm]

There was an interesting article on strengtheory about it this week.

http://strengtheory.com/intermittent-fasting-study/


It helps me keep my calories for later in the days. I find that at a certain point, you are not hungry more and more. So I like to start eating at lunch, to have bigger plate only when I'm not training in the morning and when trying to lose fat.

Frankly, I didn't get anything from this article. Basically, what it says: "Feel free to skip breakfast if you want to skip breakfast. But just that won't make you shredded."

It is easy tool to count calories for some guys. Fasting itself has its own good effect on the health. Yes. As well as healthy nutrition pattern. As well as diet breaks. "Everything in moderation" is the best way to go. IMHO.

But I do know guys who keep scheduled fasting periods throughout a year. They swear that it makes them stronger and better.

It only says that the study found that for body composition it's the same thing as counting calories. The result won't be faster. It's a way to restrict calories. So use it if it helps you to be in deficit. For health benefits it may be a different story but not stated.

[Green2Blue]

For those of you that practice this, how does it affect training? Do you train on the days you fast?

[Saracen]

For those of you that practice this, how does it affect training? Do you train on the days you fast?

I've done both. If it falls on a training day I break my fast with something light first at around 5-6pm, and then train. I feast after my workout which lands me somewhere around 8pm give or take. I've never run into issues if I'm strength training, but if it falls on a HIC day I notice a drop in energy & performance.

[Blackmetalbunny]

For those of you that practice this, how does it affect training? Do you train on the days you fast?

I've worked out on fasted days before, and there are mixed results.

Strength
I found that if I am on 16 hour fast - I find that I need a longer RI between sets. The session may last longer, but it's generally not an issue to complete a 5X5 operator workout.

If I've fasted 24 hours or more - I find it counter productive to strength train - I just can't lift as heavy or as long.

Conditioning
For some HIC sessions (esp sprint sessions), or fast session - I found that I can train in fasted state (<18 hours of fasting). I've read some research that suggest that one might experience elevated catabolism when doing conditioning in a fasted state, but I've personally not seen any significant impact.

If I've fasted more than 18 hours or so, I just simply can't go all out.

Have never done any LSS in a fasted state. My guess is that I simply won't be able to work for time.

[TangoZero]

I'm trying intermittent fasting again, because it fits my work schedule very nicely right now. Last meal around 8-9pm, first meal at 1-2pm. Snack at around 4-430pm, then training at 5pm.

So far so good. No issues with HIC, E or MS.