Intermittent Fasting.
You may have heard of it, tried it, or even have been doing it for a while. If not, it’s worth a look.
I’ll start with a brief overview of Intermittent Fasting (IF) and the protocol I will be using for this blog. I’m pretty new to IF but after being introduced to it by my good friend and colleague Ryan Naish, owner of Fitness Wins – proper gen’d up bloke when it comes to these type of nutritional subjects – I decided to give it a whirl.
So what is Intermittent Fasting……
IF is an eating protocol that alternates between periods of fasting and non-fasting, or eating and not eating. Before I go any further I would like to point out that IF is not a quick fix to your bad and lazy eating habits but a change that can be, and should be, sustained long term. As I’ve said many times with the training we do, fitness is a way of life, and that includes nutrition.
I, like I’m sure many of you, have at some point succumbed to the typical “you must eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day to raise your metabolic rate” scenario. After all, it was, and still is, touted as the one and only way to build a lean and healthy body. I wonder why this is. Is it due to research, or supplement sales……? Just sayin’ Food for thought though!.
I don’t know about everyone else but I soon binned that type of eating regime as it’s just a nightmare carrying food around or trying to find somewhere to buy what you want when you want it. I’m not saying it’s not possible. It just doesn’t fit in with my lifestyle.
After a little thought, ‘cause that’s all it took! And some research on IF I decided to give it a trial with 2 concerns. 1. Was I capable of long term IF, and 2. Could it fit in easily with my way of life? Obviously the first concern is all down to my mental approach. The second was down to a little juggling until I found a split of fasting and non-fasting periods that suited my training cycle and family life. I started with a split of 18 hr. fast followed by a 6 hr. eating window. Over a 24hr period this broke down as fasting from 5pm – 11am then an eating window from 11am -5pm. After a couple of days of this system followed by 22 hr. fast I decided that, 1. Mentally I could cope, and quite easily to my surprise. And also that with a bit of a shift with the split it could fit in really well with my training and family life.
So the protocol I am using for this research is a daily fast. The split is made up like this – 16 hr. fasting followed by an 8hr eating window from 1pm – 8 pm. I generally eat at 1pm, 4-5pm and 8pm. During this window my meals are healthy high protein and low fat. I then fast until 1pm the next day. I know, I know, this goes completely against the grain and everything we’ve been told over the years about breakfast, 5-6 meals blah blah blah, but we’re still breaking – the -fast, just at a different time.
As I said, I’m certainly no expert on this. I’m just doing some research on it and posting my findings in this blog. I have decided to measure and record total body weight, body fat %, lean body mass and body fat mass on a weekly basis. This is the info I will post so you can see the results for yourself.
Could this change everything……….
A good source of info on IF can be found here
Phil Webster,
B.A.S.E. Fitness
B.A.S.E Training 
Friday 02.11.12
As I said I would post the finding of my IF trial on a weekly basis. I am now at the end of my first week so here’s the results. They’re pretty phenomenal!!
Total bodyweight has decreased by 2 lbs
Fatty tissue has decreased by 4 lbs
Lean tissue mass has increased by 2 lbs
Total body fat has decreased by 2.4%
If this pattern continues the monthly results will be unbeleiveable. I have kept everything else unchanged – ie. training, food etc. Although I have trained after my first meal. There’s no hard and fast rule with this, that’s just what works for me. Althought if you are going to train fasted – before your first meal of the day – you need to have an intake of BCAA. I’d say around 10g 20 mins prior to training. this is all dependant on your goals of course.
I’ll take notes throughout the next week and post my weekly resulkts next Friday.
Please take part in the discussion and comment on this post. Thanks
Phil Webster
B.A.S.E. Fitness
Apologies for there being no updates recently, I’ve broke my callipers! I’ll get everything back on track as soon as the new ones arrive. It’s all going well though
23.11.12
Results in……..
Total bodyweight has decreased by 2 lbs
Fatty tissue has decreased by 2 lbs
Lean tissue mass has decreased by 1 lbs
Total body fat has decreased by 1.5%
My nutrition has not be great over the last week hence the loss in lean mass. Note to self, ‘Screw the nut Webster’ ! Still good results though.
07:12:12
As we’re a just over a month in I thought I’d post the total loses/gains.
My bodyweight has remained fairly constant through out the month with only slight dips of around hald a pound. My bodyfat has seen a decrease of 3 lbs, my lean tissue mass has increased by 2lbs and my bodyfat has decreased from 11.7% to 10%.
If the trend continues I should see some good results by the time I reach week 8.
I would also like to make a point about my diet and social life whilst ive been carrying out this trial. I have by no means made any drastic changes to my diet. I have kept to healthy eating and if i decide to eat out then that’s what i do without worrying too much about the calorific value of the meal. I like a drink, so I have one, or two, or three! Red wines the one!!
So far I am very impressed witht this eating protocol. I can see that I will continue to eat this way after I have finished the trail.