Hey guys
last year I tried intermittent fasting as a way to cut fat and maintain lean
muscle or even gain lean muscle while I burnt fat. I knew of 2 popular ways of
fasting the lean gains method which requires one to have a daily fast for 16 hours and have
an 8 hour eating window each day and the supper to supper fast which is a 24
hour fast not done daily. The first time I tried intermittent fasting I did the
lean gains daily fast, but I did it with the goals of doing a lean bulk which
meant even though I was fasting I made sure that within the 8 hour window I was
still consuming enough calories to help me grow but I also wanted the benefit of my
body going into fat burning mode caused by the fasting. The plan was to use fat
as energy because of fasting while gaining muscle from the calories I consumed
during the 8 hour feeding window and resistance training.
last year I tried intermittent fasting as a way to cut fat and maintain lean
muscle or even gain lean muscle while I burnt fat. I knew of 2 popular ways of
fasting the lean gains method which requires one to have a daily fast for 16 hours and have
an 8 hour eating window each day and the supper to supper fast which is a 24
hour fast not done daily. The first time I tried intermittent fasting I did the
lean gains daily fast, but I did it with the goals of doing a lean bulk which
meant even though I was fasting I made sure that within the 8 hour window I was
still consuming enough calories to help me grow but I also wanted the benefit of my
body going into fat burning mode caused by the fasting. The plan was to use fat
as energy because of fasting while gaining muscle from the calories I consumed
during the 8 hour feeding window and resistance training.
My results
were not too bad; you can read about my experiences the first time I tried
intermittent fasting here.
I feel that over time I started under eating because the longer I fasted the
less I wanted to eat as much as I was eating before which made trying to lean
bulk very difficult. I also feel I need to give fasting another go but this
time with more discipline to make sure I get the full benefits of fasting. I
saw this as an opportunity to try out Eat Stop Eat which is a book about the IF
lifestyle.
were not too bad; you can read about my experiences the first time I tried
intermittent fasting here.
I feel that over time I started under eating because the longer I fasted the
less I wanted to eat as much as I was eating before which made trying to lean
bulk very difficult. I also feel I need to give fasting another go but this
time with more discipline to make sure I get the full benefits of fasting. I
saw this as an opportunity to try out Eat Stop Eat which is a book about the IF
lifestyle.
 |
| This is brad Pilon the author of Eat Stop Eat. Its evident from this picture that he practices what he preaches |
What is Eat Stop Eat?
So this guy
Brad Pilon used to work in the fitness industry for a supplement company until
he decided to quit and dedicate his life to finding out the truth about weight
loss which led him to discovering the benefits of intermittent fasting (which
is not a knew thing). In his journey to debunk fitness myths he got a post
graduate degree and acquired knowledge about weight loss and fasting backed by
real research. One of the myths he found out about was the claim that if you
fast you go into starvation mode and your body starts burning your muscles for energy,
through studies he found out that short term fasting (24 hours like he
recommends) did not cause muscle wasting but in fact caused the body to start
using fat as energy in the fasted state.
Brad Pilon used to work in the fitness industry for a supplement company until
he decided to quit and dedicate his life to finding out the truth about weight
loss which led him to discovering the benefits of intermittent fasting (which
is not a knew thing). In his journey to debunk fitness myths he got a post
graduate degree and acquired knowledge about weight loss and fasting backed by
real research. One of the myths he found out about was the claim that if you
fast you go into starvation mode and your body starts burning your muscles for energy,
through studies he found out that short term fasting (24 hours like he
recommends) did not cause muscle wasting but in fact caused the body to start
using fat as energy in the fasted state.
Basically
most of the book Eat Stop Eat teaches you about all the false information you have been getting
from the fitness and food industry, its educates you on some of the myths about
weight loss and fasting by giving you facts acquired by university studies. It
also gives you some possible reasons why you have been misled by the food and
supplement industry for years.
most of the book Eat Stop Eat teaches you about all the false information you have been getting
from the fitness and food industry, its educates you on some of the myths about
weight loss and fasting by giving you facts acquired by university studies. It
also gives you some possible reasons why you have been misled by the food and
supplement industry for years.
Eat Stop Eat is not a diet; it’s more
of a lifestyle?
