Why You Should Skip Breakfast: The Secrets of Intermittent Fasting - New Article!

[Joe Black]

Intermittent Fasting challenges bodybuilding’s nutritional dogma that in order to stay lean, muscular, and healthy, one must eat small, protein-containing meals every two to three hours.

If you are sick of carrying around several tuppaware boxes and need a psychological break from the traditional bodybuilding diet, Intermittent Fasting fits the bill nicely.

Get ready to have your nutritional world turned upside-down.

READ HERE

[NaturalBB1973]

Great article. I'm wondering how/if one could implement an IF protocol when training two-a-days 3x per week.
First workout ~10am, second ~7pm. My apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere. Comments/links
appreciated. Thanks guys.

[Jared R]

Thanks for the article. I've been reading about and following IF for a while and was wondering when something like this would be posted. Although it does call into question a lot of what people are taught, I hope they will give it a try and hopefully it will bring about some good changes.

Looking forward to another great article.

[Martin Berkhan]

Great article. I'm wondering how/if one could implement an IF protocol when training two-a-days 3x per week.
First workout ~10am, second ~7pm. My apologies if this has been discussed elsewhere. Comments/links
appreciated. Thanks guys.

Example:

Fasted training (see first protocol, "Fasted Training", in the guide: http://leangains.blogspot.com/2010/0...ins-guide.html)

Meal 1 at 12-1 pm or post-workout (large meal)

Meal 2 at 4-5 pm (small pre-wo meal)

Training

Meal 3 at 8-9 pm or post workout (largest meal)

[Shadow]

I browse around here once in a while and this article really caught my eye. I've been struggling with diet modifications for a while. Yea, I really hate having to eat every 2-3 hours..that tupperware comment hits the nail on the head. I follow an olympic weightlifting regimen so my training is pretty set. The only excitement I get anymore is playing with nutrition.. lookin forward to trying out these ideas here.

[cws]

I invite comments on the potential effectiveness (If there is something out there like this, please let me know.) of a modified intermittent fast with two protein pulses in the morning (see David Barr's articles) and peri-workout nutrition based on Dr. Kevin Tipton's research. I can already hear people saying that I am just randomly throwing together theories, but I have a decent background in biochemistry and physiology (I am a board-certified internal medicine doctor and former personal trainer, and I have been studying this stuff since I was 18.) and it isn't unreasonable in my estimation to think something like this may be effective. Here is what a 2000 calorie diet would look like. Thoughts?

6:30: 20g whey hydosylate/EAA/BCAA mix

9:00: 20g same

12:30: 600 calories

6:00: 210 calories (25g dextrose/maltodextrin and 27g whey hydosylate/EAA/BCAA mix)

7:30: 210 calories same ( perhaps with a casein/whey mix)

9:30: 700 calories

[Daniel Roberts]

I invite comments on the potential effectiveness (If there is something out there like this, please let me know.) of a modified intermittent fast with two protein pulses in the morning (see David Barr's articles) and peri-workout nutrition based on Dr. Kevin Tipton's research. I can already hear people saying that I am just randomly throwing together theories, but I have a decent background in biochemistry and physiology (I am a board-certified internal medicine doctor and former personal trainer, and I have been studying this stuff since I was 18.) and it isn't unreasonable in my estimation to think something like this may be effective. Here is what a 2000 calorie diet would look like. Thoughts?

6:30: 20g whey hydosylate/EAA/BCAA mix

9:00: 20g same

12:30: 600 calories

6:00: 210 calories (25g dextrose/maltodextrin and 27g whey hydosylate/EAA/BCAA mix)

7:30: 210 calories same ( perhaps with a casein/whey mix)

9:30: 700 calories

It depends whether you'd personally find that schedule workable. To me it's tending towards 6 timed feedings a day (I appreciate that's not the aim and some of the feedings aren't meals) which is the antithesis of IF.

