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Intermittent Fasting - my experience

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  • Intermittent Fasting - my experience

    I don't wanna start a lengthy discussion on whether there is enough scientific or anecdotal evidence that supports intermittent fasting as an effective solution for losing fat. To be honest, I couldn’t care less what some academics conclude in their studies or what 3 guys down the gym say. Nothing works for everyone and everything works for someone.

    I’m only interested in what works for me and intermittent fasting is doing the job.

    I’ve been following IF for 2 months and I’ve lost about 7lbs of lard but reckon I’ve put on at least 3lbs of muscle. Strength is well up and I generally feel good. I know these aren’t exactly mind blowing numbers but bear with me and I’ll explain why I find IF so effective.

    First, a few points worth noting:

    • I don’t calorie/macronutrient count.
    • Although my diet is generally ‘clean’, I’m no way near as restricted as I have been in the past.
    • I lax things somewhat over the weekend and treat myself to least one takeout/junk meal.
    • Hunger throughout the fasting period is no problem at all.
    • Eating during the non fasting period leaves me very full.

    I’m following a pretty simple IF pattern, eating only between 1:00pm and 9:00pm daily. This fits well for me as my weakness has always been munching in the evenings, which is now not a problem. Hunger during the fast is no more than I’ve experienced in the past. By midday I do start to feel quite hungry and look forward to ‘kicking things’ off at 1.

    Perhaps the only problem (if you wanna call it that) that I initially experienced is managing to eat enough to hit my target calories/macronutrients. I found eating about 2,300Kcal in 8 hours tough going on some days, especially given that I was so used to eating 6+ small meals over an entire day.

    After 2 weeks of this I packed in calorie counting and now just eat as much as I want. I don’t come close to being hungry during the 8 hours of eating which leaves me ample room should I want to lower the calories for some serious cutting.

    I find IF so easy to do that I wouldn’t call it a ‘diet’ in the traditional sense. To me, it’s a lifestyle choice and is now just my normal eating pattern.

    I know there are advocates that swear by the many claimed health benefits of IF like reduce blood pressure, reduce cholesterol levels etc.. – who knows. All I do know that IF is working very well for me, very easy to do and is a way of eating that I’ll probably stick to long term.

    I’m not saying IF is for everyone but it’s working very well for me and I wanted to share my experience with you all.
    Muscle building questions - answered
    MuscleQA.com

  • #2
    good to know..ive seen a few guys using this and they say they have gotten good results. im all for anything that works, unfortunately with my work schedule at the moment this wouldnt work for me. keep us posted on your progress and any suggestions you have to tweek the system to maybe work better.
    Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire

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    • #3
      About 12 years ago I found myself out of the game for a bit, and in only 18 months allowed 40 lbs of fat to invade my midsection. One morning I said enough is enough and began a serious fat loss regimen. I followed almost the same routine as Rob, the only difference was on days I wasn't in the gym (2-3 days a week) I ate only 2 - 300 calorie very low glycemic index meals at 3pm and 7pm. There were times that I felt a bit hungry, but not famished. I lost all the weight in 14 weeks. I've had many people tell me that is way to fast to drop so much weight, but I can say that I never felt weak or malnourished and my energy levels just skyrocketed. To this day, whenever I feel I'm getting a little heavy, and imbibing a little too much, I start this same system over again for a few weeks. It's almost like a "reset" for my metabolism. This is my experience only, but I'm in total agreement with RobConnor. It can work wonders for the right people.
      Employ your time improving yourself by other men's writings so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for. -Socrates

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      • #4
        Glad to see the thread and the reply from tim I've been told to get on leangains over and over and honestly avoided it like it was a fad. The more I look into it the simpler it sounds and the harder it is to put off trying -

        EXCEPT that I recently started a 4 and 5 day split (alternating) which I really enjoy and hate the idea of taking any off-days. Lifting every day is great. Fasting for 16 hours and eating for 8 is no problem for me, but I'm not sure if the 3X a week SS routine of heavy compounds is recommended because a person will be burnt out doing a split or not. Either way I'm thinking that's what I'll attempt.
        Are you afraid to die, Spartacus? No more than I was afraid to be born.

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