Start of Experiment: 7/21/2014
My Goal: To continue losing body fat while maintaining muscle and maintaining and or increasing strength.
INTRODUCTION TO FASTING
I’ve been training and counting macros for as long as I can remember. I’ve eaten frequently, mostly every 2-4 hours 5-6 times a day. I’ve had very good success with shredding body fat eating 5 meals in a day and hitting my required macronutrients. Unfortunately many of my clients cannot seem to get in the scheduled 5 meals a day, which leads to inconsistency and typically ends with a colossal binge. Not to mention the idea of eating more frequently to increase your metabolism is complete horse shit. If you eat 2 meals a day compared to 5 meals a day there is no difference in the total thermic effect of food as long as the calories total the same at the end of the day. I am continuously trying to find methods to help surge the minds and bodies of my clients so I spent the past few months researching Intermittent Fasting. I’ve decided to put myself through the protocols to see how well it works and to decide if I think it would be beneficial for my clients and for whoever might be reading this article. Feel free to use this article as a guidelines if you’re interested in trying Intermittent Fasting.
THE FASTING RULES I’M FOLLOWING
The rules are fairly simple. Below is a list of all the guidelines I’ll be following during this trial run.
No calories ingested during the fasted phase.
Fasted phase is 16 hours every day, followed by an 8 hour feeding window.
Black coffee, tea, sugar free / calorie free drinks, calorie free sweeteners, and diet drinks are all acceptable during the fasted phase.
Meal frequency is irrelevant during the feeding phase.
Number of meals consumed during the feeding phase is irrelevant but I’ll be sticking with 2-3 max
On days I weight train I’ll be consuming a high protein / high carbs / low fat diet
On non-workout days I’ll be consuming a high protein, low carb, higher fat diet.
My fast will last from 9pm-1pm (16 hours)
My feeding window will last from 1pm-9pm (8 hours)
On training days all of my calories will be consumed post workout and my post workout meal will be the highest in carbohydrates.
On non-training days my first meal to break my fast will be the largest, 40% of my total daily calories and will be very high in protein.
I will also be weight training fasted consuming only my pre-workout which contains 10 grams of BCAA’s.
I will be hitting my required macros using “If It Fits Your Macros” protocol, but not the bro science IIFYM protocol. I’ll be consuming a mixture of high micronutrient foods combined with some “dirty” or “unhealthy” foods to hit my macros.
TRAINING DAY EATING SCHEDULE
7:00am: Wake up take 10 grams BCAA’s and head to work
11:00am: Take my Pre-workout with 10 grams BCAA’s
11:30am: Workout
1:00pm: Break fast and consume my post workout meal which will be my largest meal of the day
1:00pm – 9:00pm: Eat an additional meal or two to hit my macronutrient goals. Calories and carbs are tapered down throughout the day.
9:00pm-1:00pm: 16 hour fast
REPEAT
NON-TRAINING DAY EATING SCHEDULE
7:00am: Wake up take 10 grams BCAA’s and head to work
11:00am: 10 grams BCAA’s with water
1:00pm: Break my fast with my largest meal of the day. This first meal will be 40% of my total daily calories.
1:00pm – 9:00pm: Eat an additional meal or two to hit my macronutrient goals. Calories and carbs are tapered down throughout the day.
9:00pm-1:00pm: 16 hour fast
REPEAT
DIFFERENT WAYS TO SET UP INTERMITTENT FASTING
There are 4 ways to set up leangains intermittent fasting. Below are 4 options. Pick which one works best for you.
The Fasted Training Method
Training is performed on an empty stomach after 10 grams BCAAs
Sample setup 11.30-12 AM or 5-15 minutes pre-workout: 10 g BCAA 12-1 PM: Training 1 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal of the day). 4 PM: Second meal. 9 PM: Last meal before the fast. Calories and carbs are tapered down throughout the day in the example above.
Early Bird Fasted Training
6 AM: 5-15 minute’s pre-workout: 10 g BCAA’S. 6-7 AM: Training. 8 AM: 10 g BCAA’S. 10 AM: 10 g BCAA’S 12-1 PM: The "real" post-workout meal (largest meal of the day). Start of the 8 hour feeding-window. 8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.
One Pre-Workout Meal 12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Pre-workout meal. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake. 3-4 PM: Training should happen a few hours after the pre-workout meal. 4-5 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal). 8-9 PM: Last meal before the fast.
Two Pre-Workout Meals
This is the usual protocol for people with normal working hours. 12-1 PM or around lunch/noon: Meal one. Approximately 20-25% of daily total calorie intake. 4-5 PM: Pre-workout meal. Roughly equal to the first meal. 8-9 PM: Post-workout meal (largest meal).
How to calculate calories and macros for training days and non-training days
Step #2: Watch my step by step instructional video on youtube to calculate your daily calories. Please subscribe to my youtube to stay updated with all my newest content.
Step #3: Join any of the following sites to track your food to make sure you hit the calories you created above. I highly recommend calorie king.
MY CURRENT WEIGHT TRAINING ROUTINE
I’ll be giving Reverse Pyramid training another try. I really enjoyed this style of training back in the day and decided to give it another go. Below is my current routine. The goal for reverse pyramiding is to warm up thoroughly then do your heaviest set first, decrease the weight on the next set but increase the reps, and once again decrease the weight on the third set and increase the reps. Below you can see what my split looks like.
UNTIL NEXT TIME
So by now you should have a great understanding of intermittent fasting. If you’re looking to try intermittent fasting but are unsure if you’ll be able to do it, I recommend starting off slow. Try to fast for 16 hours and eat for 8, don’t weigh any food or track anything. Just see if you’re able to follow the 16 hour fasting and 8 hour feeding protocol. I will keep you updated with my progress. Follow me on facebook and instagram to stay motivated and see my meal examples.
