Intermittent fasting = extreme fat loss

hey guys.. i just had to put this up and i thought this is the most appropriate place.

ive alwyas been a "big boned" guy lol.. and always had trouble losing weight.. now dont get me wrong, im not obese.. but im definitely far from ripped!

so anyway i started intermittent fasting properly around the beginning of this year, i started at 104kg, and tiday i weighed myself, and im 88KG ... i cant believe it, i actually got under 90kg. unfortunately my diet isnt great and even tho im not always eating junk food, indian food isnt exactly very healthy.. ** i love me some curries l l**

i am eating at a caloric deficit as i keep 2 40hour fasts a week..

now the thing is,on 15/5 i weighed 93, and today 88. now thats a bit extreme and i fear some muscle loss... but the funny thing is, my muscles actually look bulkier, bigger and more defined.. {no striations so to say, but i see things i NEVER saw before}.... i dont see no muscle loss.. am i fooling myself or is it possible?

p.s btw i was stuck at 93kg for about 4weeks, just couldnt get under, which is when i decided to incorporate the 40 hour fasts.

zulfi,first of all congrats on your progress...I'm thinking of following the same route,also just playing around with ideas....where can I find some more info on if?And I would also like to here from the experienced guys,if there will muscle loss which is my biggest concern.
regards

i just google and come up with dfferent info... i usually do the 16/8 protocol everyday besides sunday... and i fit in 2 40 hour fasts..(usually sunday 19:00 - tuesday 11:00)... i read quite a few places that fasting causes a naturall increase in Gh levels.. which helps spare muscle and burn fat .. i love it really!! by missing a complete day of eating... i have the freedom to eat more on the other days... i work on total calorie intake over a weekly basis... you gotta try it ma man...

it really is freedom from the "eat every 2 hrs" thing!!

I've tried IF and it works but I personally didn't like it and believe that you will lose muscle if not careful or not on aas.

Ye I'm not a fan of the concept at all, There is no way your not going to loose muscle doing a 40hr fast. I think it has it's place if done by someone who is in the 20% plus BF range but not ideal for bodybuilding.

yeah i have read what just said.. but like i say.. it dont seem like i have lost any muscle yet.. it is my fear but until i see that i am.. this is the shit!lol ... to each his own.. but rhino.. i know guys who are doing the 16/8 protocol and they are huge and ripped as f*ck!!

Hi Zulfi

Could you give me more info on a topical days food for you when you started??

I'm very interested in this method of eating as I feel it might be easily adapted to my schedule

Currently I'm at 115kgs and estimate 18-20% bf. last caliper test was quite a while ago at 122kg and 21.7%.

yo bra..

ok well firstly.. i really have no idea whats my body fat... i dont know how to do that thing and well i cant afford ti get it professionally done.

with regard to my diet, i really dont follow a strict diet.. i try to get in as many vegetables as possible (i hate veggies)... i make sure im hitting my macros for the day tho.. there are a few things that i gotta have everyday:
3 slices brown bread
5 egg whites
1 whole egg
slice of cheese (parmalat sliced)
6 slices polony pan fried with spray n cook.
+-75g whey spread over 2 servings

my other meals are just plain meals.. whatever the wife cooks lol... usually a curry or a rce dish or whatever...

to get my macros, (weight in lbs * 12 or 13)

ok now to the fasting aspect..


sunday:
i dont fast.. eat whatever i wanna, dont even count my calories
*honestly i have no idea how this working for me but it does.. im still losing weight and not losing muscle*

from sunday 19:00 - tuesday 11:00 .... forst 40 hr fast of the week
in this time i drink a shit load of water and have 2-3 cups of black tea w/ sucralose.
i train monday afternoon, lift moderate heavy but limited to 2 sets per body part(full body) then i walk 30 min on the treadmill at an incline..

tuesday 11:00 - 19:00
break my fast with the eggs and toast and what not that i listed above,
at 13:00 i have me half cup oats, pronutro or veg soup w/ chicken fillet(rarely) and a serving whey +-36g whey
then train at 15:00 _ heavy weights (full body) + treadmill 20min hiit after lifting
i have my supper at around 18:00 and my last whey shake at 19:00.

Tuesday 19:00 - wednesday 11:00
fast... only water and tea and what not... like above.... no sugar, i use sucralose, but only BLACK TEA

wednesday 19:00 - friday 11:00 second 40 hr fast of the week
in this time i drink a shit load of water and have 2-3 cups of black tea w/ sucralose.
i train thursday afternoon, lift moderate heavy but limited to 2 sets per body part(full body) then walk 30 min on the treadmill at an incline.. if im feeling lazy, i just skip gym on this day

friday 11:00 - 19:00
break my fast with the eggs and toast and what not that i listed above,
at 13:00 i have me half cup oats, pronutro or veg soup w/ chicken fillet(rarely) and a serving whey +-36g whey
then train at 15:00 _ heavy weights (full body) + treadmill 20min hiit after lifting
i have my supper at around 18:00 and my last whey shake at 19:00.

friday 19:00 - saturday 11:00
fast... only water and tea and what not... like above.... no sugar, i use sucralose, but only BLACK TEA... i train saturday morning.. heavy weights no cardio.

saturday 11:00 - sunday 19:00
this is my strictest day.. i eat WHATEVER I WANNA lol :silly:


ok so i do full body workouts coz i feel it helps better with the fat loss thing... i been doing the fasting thing from the beginning of the year and havent noticed ant muscle loss.. i have read that lifting helps with that as well as the gh release that comes with fasting .

oh and btw, i try to eat at maintenance on the day between the 40 hr fasts.. i dont see a need to cut calories further as those are 2 full days without food!! cut enough calories lol... basically this way works as you counting calories for a full week as opposed to daily..