As for theoretical benefits, there are just too many 'maybes' to comment on whether there's a statistical significance to those 'pulse' feedings over and above simply hitting your protein requirement for the day.

Martin Berkhan's site (leangains.com) has a few case studies and feeding strategies (linked above somewhere) that incorporate BCAA's at certain intervals etc.

See the article here for my thoughts on most of this -

http://www.wannabebig.com/diet-and-n...eting-collide/

[View 1]

Update:

I am down to 243 ( as of last week ) from 254 a little less than 2 months ago ( still a long way to go). Calories average around 2400, I am doing 45 minutes of steady state cardio 6 days a week ( 2-3 days are fasted cardio in the morning ) and am hitting the weights 4 days a week vs 3 before. I have actually been eating more cheat meals and continue to lose inches and pounds every month.

I am very very glad that I made the switch over to IF and I will fallow this style of eating for the rest of my life, and I LOVE the fact that I can eat normal dinners again. Like I stated before the first 2 week adjustment period was a horrible transition for me but now I am reaping the benefits of IF.

[nhernan1986]

Ok, heard many ideas and I'm definitely intrigued. I love to eat so dieting has always been a dark time for me This Monday is week 9 (last week) of my Dysmorphia Training (DT) -> LOVED the workout btw. I have been on a calorie surplus this entire workout and have seen some good results. I started my bulking cycle at 6'2'' 220lbs 14%bf about 3 weeks before DT, continued the surplus throughout and now on the last week I'm at 227 15%bf. I started to cut about 1 1/2weeks ago. Short bulking cycle cause I started late (was on maintenance mode for about 3mo's). Bulking calories ranged from 4500-5000 cals. Now I cut them down to 2500-3000 and want to go lower. I'm trying to cut as much bf as possible while maintaining my mass (I'm sure this has been said a thousand times). I ingest a minimum of 1g of protein per body weight, and keep complex carbs and sugars to an absolute minimum.

I work 12hr shifts 2130(9pm)-0900(9am)-night shift- so my workout time is before work. This is most effective for me because I'm usually exhausted after work. *Keeping in mind that now I'm cutting so I added more cardio in addition to dieting. Meals: *All supplements from ALN*

1715: 5g BCAA+ / ETS
1730-1815: Fasted Cardio (burn between 800-1200cals) - Usually 15degree incline walk at 3.5 speed
1815: (Preworkout) Maximus shake (3scoops to keep cal's down until I receive my Nitrean+)
1830-2000 DT
2030: (Postworkout) Results / Opticen shake with 3 raw eggs added / multplus / fish oil
0130: Meal 1 + multplus / fish oil
0530: Meal 2 + multplus / fish oil
0800: Snack (Fruit or Veg) / ETS

**I'm waiting for my Nitrean+ to swap into the Preworkout instead of Maximus**

Let me know where you think I can improve. In about a 1 1/2 weeks of cutting I'm weighining in at 223...

[af92]

Belial = One of the reasons I'm even here still. Straight up badass. Props to you sir.

[Alex.V]

Belial = One of the reasons I'm even here still. Straight up badass. Props to you sir.

Always glad to spit the stuff I'm sure others might be thinking.

Cheers.

[Tamaon]

I've been doing IF for the last year and like it. The first week can suck as your body gets used to it, but the payoff if worth it. Prob not the best idea for a teen who wants to pack on mass ASAP, but it's great for the rest of us who want to loose fat and feel better. I feel very alert in the mornings now.

[katewillson]

hey its very good article.

[katewillson]

but in my opinion breakfast is very necessary...
you can take juice or fruit salad..
it will be very light and it gives energy too.

[greemah]

Now my question is how should I split these remaining calories? Is this how you did it? Then when I want to bulk I will just add 200 calories until I hit a plateau then add 200 more.

