Total Male Optimization "People who say it can't be done shouldn't interrupt those that are doing it"
Just wanted to give a little update on this. I've been following the 16:8 or "lean gains" method for the last few months and have dropped a significant amount of body fat all while maintaining both my size, and strength. I'm starting to incorporate one 24 hour fast per week and following the 16:8 every other day. For some people IF may not be best but for me it has been one of the best ways to drop bodyfat that I have tried in a long time.
I don't doubt it's effectiveness, I just think someone who isn't very versed in lifting and or weight loss would benefit for learning other methods first. Some people may get the wrong idea about this approach and think "starving" themselves is the way to weight loss, when we all know that it's a bit more then that. I can see certain people taking it too far and not getting any results at all.
I've actually been doing this for the past few months without realizing it had a name. Lean gains? Gonna look it up. I'm assuming you fast for 16 hours and eat during the 8 hour window?
Total Male Optimization "People who say it can't be done shouldn't interrupt those that are doing it"
Cervix stabbing ftw.
I've had a whole load of time on my hands recently and researched IF quite a bit last week. The thing that stuck with me are the results of a few studies that show the bodies response to the ingenstion of fat, and in particular animal fat is entirely different to that of lean protein. Eating a lean protein meal will bring about a dramatic fall in testosterone for up to 3 hours afterwards, all of which is supposedly linked to the insulin/cortisol/testosterone connection. Eating a high fat meal, or high fat snack, particularly animal fat, brings about a tiny, virtually neutral response in T levels, supposedly due to a far greater mitigation in the insulin/cortisol/lectin response as opposed to the normal response to eating lean protein or high sugar meal/snack.
This is very likely relevant information for those interested in IF who want similar results without putting the body through too many fasting days each week. I personally now IF 16/8 twice a week and all other days eat nothing but very high fat meals or snacks in the day, culminating in a normal evening meal.
Science would suggest this will put the body through minimal stress whilst optimising the body to insulin and maintaining optimum testosterone and cortisol levels throughout every day. Personally i wouldn't want to IF more than a couple of days a week due to proven raised cortisol levels whenever you IF. I am not suggesting this is significant enough to be concerned about when IF 2 or 3 days a week, but long term 7 out of 7 days - not sure whether that helps the body or hinders, hence the info on fat ingenstion. I think if you want to lose fat percentage, then IF is a good idea, and probably best to IF for 24hrs at a time given that it takes the average guy 8 hours to deplete his natural glycogen stores and move to fat burning. In between these days, eat high fat meals/snacks in the day, and not lean protein or sugar based stuff otherwise you'll reverse the results of your IF days. Hopefully this is helpful and not already obvious to you guys.