Intermittent fasting
is an approach to fat loss that supposedly enables you to shed bodyfat without
necessarily reducing calories, or sacrificing strength and muscle gains, which
is why it has gained popularity as an effective way of “dieting” in recent
years. While fasting may sound somewhat unconventional by most standards, it can
actually be a very effective way to promote your body to burn “stubborn
bodyfat”.
Stubborn bodyfat
generally refers to the most common areas that people have the hardest time
getting lean. For men it is usually the lower torso (abs, erectors), and for
women it is usually the thighs and butt. If you are a male and above 10%
bodyfat, or a female and above 15% bodyfat, then stubborn bodyfat should not be
your concern as it is likely that your overall bodyfat is too high to be
focusing on getting “ripped”, as is.
Following a meal,
insulin is released into the blood, the response varying based on the amount,
as well as type of food (foods higher on the Glycemic Index will have the
greatest response). Since insulin is a storing hormone, when present in the
blood, the body is in storing mode and fat doesn’t get burned. As time goes by,
and the nutrients are done being absorbed, insulin levels naturally begin to drop.
The more time that passes, the more the body will start to burn fat at the
expense of carbs. But how much time needs to pass? If you want your body to
rely on fat as much as possible, literature suggests about 16 hours!
When insulin levels
significantly drop with each passing hour after your last meal, the body senses
an energy deficit and catecholamines (stress hormones – epinephrine and
norepinephrine) are released into the blood. These hormones trigger fat
mobilization. This is why intermittent fasting is as effective as it is at
reducing stubborn bodyfat.
Like everything
however, there is a point of diminishing returns. Since fasting is an effective
way to prompt your body to burn fat, then in theory the longer you fasted, the
more fat you’d burn. While this is somewhat accurate, it’s not necessarily the
most effective way of developing your optimal body composition, as muscle would
likely atrophy if you were to fast for too long. Literature suggests that
you’re mainly burning bodyfat for anywhere between 14-20 hours after your last
meal. After that point fat burning increases further but it is primarily
intramuscular fat, not subcutaneous fat (which is the fat preventing you from
seeing your abs!) as it cannot keep up with the demand.
Intermittent fasting
calls for consuming your daily caloric intake within a fixed time frame
(example, eat all your calories within an 8 hour feeding window). The rest of
the time you are to basically live off of water, with the exception of BCAAs
(or whey protein if you are on a budget) to prevent losing muscle.
The following are
some guidelines to follow to maximize your results while intermittent fasting:
- Fast
should start when you go to sleep and last through the hours upon waking. The
reason is because people have an easier time waking up and not eating, and no
one likes going to bed hungry
- Ideally
you want to do your workout before eating, having only 10 grams of BCAA prior
to training to prevent muscle wasting and maximize fat loss
Below are 3
blueprints of an intermittent fasting protocol. The difference between the 3 of
them is what point in your day that you were to workout.
Blueprint #1 Fasted
Training
6 AM – Wake up
Right before workout
– Take 10 grams of BCAA
630 AM –
Workout
Post workout
(roughly 730 AM) – Take 10 grams of BCAA
2 hours later
(roughly 930 AM) – Take 10 grams of BCAA
2 hours later
(roughly 1130 AM) – First meal, should also be the largest meal of the day
(high in complex carbs)
3 hours later
(roughly 230 PM) – Second meal
4 hours later
(roughly 630 PM) – Third meal, should also be the smallest meal of the day
*99% of calories
should be ingested after the workout
**Protein synthesis
climbs roughly 3-4 hours after training, and then peaks about 24 hours after,
and returns to baseline 36-48 hours later
***Training in a
fasted state should not lead to a decrease in performance, as there is fair
amount of liver glycogen to maintain blood glucose (sugar) levels during
training after an overnight fast
Blueprint #2 One
Meal Before Training, Two Meals After
Pre-Workout Meal
(Meat, vegetables and starchy carbs like potatoes)
Workout 2 hours
later
Post-Workout Meal as
soon as possible after workout, also the largest meal of the day (high in
complex carbs)
Last Meal 4 hours
later
*80% of calories
should be ingested after the workout
Blueprint #3 Two
Meals Before Training, One Meal After
First Meal
Second Meal 4 hours
later
Workout
Third Meal
Post-Workout, should also be largest meal of the day (high in complex carbs)
*60% of calories
should be ingested after the workout
Important Points Of
Consideration
- No
calories during the fast
- Can
have more than 3 meals during the feeding window, but most people prefer 3 for