You got it mate. With splitting the remaining calories, it doesn't really matter too much, but the guide recommends having higher carbs on training days and higher fats/lower carbs on off days. It doesn't give any more detail so interpret that how you like. Personally I just do about 70g fats on training days and about 110g on off days. However my body does ok on high carb even when trying to lose fat so the numbers are pretty individual

When you say "so my week added up correctly" did you just calculate the daily calories x 7 and just made sure it came out to this number at the end of each week?

Exactly right. I don't think the guide mentions doing anything this way (having a day under maintenance), but I read it from him somewhere else on the site. I haven't tried it without doing it this way so can't comment on how much of a difference it makes. Could always try both ways

but in my opinion breakfast is very necessary...
you can take juice or fruit salad..
it will be very light and it gives energy too.

Not sure if trolling?

[brihead301]

Good read! This is a perfect example of why the generally accepted knowledge about something isn't necessarily always the truth.

[Steve Colescott]

This is a great exploration of a pretty hot topic. I'd like to hear anyone that has experimented with this, sharing their personal observations.

[Off Road]

There is no way I could go that long without food...unless I was forced to do so.

[Martin Berkhan]

There is no way I could go that long without food...unless I was forced to do so.

That's what a lot of people say before they've tried it. Had you asked me 4-5 years ago, I would've said the exact same thing.

[Songsangnim]

There is no way I could go that long without food...unless I was forced to do so.

Agreed. Four hours without food and I get a severe headache...which only goes away about .5 hour or so after eating.

16 hours and I'd probably pass out.

[Rugg]

Agreed. Four hours without food and I get a severe headache...which only goes away about .5 hour or so after eating.

16 hours and I'd probably pass out.

im going to guess you're addicted to sugar. That used to happen to me until I cut out sugary snacks on a daily basis. I still eat them, I just dont eat it as much.

[MJR]

I really WANT this early morning fasted training protocol to work. I train early in the morning and tried the 10g BCAA, but I always feel very low glycogen/weak and bonk during the workout. I never feel strong.

If I get ONE meal with some carbs/protein (even moderate in size), then I'm fine. I'd actually rather have an early dinner and move the entire eating window earlier in the day and avoid the whole fasted training thing (bcaa or not, makes no difference to me from a performance standpoint even if the MPS is elevated).

Just curious if anyone has experienced this with the BCAA/fasted training protocol. Like, I said, I love IF as long as I get one good meal in me preworkout. So IF is not the issue. Just the fasted/BCAA training.

[wazzup]

I really WANT this early morning fasted training protocol to work. I train early in the morning and tried the 10g BCAA, but I always feel very low glycogen/weak and bonk during the workout. I never feel strong.

If I get ONE meal with some carbs/protein (even moderate in size), then I'm fine. I'd actually rather have an early dinner and move the entire eating window earlier in the day and avoid the whole fasted training thing (bcaa or not, makes no difference to me from a performance standpoint even if the MPS is elevated).

Just curious if anyone has experienced this with the BCAA/fasted training protocol. Like, I said, I love IF as long as I get one good meal in me preworkout. So IF is not the issue. Just the fasted/BCAA training.

how does your workout look volume-wise ?

I can hack it when I keep volume low... like a HIT workout, but when I do some volume I'm done pretty fast... I'll have to do the important stuff in the first half hour or so.Than again I ran (jogged) 17.5 km the other day on just some BCAA's.

[mchicia1]

Wow first "Getting big without the big 3" and now this. Seems like the forum is becoming more diverse now. It used to be "if you don't stuff your face until you puke and don't squat/deadlift", you are an idiot.

[Joe Black]

Wow first "Getting big without the big 3" and now this. Seems like the forum is becoming more diverse now. It used to be "if you don't stuff your face until you puke and don't squat/deadlift", you are an idiot.

Thanks for the feedback

We're really trying to present a range of topics and approaches and also chellenge the norm from time to time to get people thinking about other options. Hopefully we're achieveing this

Don't fear though, we have a Big Benching article in the works to even things up lol