*i know my diet is shit and theres alot of room for improvement, but its working so far for me.. so sticking with it*

ok now.. i have lost a lot of strength, but i think its to be expected eatng at a caloric deficit..

bench db press 42kg each arm
bench barbell 100kg

deadlift 130kg

squat 120kg

wish i was stronger.. i wanna be a side-walk cracking mutha fu*ker!!!

lol hope this helps.. sorry for the essay

For those interested in IF try the following
Do 16hr fast with a 8hr feeding window.
Try and consume 35% of calories before workout, 35% post and then the rest in the last hour of your feeding window. 3-4 big meals.
When you fast drink water and if budget allows also drink a calorie free bcaa drink.

On any caloric deficit if not on AAS there will be some muscle loss. I was on a keto diet and also doing IF. 16/8

As long as you get in total calories on your deficit then muscle loss shouldnt be such a big concern

For those who were looking for more info: www.leangains.com/

I've used it over the past 2-3 years whenever I was cutting, generally without ever losing any strength on my lifts.

When I was doing intermittent fasting what amazed me the most is how I could lift with such intensity and still hit PRs while training first thing in the morning after fasting for 15 hours.

Overall I rate IF highly for fat loss and you can make decent lean gains if you can get enough calories in. But it's not as effective for gaining muscle as a regular 6-7 meals a day diet. I really wanted to believe that it could be because the eating was so convenient, but my muscle gains were slower than normal.

For guys who are after an athletic look with abs it might be a great eating plan, but not if you want as much muscle as possible.

yo guys.. if you get some time... read this.. im no scientist nor genius.. just a sucker for results!! :silly: www.emaxhealth.com/1020/study-fasting-st...t-and-overall-health

Anorexia also causes a dramatic increase in HGH levels. Elevated HGH is not enough to protect muscle loss.

Zulfi fasting for 16hrs is one thing a 40hr fast on the other hand...

well put MA...

i totally agree with that rhino.. this fast 40hr thing is deadly... now i do realise what you guys are saying.. but in my defence... im not seeing the muscle loss.. infact its working GREAT for me..

if it matters, im trying to eat at maintenance on non fast days lol

You're not seeing it but you are losing muscle. Like you said, you are losing strength. That means you're losing muscle.

Muscleaddict wrote: You're not seeing it but you are losing muscle. Like you said, you are losing strength. That means you're losing muscle.

Ok now I cant argue with that. .. but seriously. . It looks like im getting huge... maybe the muscle that was hibernating behind the fat is revealing itself.. and its just fooling my gullible ass lol...


Ok all that aside.. my goal is not to put on muscle but to lose fat.. and this is the 1way that im actually able to stick to and see results. .

To add to what MA is saying, I am currently doing keto. Started 5 weeks ago at about 13% BF. Now I am just under 10%. Muscle definition and all that coming out from everywhere. I am 10kg lighter now than what I was when I started working at the salt mines, and in the last couple of weeks I have been asked a couple of times if I am using steroids. Like I said I am the lightest I have been in a decade and in deep ketosis so there is nothing substantial in my muscles they are flatter than Justin Bieber.

lol i did keto once before.. i luuuuuuurvd the carb up lol!!!

was waaaay too expensive for me to maintain.. but the results were also awesome... but when i stopped the keto and started eating normal again, i put the weight back on... couldnt understand it.

Muscleaddict wrote: When I was doing intermittent fasting what amazed me the most is how I could lift with such intensity and still hit PRs while training first thing in the morning after fasting for 15 hours.

Overall I rate IF highly for fat loss and you can make decent lean gains if you can get enough calories in. But it's not as effective for gaining muscle as a regular 6-7 meals a day diet. I really wanted to believe that it could be because the eating was so convenient, but my muscle gains were slower than normal.

For guys who are after an athletic look with abs it might be a great eating plan, but not if you want as much muscle as possible.

I agree 200%, coupled with keto you cant go wrong for fatloss IMO

Read the lean gains website. Very informative. I wanna try it but being used too eating every 3 hours & now fasting for such a long period...don't know how I will survive the day lol

Lots of black coffee
The first couple days were a struggle when I started, but you get used to it very quickly, I think it's mentioned on the website how your hormones adjust to your meal patterns. I generally don't get hungry at all until after 2pm now, makes the bulk/cut transition much easier.

As for the bulk, I found muscle/strength gain wasn't a problem provided I could eat at an excess, but it could be quite challenging at times to get all the cals needed into just 2-3 meals.

I am on day 2 now. Must say im already feeling better. Thought I would die with no BF. Hopefully the results will be worth it!

Good luck mate