simplicity
- Consistency
is key, try to eat and train at the same times everyday
- On
rest days the first meal of the day should be the largest
- On
workout days, break the fast with meat and vegetables
- Eat
less calories on rest days by reducing carbs
- Include
a slow digesting protein in last meal to exert an anti-catabolic effect on
muscle protein stores by ensuring your body has ample supply of amino acids
until next meal, which would roughly be 16 hours away
- Whole
foods should always take priority over shakes
- 0.3-0.4
grams of carbs per pound of bodyweight in pre workout meal 1.5-2.5 hrs. before
workout if you choose to use blueprint #2 or #3 (the amount is based on workout
volume, higher volumes allow for more than 0.4 grams of carbs per pound of
bodyweight)
- This
is not advised for those partaking in long endurance training
Training in a fasted
state is ideal for fat loss, and getting shredded for a few reasons. Weight
training activates enzymes and switches on genes that up regulates protein
synthesis regardless of whether you are in a fasted state or not. However, when
you provide the body with nutrients the exercise that is experienced is less of
a stressor compared to training in a fasted state. Basically there is no need
for the body to adapt or compensate when everything is provided to it. Because
of this, literature suggests that there is increased anabolic activity seen
post-workout as a compensatory response to the increased catabolism that occurs
during fasted training. This can be summed up by thinking of taking one step
backward, to take two steps forward.
Some literature also
suggests that fasted training coupled with BCAA’s consumed pre-workout results
in an elevated level of protein synthesis post-workout window. Protein
synthesis is a metabolically costly process, which means ingesting BCAA
pre-workout will boost metabolic rate for up to, or over 24 hours after a
training session. On top of that, literature suggests that BCAA’s, or even just
protein, consumed pre-workout will blunt cortisol throughout the day. As it
relates to fat loss, lower cortisol may boost metabolic activity of muscle
protein synthesis by allowing it to go unscathed (cortisol increases protein
breakdown and decreases protein synthesis).
The most appealing
factor to most, regarding intermittent fasting, is that when you do eat, you
eat big. Dividing your daily caloric intake over 3 meals as opposed to eating 6
or more, spread throughout the day leaves you will a feeling of being “full”
more so than if you had smaller portions. As far as frequent feedings (every
2-3 hours) needed to “stoke the metabolic fire”, well that has not been proven
to be true. You cannot “trick” the body into burning more or less calories by
manipulating meal frequency. At the end of the day, whether you had three 1,000
calorie meals, or six 500 calorie meals, you still finished with the same grand
total of 3,000.
The only difference
between relatively larger meals compared to smaller ones is that it just takes
longer to digest. You still absorb all of the food you eat, it’s not like the
body just dismisses it if there is too much. That goes for protein too. A
common myth that exists is that you can only digest “X” amount of protein at a
time, and the rest is wasted. Think about that for a second and look at it from
an evolutionary standpoint. If we could only assimilate a relatively small
amount of food at a time, is it likely that humans would have evolved to where
we are today? Though it can only be assumed what prehistoric eating patterns
were like, it’s not too farfetched to think that an average day consisted of
waking up, and hunting early on to ensure that you would eat that day. If much
of that relatively large meal was lost, or wasted, do you actually think humans
would have stood the test of time and made it through thousands of years
without food readily available like it is in the world we live in today?
Other common
concerns with regards to fasting that should not deter you are:
1. Hunger
– Meal frequency is extremely individual. Some people may feel that fasting is
not ideal and therefore this approach to getting shredded will not appeal to
them at all. If you are thinking about being hungry, or believing the myths you
have been told about needing to eat frequently, than guess what? YOU WILL BE
HUNGRY! However, there is no literature to confirm that smaller frequent meals
are superior to larger meals spread throughout the day for hunger and appetite
control. If you are eating relatively large meals, as suggested with
intermittent fasting, literature suggests that it takes up to 10 hours before
your body is done absorbing all the nutrients, so it’s doubtful that hunger
would play a deterring factor from continuing to abide by intermittent fasting
protocols.
2. Blood
sugar – Blood sugar is extremely well-regulated and maintained within a tight
range in healthy people. It does not swing up and down when you miss a meal.