Like the
lean gains method to intermittent fasting, the Eat Stop Eat Method is meant to
make your life easier by giving you the benefits of a calorie restricted diet
whilst giving you the choice to eat the way you want to thus making it easier
for you to stick with intermittent fasting over the long run. Most “diets” fail
not because they don’t work but because people find it difficult to stick to
them because they require a complete lifestyle change and they are highly
restricted in terms of calories and the type of foods people are allowed to
consume.
lean gains method to intermittent fasting, the Eat Stop Eat Method is meant to
make your life easier by giving you the benefits of a calorie restricted diet
whilst giving you the choice to eat the way you want to thus making it easier
for you to stick with intermittent fasting over the long run. Most “diets” fail
not because they don’t work but because people find it difficult to stick to
them because they require a complete lifestyle change and they are highly
restricted in terms of calories and the type of foods people are allowed to
consume.
Brad Pilon
recommends that you fast for one or two 24 hour periods in a week for the best
results while training using resistance training for 3 days a week in order to
maintain lean muscle mass while shredding fat. He also claims it’s possible to
even gain lean muscle mass while on Eat Stop Eat
which is what I am hoping to get while I chip away at my body fat.
recommends that you fast for one or two 24 hour periods in a week for the best
results while training using resistance training for 3 days a week in order to
maintain lean muscle mass while shredding fat. He also claims it’s possible to
even gain lean muscle mass while on Eat Stop Eat
which is what I am hoping to get while I chip away at my body fat.
What are some of the benefits of intermittent
fasting?
I will not
go into the details for that you need to get an updated copy of Eat Stop Eat, but I am
going to list some of the benefits:
go into the details for that you need to get an updated copy of Eat Stop Eat, but I am
going to list some of the benefits:
·
Decreased
bodyfat and bodyweight
Decreased
bodyfat and bodyweight
·
Maintenance
of skeletal muscle
Maintenance
of skeletal muscle
·
Decreased
blood glucose levels
Decreased
blood glucose levels
·
Decreased
insulin levels and increased insulin sensitivity
Decreased
insulin levels and increased insulin sensitivity
·
Increased
lipolysis and fat oxidation
Increased
lipolysis and fat oxidation
·
Increased
glucagon levels
Increased
glucagon levels
·
Increased
growth hormone levels
Increased
growth hormone levels
·
Decreased
food related stress
Decreased
food related stress
·
Increased
norepinephrine and epinephrine levels
Increased
norepinephrine and epinephrine levels
These are
some of the health benefits of Eat Stop Eat and Brad has got studies and
references to those studies to back his claims unlike many others in the
fitness industry who use the words ‘research’ and ‘studies’ without actually
sharing with us the studies they are talking about. Brad also has the ability
to correctly interpret the information within those studies as he has formal
education in nutrition (He went to graduate school to study Human Biology and
Nutritional sciences).
What I look like now and my workout during
Eat Stop Eat
I will still
be using the Arnold Type Split but I will only be training each body part once a week instead
of twice during my trial period of Eat Stop Eat to account for the decreased
overall calories and days of fasting when I will not be working out. I plan to
add a day of body weight training so that my total days of working out each
week equal to 4.
be using the Arnold Type Split but I will only be training each body part once a week instead
of twice during my trial period of Eat Stop Eat to account for the decreased
overall calories and days of fasting when I will not be working out. I plan to
add a day of body weight training so that my total days of working out each
week equal to 4.
So new
workout will look like this:
workout will look like this:
Day 1 –
Chest and Back
Chest and Back
Day 2 – Legs
Day 3 – Fast
Day 4 –
Shoulders and Arms
Shoulders and Arms
Day 5 –
Whole Body Bodyweight Training
Whole Body Bodyweight Training
Day 6 – Fast
Day 7 – Rest
Day
Day
The workout program above is what my weeks will
generally look like, I may swap the fasting, workout and rest days around to
better fit my life. Also on the rest days I will be working out abs.
Below is a video of my current condition to see how I look now at the beginning so it will serve as a before video. The rest of my body looks fine but my stomach has a bloated look here and abs are not looking good so I am hoping the fasting helps with that.
I will be posting progress updates in the next few weeks on how I am coping with Eat Stop Eat and the results I am getting so stay tuned to this blog.
