Hi John

How frequently should someone do IF in a week? Is once or twice optimal or could you even do more if you wanted?

I did my first IF day on Tuesday. It went really well as I didn't really notice, although time crawled by for the first hour at work but I'm sure that wasn't down to the fact that I hadn't eaten. I'm looking forward to doing it again, and was thinking of doing it tomorrow, but wasn't sure if twice in a week would be too much.

Thanks, as always, for the advice.

Cheers

Phil,

It can be done daily which is what I am doing or twice a week. It is up to you. I do 16:8 where I eat from Noon to 8pm then fast until Noon the next day. I do this everyday. You could do 5:2 where you eat normal for 5 days then eat only 500-600 calories for 2 days. You could also do a once a week 24 hour fast. For instance, have your last meal at 8pm on Saturday and don't eat again until 8pm Sunday night.

John

Thanks John

I'm keen to experiment tomorrow to see how I go fasting after doing a workout. I'll follow your advice to Lasso/Kassi above and take some BCAA as well.

Cheers

Yes @NutirionMax wrote up a great article. I tried the 16:8 fast for a few days but realized it's very difficult for me because I'm stuck at a specific gym time schedule and work schedule. And it's nearly impossible for me to train on an empty stomach. Also am on a busy schedule with kids and their activities so schedules are hectic and me fasting does not meet my family's sched. However I am currently approaching other ways to fast with the different types of feeding schedules. Maybe when things get slowed down I'll give it a go again but it was only adding stress to my daily sched which was not beneficial. Great write up John!!!

Allen

Allen,

Most people in your situation do either the once a week 24 hour fast or the 5:2 fast I described earlier - 5 days of eating normal and 2 days of eating only 500-600 calories. All of them achieve a similar result just with different timeframes to achieve ultimate leaness :-)

John

Yes, I agree John. I am currently attempting the 5:2 approach which seems to fit a little easier into my daily routine. Hanen't quite been able to complete a full week yet because of a conflict in sched but am working towards it. Hopefully it continues on as well as it has so I can reap the full benefit. Thx for ur advice!!!

Allen

I want to do this but I don't know if it's a good idea having lower blood pressure? If I keep hydrated until lunch do you think its possible? Usually my blood pressure is 90/70 Which is deemed healthy for me but I find myself lightheaded if I don't eat within a certain amount of time. It's very annoying because when I was younger I wouldn't eat till noon and never had issues plus I was happy with my body fat because of this.

Dawn,

I would consult with your physician first. Light headedness can be caused by either low blood pressure or low blood sugar. You may be able to do it but not as a daily fast - maybe a once a week 24 hour fast or the 5:2 protocol where you eat normally for 5 days then eat only 500-600 calores for 2 days. Regardless, I would consult your doctor :-)

John

Thanks John,

I'll check with my doctor before attempting it. I'd try it on a weekend first to see how it goes lol. I'm not up to trying it during a workday, there's nothing like fainting in public ;)

Thanks John,

I'll check with my doctor before attempting it. I'd try it on a weekend first to see how it goes lol. I'm not up to trying it during a workday, there's nothing like fainting in public ;)

I've been doing this for a week, so far so good. I stop eating at 6pm and start at 10am the next day with no issues. I drink a lot of water from the time I get up till breakfast lol I'm slimming out easier now with a combined of adjusting my food intake and of course, my routine exercise. Most of the results show in my arms and abdominal area, just waiting for it to hit the lower abdominals and glutes 😝

Hi all

I've got a question that may re-enliven this discussion.

I've been doing 16:8 IFs for 2-4 days per week for the past few months. I'm really getting used to it and only find the first day of it (usually Mondays) as the hardest day. This could be because I miss having breakfast at my usual time, or that it's Monday and I'd rather be anywhere but back at work.

In any case, I was wondering whether I'm doing myself a disservice if I'm stopping caloric intake at 8pm, getting to bed by 9.30pm, waking at 5am, training for an hour with BCAAs both before and after training, then get home, get the kids and myself ready for school/work, work by 9am and then break the fast at or after 12pm.

I don't feel like it's doing me any harm, but I'm not able to train closer to the end of the fast. Any thoughts?

Cheers

Phil,

The whole idea of IF is to limit your insulin response and increase your GH response. Insulin is the only hormone that tells fat cells to store excess calories and GH is the only hormone that can unlock fat cells to release their energy (unless you have Type 2 diabetes where you are insulin resistant and you develop "greedy" fat cells)

Think of all the time since your last meal the night before and your first meal the next day as fat burning time where your body is running on your stored fat. If your goal is to get lean and preserve muscle, you would actually be doing yourself a disservice by eating before your desired fasting window is done as you haven't maximized your GH levels to the fullest. That being said, IF does not need to be a Draconian regiment. If there are days you want to eat when you wake up, go for it. There are 7 days in a week so you have some leeway if you want to shorten your fasting window :-). I personally have gotten to a point with IF that my body has adapted to my 8 hour feeding window and I really only get the urge to eat during this time.

John

Hi John

Happy New Year!

I've got a quick question for you and Justin @NutritionMax on doing 16:8 IFs on training days.

I've just switched training programs from one that targets fat loss to one that's aimed at getting some lean gains going. I'm sorted for my macros and am working to get the right food balance going, but my question relates to doing IFs now on training days where I'll be doing more lifting than over the previous months.

Should I review whether I should be doing IFs on training days and leave it for rest days? Or should I continue doing what I'm doing (which is 4-5 16:8 IFs per week) and training more heavily?

I hope that this makes sense! Happy to clarify if this is a bit confused.

Cheers