The thought of suffering severe hunger and mental impairment from not eating
every 2-3 hours is ridiculous. Once again, look at it from an evolutionary
perspective. Regular periods of fasting and/or famine were a natural part of
our past, and we wouldn’t be here today if we were unable to function when
obtaining food was most critical. Blood sugar is maintained within a normal
range during a 48 hour fast, or severe calorie deprivation. Blood sugar would
be identical after an hour and a half run whether you were in a fed state, or
had been fasting for an entire day.
3. Starvation
mode – Skipping a meal or fasting for the better part of 24 hours does not
equal starvation. Literature suggest that lowered metabolic rate in response to
fasting is not impacted until 3-4 days have passed! Metabolic rate is actually
increased during a short-term fast as the body ramps up levels of epinephrine
and norepinephrine (adrenaline and noradrenaline) to sharpen our awareness and
make us want to move around to find food to ensure we survive. Once again, this
makes a lot of sense from an evolutionary perspective as this is a desirable
trait that encouraged us to seek for food, or to hunt and kill, to prevent us
from dying. If you were to fast for several days, then this survival response
may have actually been counterproductive as an adaptation that conserved energy
would have been advantageous.
4. Muscle
loss – Literature suggests that catabolism (muscle losing) only becomes an
issue in prolonged fasting when stored liver glycogen becomes depleted. In
order to maintain blood glucose, conversion of amino acids into glucose must
occur. This happens gradually and if amino acids are not available from food,
protein must be taken from the body in the form of muscle. Some studies have
shown that muscle contributes roughly 50% to glucose maintenance after 16
hours, and it isn’t until 28 hours that it is nearly 100%. It is worth noting
that muscle will only contribute to that degree when stored liver glycogen is
fully depleted.
5. Skipping
breakfast and training in a fasted state – This is a rather debatable topic, as
most people see breakfast as the most important meal of the day, due to
repetitive studies that are published saying that people that eat breakfast
have healthier body compositions than those that skip breakfast, and insulin
sensitivity being at its highest upon waking. While insulin sensitivity may be
relatively higher in the morning after an overnight fast due to modest liver
glycogen depletion, if you strength train, you’ll have the same effect after
your workout. Insulin sensitivity is increased in direct proportion to muscle
glycogen depletion. The studies that are frequently published shining light
onto the fact that breakfast is the most important meal of the day fail to
highlight the fact that the “fatter” people normally associated with skipping
breakfast, are the ones who lack the discipline to make the best decisions for
their health. Whether these people ate breakfast or not, it is their lifestyle
choices that result in undesirable amounts of bodyfat, not their meal patterns.
Think, if you were to eat breakfast, and the food you chose to eat each morning
was either a bagel, muffin, or leftover pizza from the night before, it
wouldn’t make a difference what time you decided to have that.
6. Fasting
and cortisol – Ramadan fasting has been extensively studied, and none of the
literature on it shows that short-term fasting has any effect on average
cortisol levels. If Ramadan fasting, which is more extreme than intermittent
fasting, has no effects, than intermittent fasting is just fine. Also, if
Ramadan was to chronically elevate cortisol levels and leading to increased
protein breakdown and depression, do you think people would still do it?
7. Eating
large meals at night – Once again, look to Ramadan fasting where nearly all of
daily caloric intake takes place at night. Literature on Ramadan fasting shows
that regular nightly feasts have a neutral or positive effect on body
composition. Just like skipping breakfast is associated with higher bodyfat,
late night eating is associated as well. Once again it’s worth pointing out that
it’s the lifestyle choices that the people who eat late at night make, that
influences their body composition, not that the clock shows a certain time.
How to practically
apply an intermittent fasting protocol:
Your Basal Metabolic
Rate first needs to be estimated, which can be done using the Harris-Benedict
formula, as it is said to be the most accurate.
For MEN = 66 + (13.7
x weight in KG) + (5 x height in CM) – (6.8 x AGE)
For WOMEN = 655 +
(9.6 x weight in KG) + (1.7 x height in CM) – (4.7 x AGE)
For demonstration
purposes I’ll plug in my own metrics into the formula. At the time of this
writing, I am 27, 170 CM, 82 KG
66 + (13.7 x 82) +
(5 x 170) – (6.8 x 27) = 1,855.8
Multiply 1,855.8 by
an activity level between 1.0 (sedentary) and 2.0 (professional athlete).
