Anyone have any experience with intermittent fasting? How were results as far as fat loss / muscle retention goes?

Anyone have any experience with intermittent fasting? How were results as far as fat loss / muscle retention goes?

I've been doing it strictly for about 6 weeks and while I've noticed myself getting slightly more trim, I'm not sure how those last few hours of the fast where I'm fucking starving and depriving myself of protein is effecting potential gains

Been doing it for 4 weeks now, together with lifting for first time + on a cut of 2000 cal a day.

Black coffee and a lot of water in the morning, plus I read somewhere that you can have an apple or something during the fast, it won't affect the fast and it helps raising some levels again.

In terms of gains; even though i started lifting on a cut, I notice nice gains in chest and back as well as a lot of fat loss. For first time in life six pack is coming through. Currently at ~11-13% BF.

Of course I cannot compare to what it would be like without IF but I like it, I can have 2 big meals, or 1 big meal and several smaller ones, feeling quite full at the end of the day.

I might even keep doing it when lean bulking, my mental state has gotten better in the morning due to IF.

Just started in a couple days ago for my first cut. Seems pretty easy so far, however I don't train fasted

i did it for a few months, the best part is goin nuts on carbs post workout. like ice cream, breakfast cereal, w/e you want like 200g carbs. gains were lean but slow

there's nothing special about intermittant fasting except it makes it easier to eat less for some people. all the rest is just broscience bullshit and you get the same results eating the same macros on a regular diet.

Doing it right now, makes no difference to standard cut with regards to actual fat burning etc but I find it's easier for me to adhere to a stricter diet and I don't feel as hungry when I do IF

I'm doing it as a formerly obese who has lost 30 pounds.

IF is just a comfort thing. It really doesn't matter if you eat one meal or six meals a day, or if you eat all day or in a very short time, as long as your macros are good. Some people are very comfortable on IF (like myself) and some people might not take well to it. I just tell people it's a fancy word for "drink coffee for breakfast", which is exactly what I'm doing.

>I don't feel as hungry when I do IF
>this

Tried IF, but I actually couldnt stand being hungry through all of morning classes, and the 2nd half of my work shifts (i work normally until 11 or 12 at night), and on top of all of it I couldnt sleep because i was hungry

Not for everyone, but some swear by it

I do it. I eat around noon and 6pm, and maybe a small snack in between. But I'm just a fatass trying to lose weight and my schedule it just kinda worked out like this so I went with it. Seems to work well. I go to bed late though, around 2am, so sometimes I get a feeling late at night where it's not so much that I'm hungry, just that my stomach is saying "hey you haven't put food in me in a while fyi". It might also be that I tend to drink less water as the night goes on because I don't want to have to get out of bed to piss constantly. Overall I like it though, but like I said mostly going for fat loss and this just really fit my schedule. Lost about 60lbs the past 4.5 months or so. ymmv.

>all the rest is just broscience bullshit
> It really doesn't matter if you eat one meal or six meals a day, or if you eat all day or in a very short time

fasting directly affects cortisol levels and fat oxidation

Does this work if I dont take BCAA?
I mean can I wake up in morning, drink only coffee and go train hard and do beast workout everytime, even tho I havent eaten any proteins or carbs. I dont want to buy some powder shit I prefer real food...

>fasting directly affects cortisol levels and fat oxidation

different user from those 2. what does that mean? you lose weight faster when fasting?

How will a very low kcal diet affect someone who's just barely turned 18? Been eating a protein-rich dinner and fasting the whole rest of day for the past few weeks and have lost some weight from starting at ~17% BF. I do feel pretty dead sometimes in the middle of the day but I'm really only worried if it will permanently mess up hormones etc.

I kind of eased into it because I've been eating 1 meal a day for the past few months but only really went into hard mode recently when I started drinking coffee black and cutting out random snacks like chips etc. I would estimate I get maybe 700-800 kcal a day and I've only been exercising very lightly. Any advice?

I'm honestly in danger of undereating when I do IF. I'm losing at 1800, but I feel very satiated at 1200, which is two meals of lean meat + carb + greens + dessert, which is pretty hearty. Then I still have to eat 600 more and I have to wolf down some sandwiches or something to hit 1800.

It does feel great feeling like you're overeating, but still losing 2 pounds a week.

Unless you are a manlet or wom you are fucking your shit up with that low cal intake.

Yeah I tried to pound it out for like 3 weeks, thinking my body would change and adapt to not having food for 16 hours a day, but it just didnt happen.

Not gonna lie when I did it I truly understood why fatties love to binge eat. It just feels so satisfying

Is there some kind of advantage to fasted training?
When I did it I trained an hour or two after my 12:00 meal and that seemed better than going on an empty stomach, though I didnt have BCAA's.

I don't know the research but it's worth looking up.

My personal anecdote is that I feel great while doing fasted cardio, but fasted weight lifting makes me sick. I need to eat at least 100 cals before doing weights or I can't perform.

I haven't trained fasted cardio but I definitely felt shit and weak doing fasted weight training

>stop eating
>as in zero calories and water and nothing else, you fat fuck
>not "oh just some string cheese and some kool aid lmao"
>zero calories
>body starts producing cortisol to mobilize bodyfat
>cortisol rises the longer you fast (hint: cortisol levels are highest after waking for a reason)
>body burns fat better the longer you fast
>also produces HGH to preserve muscle and internal organs
>eating raises insulin (even on keto), which effectively halts fat loss

that's the short of it

people starve themselves to trick their body into burning bodyfat easier

add in shit like EC, and it gets even easier

Does 1 of those functions ever make you stop feeling hungry? Seriously always around the 12-13 hour mark I'm fucking starving and just trying to tough it out until the fast ends but then while waiting for the 16 hour mark I just get spikes where I'm not hungry at all for a little while

I'm also just curious how impactful the fast is on muscle growth

couple things:
>first and foremost, nice trips
>second, thats interesting, thanks for the explanation
>third, what is EC?

I'm about 6'1. What exactly am I fucking up?

>fucking starving
ghrelin (the hunger hormone) is time dependent, meaning if you eat at the same time every day (e.g. "only between 5-9pm") then your body will only produce ghrelin at those times

eat ONLY during that window, and your body will eventually (within a week) only get hungry at those times, but snacking outside your window will fuck all this up

>third, what is EC?
ecto cooler

I did it for 4 weeks now I lost a shit ton of fat and relatively keeping size gains. But in all honesty its hell. I struggle to hit the gym and do anything for that matter. My strength gains are fleeing the scene. And I have no energy reserves what so ever. I used to sleep like 6 hours for full energy but now I sleep like 10-11. and my body has doms everyday now. Its great losing fat tactic but jesus I want to kill myself.

I don't do it on lifting days. I just do it on rest days. Eating around weight time is too important.

I max out carbs and protein after lifting days. Like a giant bowl of spaghettoo with two broiled chicken breasts chopped up and mixed in and a half gallon of skim milk.

Finishing usually takes around two hours, but it keeps the DOMS away