Well I’ve given it about six weeks and my inverted lean gains style of intermittent fasting was, at the very least, a learning experience.
I feel as if it did, and didn’t work. I feel as if I’ve lost a little weight and thinned out a bit, though after the 3 week mark the losses dropped off and I saw little to no results after. My weight has fluctuated wildly, despite weighing myself at hte same time of day each time.
At the beginning of the experiment I was 221 pounds, at the three week mark I was 209lbs and now at the end I’m at 219 pounds. I have a feeling the fluctuation in weight is do to me “adjusting” to the two meal system and thereby eating more. I believe the initial loses I saw in the beginning were do more to caloric deficit then fasting magic.
Around the three week mark I began making a conscious effort to eat more at each meal. While I maintained a lower carb paleo diet I was still consuming a lot to manage the feelings of hunger. I also tried carbohydrate re-feeds which I ended up being uncomfortable with, because to me it was like giving heroin to a recovering addict to “help” him. It encouraged bad habits.
I want to close by saying Intermittent Fasting works. Lean Gains doesn’t need my humble opinion to validate its effectiveness, it works. This form of “early morning” or Inverted Lean Gains fasting, however, seems to not work.
I’m currently at 219lbs and 16% body fat, which is better than average but still a bit away from awesome. I’m not sure how I’ll approach cutting that last 3% to get where I want to be. Atkins seemed to have dropped the ball. ILG didn’t work. Eating everything and power lifting caused met o gain weight (which wasn’t a surprise) so now I have to ask myself, what now?
What does all this have to do with this website, the Chef In Jeans: A culinary website for men?
It comes down to the fact that in our modern world of convenience, food is a double edged sword. It can be the fuel that gets us through the day, and the poison that kills us slowly. As men we must realize we are accountable for everything we do, and that includes the food that goes into our mouths’.
May I ask how many carbs you are consuming a day? Veggies, condiments, all of it?
Usually around 50g or less. Never more than 100g
I believe the initial loses I saw in the beginning were do more to caloric deficit then fasting magic.
Dude, thats how IF is SUPPOSED to work, by reducing your calories. The point is you DONT eat more to compensate – you eat as you normally would, no more when not fasting or breaking a fast. If you eat MORE to compensate, OF COURSE it wont work.
Every IF I know, Brad Pilon, Lean Gains, makes it clear that the weight loss occurs solely through calorie deficit, and not any *magic*. I think it probable you did not really understand the principles behind IF (you thought there was some kind of fasting *magic*), and that is why you did not lose as much as you might have.
Fasting DOES have health benefits that go way beyond weight loss, but if you want to use it as a weight loss technique, you must understand that it is just an easy way to cut calories.
Cutting calories is the ONLY thing that has been shown to work again and again to lose fat. There is no *magic*. The trick is to find a way that psychologically lets you cut calories and feel good and comfortable. For some people, eating fewer carbs makes them cut calories and feel good (although these ppl are a minority, as research has shown that high-carb meals are positively correlated with feelings of satiety. Which is way long-term success stories with low-carb are EXTREMELY rare. Weight loss researchers who compiled stats on long-term success stories found that low-carbers were EXTREMELY underpresented). For some people, simply fasting once or twice a week while eating normally, not more, the rest of the week works psychologically (and also has health benefits beyond fat loss).
But there is no gimmick or magic – ANY way you cut calories, you will lose weight.
I should’ve been clear, for a guy my size maintenance calories are about 3k, and my daily safe minimum is about 1600. That puts my “weight loss” amount in the early 2000s, I usually aim for 2100 – 2400, so thats about 750 kCals/meal at 3 meals a day.
When I first started the fasting program I was still eating like that, so I’d eat two meals of roughly 750 calories each putting me at around 1500 calories total for the day, and leaving me VERY hungry.
I realized the issue was that I wasn’t consuming enough calories per meal (roughly 1000). I did a change up around week three. This is when I noticed the results wanning.
I’m not giving up on fasting and plan to continue fasting during the week simply because its easier (and cheaper since I can eat breakfast and lunch on the clock). In a few weeks I’ll have some personal issues cleared up and I’m going to attempt another modified fasting experiment. I wont be giving weekly updates on this one but I’ll talk about it at some point.
I just got done reading the book Protein Power and in it it was recommended to NOT do protein shakes or any kind of recovery drink before or after working out. The reason for this is that working out on an empty stomach will allow your body to give it a small jolt of Human Growth Hormone during your workout. It works better when you work out to failure, which I assume you are doing. Now, this was news to me as most everything you read about working out touts the recovery drink and the creatine.
A caveat though. This book is 16 years old and I am not sure how much research has been done on this in the interim. I have been meaning to do more research on it and haven’t had time yet. This might be something to consider. Also, while 50 grams is obviously not much at all to get your body to shed that last 3% of stubborness, you may need to cut out even more.
I’ve never heard that, most guys I trust have insisted that a meal post workout is important, though this is for powerlifting types who are focused solely on strength, everything else be damned.
I’ve tried doing less than 50g in the past, a few months back when I still was doing Atkins and it didn’t really do much anymore. Atkins seems to lose its luster once you lose enough weight.
I’ve actually read that to get into the very low BF%, like <13%, you actually need some carbs. I think the overall lessons is that there are many ways to approach weight loss and healthy eating. The idea is the find the one that works best FOR YOU.
Yes, I agree fully. Just thought I’d mention it as something else to look into. Be careful though, restricting your calories too much. You do NOT want to lose muscle as well. I speak from experience. It’s horrible. A guy your size is going to need a huge amount of protein (I’m sure you know this, sorry) I would be very careful with caloric restriction and go more the route of tweaking where the calories are coming from.
Actually it’s highly recommended that you consume some protein/BCAAs before you work out.
It jump starts your body.
http://www.leangains.com/2009/12/pre-workout-protein-boosts-metabolism.html
This I knew, but the way I was doing LG I was eating my meals prior to working out, which is the inverse of how lean gains is setup, but my life doesn’t allow me to do the program the way Martin advises
you ever heard of an EC stack? If not, read about it here: http://www.hotnfit.com/ecstack.htm
I’ve done it before and plan to do it again to reach goal weight loss.
You might want to ask question at the addictive paleohacks.com. I think you might want to check out blood work of your hormones for one thing. There is a possibility you could be overtraining and have cortisol issues. Low carb (under 50 g) can also mess up your thyroid which will prevent weight loss. Also you might want to try to train in the winter weather, since you burn calories much faster. Or do cold thermogensis training. Basically you take 60 F baths in water or cold showers. Forces your fat stores to work harder to keep you warm.
This is something I’ve heard before, as you get slimmer you actually need MORE carbs. I’m gonna just wing it for now, I’m literally down to just vanity weight. I actually plan on starting cold water bathing once the weather warms up. I’ve read a myriad of info on how doing so is beneficial for men. Its a little hard to muster up the fortitude when your house at 65 already lol.
I took a serious stab at IF by trying to go it ‘alone’ based on what I read online. Bumped into Andy @ http://rippedbody.jp/ who takes Martin’s Leangains system and gives a lot more details regarding diet and training on his website. Really comprehensive. He’s available for hire as well but you might be able to fine-tune your macros to lose the last 3% with just the free info he provides.
Good looking out. The world needs more good free sources of fitness and nutrition info