As a strength and
conditioning coach, I’ll use a conservative 1.6.
1,855.8 x 1.6 =
2,969.28 is roughly how many calories I burn per day.
For fat loss you
want to take in less than you are expending by no more than 20%. For
demonstration purposes I’ll go with a conservative 10% less than my Basal
Metabolic Rate.
90% of 2,969.28 =
2,672.352 is the required amount of calories needed per day.
2,672.352 / 3 meals
= 890.784 calories per meal if you were to divide it up evenly (which is not
ideal, but is easier to understand for demonstration purposes).
Next up is figuring
out the macronutrient breakdown. Ideally you’d want to consume as many calories
from protein as you do from carbs, 1 ½ grams per/lb of bodyweight being ideal
in this example. That equals 270 grams of protein and carbs respectively, which
equates to 1,080 calories from each macronutrient respectively. The grand total
equaling 2,160 calories, leaving room for 512 additional calories by way of
fat, or 57 grams.
Macro breakdown
40% calories from
protein = 1,080
40% calories from
carbs = 1,080
20% calories from
fat = 512
Let’s plug these
numbers into the fasted training protocol (Blueprint #1 above). Now as I said
earlier, if the meals were divided evenly each meal would be roughly 891
calories. But since you want to taper from higher to lower calories, we need to
calculate exact numbers for each meal.
We’ll divide the
protein up evenly between all three meals, taper the carbs from high to low,
and adjust the fat intake in direct proportion to carb intake. Specifically
each meal will look like this:
Meal #1 = 40%
of daily total = 1,069 calories
Carbs = 50% of daily
total = 135 grams / 540 calories
Protein = 34% of
daily total = 92 grams / 367 calories
Fat = 31% of daily
total = 18 grams / 162 calories
Meal #2 = 30%
of daily total = 802 calories
Carbs = 30% of daily
total = 81 grams / 324 calories
Protein = 33% of
daily total = 89 grams / 356 calories
Fat = 24% of daily
total = 13 ½ grams / 121.5 calories
Meal #3 = 30%
of daily total = 802 calories
Carbs = 20% of daily
total = 54 grams / 216 calories
Protein = 33% of
daily total = 89 grams / 356 calories
Fat = 45% of daily
total = 25 ½ grams / 229.5 calories
Below is an example
of Blueprint #2 and #3 that are listed above, in numerical order:
Blueprint #2
Meal #1 = 20%
of daily total = 534 calories
Carbs = 20% of daily
total = 54 grams / 216 calories
Protein = 20% of
daily total = 54 grams / 216 calories
Fat = 20% of daily
total = 11 grams / 102 calories
Meal #2 = 40%
of daily total = 1,069 calories
Carbs = 40% of daily
total = 108 grams / 432 calories
Protein = 40% of
daily total = 108 grams / 432 calories
Fat = 40% of daily
total = 22 ½ grams / 205 calories
Meal #3 = 40%
of daily total = 1,069 calories
Carbs = 40% of daily
total = 108 grams / 432 calories
Protein = 40% of
daily total = 108 grams / 432 calories
Fat = 40% of daily
total = 22 ½ grams / 205 calories
Blueprint #3
Meal #1 = 20%
of daily total = 534 calories
Carbs = 22.5% of
daily total = 61 grams / 244.5 calories
Protein = 22.5% of
daily total = 61 grams / 244.5 calories
Fat = 9.5% of daily
total = 5 grams / 45 calories
Meal #2 = 20%
of daily total = 534 calories
Carbs = 22.5% of
daily total = 61 grams / 244.5 calories
Protein = 22.5% of
daily total = 61 grams / 244.5 calories
Fat = 9.5% of daily
total = 5 grams / 45 calories
Meal #3 = 60%
of daily total = 1,603 calories
Carbs = 55% of daily
total = 148 ½ grams / 594 calories
Protein = 55% of
daily total = 148 ½ grams / 594 calories
Fat = 81% of daily
total = 46 grams / 415 calories
If you have any
questions about intermittent fasting, feel free to contact me at ben@paramounttraining.ca. I'm available for
online consulting and personalized program design, as well as one on one
training if you are located in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).
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