{"id":2369,"date":"2015-12-30T00:10:00","date_gmt":"2015-12-30T00:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/?p=2369"},"modified":"2016-01-03T20:20:34","modified_gmt":"2016-01-03T20:20:34","slug":"improved-size-strength-168-intermittent-fasting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/nutrition\/improved-size-strength-168-intermittent-fasting\/","title":{"rendered":"Improved Size and Strength with 16\/8 Intermittent Fasting"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"INTERMITTENT-FASTING-16-8\"It seems counter-intuitive to believe that you\u2019ll gain muscle size and strength from intermittent fasting. However, from my personal perspective and what I have seen from my clients, I have found that intermittent fasting is highly valuable.<\/p>\n

There are various ways to implement intermittent fasting (IF). The one I prefer, and the one that I\u2019ll discuss here is a 16-hour fast followed by an 8 hour eating window. If you follow this protocol, you consume all your calories in the 8-hour window (of your choosing) and sustain from calories during your fasted state. Water, tea, and coffee are acceptable during your fasted window, assuming that you don\u2019t add in cream or sugar.<\/p>\n

Ideally, I prefer the workouts to be \u201cfasted.\u201d No caloric consumption prior to workout. Fasted workouts seem to work best for those who workout early in the morning through early afternoon. That way, you can train fasted and consume all your meals post workout.<\/p>\n

What I have found through this protocol is that people are able to put on size and strength at a normal rate. The extra benefit I have found is that people are able to stay a lot leaner while gaining size and strength. To date, I haven\u2019t found official research to back this up. This is merely a first-hand perspective that I have seen quite often on clients who decide to do an IF protocol. If you have any research to support my hypothesis, please share below. Please also share if you find research that goes against my opinion too.<\/p>\n

I am by no means saying that this is the most effective program to implement. If you\u2019re goal is to put on an enormous amount of muscle, this is not the protocol for you. Realize that most of my clients are people looking to optimize their body composition, whether it is for a bodybuilding competition or just to look better naked.<\/p>\n

Having said that, I believe you are able to put on a significant amount of muscle mass through this set up. As with any protocol, it will take time. Do not misinterpret this as a short cut. It is not. It\u2019s merely a way that I have discovered and implemented through personal use and that of my clients.<\/p>\n

The following points are my speculation as to how this phenomenon works:<\/p>\n

Increased Anabolism Post-Workout<\/h3>\n

More commonly seen with those who train in a fasted state. The body seems to react differently after a fasted training session as compared to a training session done when food was consumed beforehand. I speculate that there is an increase in Insulin Like Growth Factor<\/a> (IGF-1). The body\u2019s cortisol is greatly increased (assuming that the workout was relatively difficult) and once you ingest your post-workout meal (ideally in a liquid form), your body quickly tries to get into an anabolic and rebuilding state. I believe this swing would overcompensate and allow for an increase in anabolism, if even for a short time.<\/p>\n

It is okay to consume a Branch Chain Amino Acid (BCAA) supplement before the workout. This is still considered to be fasted. The addition of BCAA may help start the repairing process sooner than a completely fasted training session in which no BCAA where used pre-workout. I don\u2019t believe that this is absolutely necessary, as I have not used BCAA pre-workout the majority of the time. However, I think there is something to gain. I believe there is some research coming out on this soon.<\/p>\n

Increase of Body Fat Utilization<\/h3>\n

From a body fat perspective, most people struggle, especially when trying to build muscle. I would be shocked if most people (who wanted to gain muscle) didn\u2019t care if they had six-pack or not. Put another way, I don\u2019t believe that people would choose not having a six-pack over having one.<\/p>\n

A beautiful thing about IF is that it is a great tool to help decrease in body fat, even while putting on muscle. I know most people believe that this is impossible, but I don\u2019t believe so. If you are eating the right nutrients at the right time, you can certainly gain muscle while losing fat. Personally, I think the best way to do that is through an IF setup.<\/p>\n

When your body is in a fasted state, it doesn\u2019t rely on food intake for energy because, well, there is none coming in. You are fasting. Therefore, it must turn to its reserve energy tank. This reserved energy tank is commonly referred to as body fat. Even the leanest of individuals have week\u2019s worth of energy available to them in the form of body fat.<\/p>\n

Intermittent Fasting allows your body to tap into these reserves and use them for energy. Thus, decreasing body fat.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve stated before, I don\u2019t believe this is the best set up for everybody. I don\u2019t put all of my clients on an intermittent fasting protocol. It\u2019s not ideal for everybody. But for those who really respond well, it becomes a lifestyle for them. They embrace it and enjoy it. Intermittent fasting is a tool in the tool belt. Just as a house is built with many tools used in different ways, so the body is built.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like our experts to come up with a personalized diet plan just for you then please get in touch here<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It seems counter-intuitive to believe that you\u2019ll gain muscle size and strength from intermittent fasting. However, from my personal perspective and what I have seen from my clients, I have found that intermittent fasting is highly valuable. There are various ways to implement intermittent fasting (IF). The one I prefer, and the one that I\u2019ll …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2376,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,17],"tags":[124,122,123],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2369"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2369\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutritionly.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}