Fasting and weight lifting

[Maple Syrup Actual]

I just completed a ten day water and black coffee fast and lost 18 lbs. On the even days I used a German Volume Training hypertrophy protocol of 10x10 of 50% 1RM with 120 seconds between sets. On the even days I did one hour of BJJ and one hour of Muay Thai back to back. I supplemented with a ketone ester that has not been released to market yet to kick me into ketosis as a pre workout load and targeted fat as fuel which I need on 0 calories a day. Finally so I could do it each day I used 3 IU of growth hormone.

man, that's full on body hacking...that's interesting as hell

[SouthNarc]

What exercises were you doing?

How did you feel physically?


Just the thought of not eating makes me feel sick.

I felt pretty damn good. Squats, bench, deadlift, shoulder press. skull crushers, and barbell curls.

It's honestly the most profound thing I've done in about a decade as far as mind/body hacking. Lots of things I didn't expect. I'm still sorting through this mentally and emotionally.

[Erik]

I felt pretty damn good. Squats, bench, deadlift, shoulder press. skull crushers, and barbell curls.

It's honestly the most profound thing I've done in about a decade as far as mind/body hacking. Lots of things I didn't expect. I'm still sorting through this mentally and emotionally.

I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts once you've done that.

[Nightvisionary]

I have researched intermittent fasting and practiced it. I am convinced that the majority of expert opinions are correct in that it results in no additional weight loss outside of the fact that by eliminating a meal and limiting meal times you tend to reduce overall calories consumed. For some that is a much easier method than counting calories so it is not without some benefit.

I would not entertain fasting while exercising and I would especially avoid weight lifting while fasting. You will increase cortisol levels and lower your metabolic rate which will eventually cause you to gain fat as your body goes into survival mode. I weight train and do moderate cardio 4 times per week on top of several miles of walking and avoid fasting. I already have a difficult time consuming my needed 2 grams of protein per KG of body weight as is. There is no way I could keep my body supplied with adequate nutrients for healthy muscle growth by fasting. Stop eating bread, pasta, sugar and limit your simple carbohydrate intake to 50 grams or less and you will lose weight with moderate exercise.

[BehindBlueI's]

I just completed a ten day water and black coffee fast and lost 18 lbs. On the even days I used a German Volume Training hypertrophy protocol of 10x10 of 50% 1RM with 120 seconds between sets. On the even days I did one hour of BJJ and one hour of Muay Thai back to back. I supplemented with a ketone ester that has not been released to market yet to kick me into ketosis as a pre workout load and targeted fat as fuel which I need on 0 calories a day. Finally so I could do it each day I used 3 IU of growth hormone.

I know what about half that means..., but I also know SouthNarc is built like a fireplug, so I'm inclined to believe he knows what he's talking about. I don't think growth hormone would be an option for me, though.

I've lost 3.8 lbs (I know, some is water weight, etc) and broke my fast this morning with 150 calories of oatmeal and fruit, then went on a just-over-15 mile bike ride for over 1k calories burned.

Me too. But I GREATLY respect SouthNarc, and 18 pounds is almost half way to my goal for the year.

BUT, after July 1 I will be seeking tx for low T, hoping it will jumpstart things. Despite intermittent fasting seriously for the last six weeks and working out, eating veggies as my primary source of calories on a daily basis I have lost four pounds. Four whole pounds.

pat

Late shift is killing you, brother.

[TheNewbie]

I felt pretty damn good. Squats, bench, deadlift, shoulder press. skull crushers, and barbell curls.

It's honestly the most profound thing I've done in about a decade as far as mind/body hacking. Lots of things I didn't expect. I'm still sorting through this mentally and emotionally.

That is impressive. We do about the same workout, and I just don't see how you did it without food.

Congratulations on an achievement most of us are not willing to push ourselves to accomplish.

[JAD]

I almost feel bad posting after Craig, but oh well. I routinely lift during religious fasting periods and it's fine; COVID shut my gym down just a couple weeks in to Lent this year but I was eating around 600 calories a day six days a week and I had strength gain... looking back now at the data, better gains than during Ordinary Time.

[Chance]

The evidence-based fitness community has gone back and forth on fed- versus fasted-state for years. Like Nephrology mentioned, the science is far from settled, and the body's response to exercise is so dizzyingly complex that any benefit from one approach might be negated via some biological mechanism that hasn't even been discovered yet.

So if it feels fine, it's probably fine - which is a total non-answer, but I've been quizzing fitness gurus about this sort of thing for the past 18 months, and a patient shrug has been the response to a lot those questions.

[UNM1136]

Late shift is killing you, brother.

Part of my problem is for years, starting when my wife got into nursing school (2013) I had the Navy SEAL approach, in that if I was not getting enough sleep, I made up for it with calories, and caffeine. Back then I had the metabolism and workout discipline to help. From 2013-2015 I was essentially a single parent, working full time third shift, and caring for a five year old (half day school), a seven year old (school day two hours longer) and a 13 year old (school day ended three hours later than the seven year old). I slept from 0900-1330, and then anything I could get until the next shift. 8-12 oz bourbon was the sleep aid of choice. Lots of fast food calories to make up for a lack of sleep. It also killed my credit card discipline and financial health, since we had one income of less than $45k/year and the wife's tuition alone was almost $7k a semester, not including lab fees and books.

BUT, life is good now. When the covid hit the PD installed a gym for us to use. Wife is on a regular schedule. The fall will have the kids back in school. Overtime is back to where I need it to be to pad my retirement, and finish paying off the nursing school debts. And private school for the kids. Get the hormones right, hernia surgury, and get back on the IF/workout train, and things should improve considerably.

pat

[BehindBlueI's]

I almost feel bad posting after Craig, but oh well.

Yeah, he just came in and won the thread...

I am convinced that the majority of expert opinions are correct in that it results in no additional weight loss outside of the fact that by eliminating a meal and limiting meal times you tend to reduce overall calories consumed.

I'm pretty sure calories in/calories out over time = body weight. What I don't know is that it equates to body composition and that different "feeding schedules" and the like don't affect the "calories out" portion via metabolism, hormones, etc. I also don't know who to believe since it seems like "in general" might not apply to any given specific individual, some experts are hocking their own goods, and maybe it's just not a well settled area of science. I don't have the underlying knowledge base to discriminate who's right and who's wrong, so I'm basically just trying stuff and seeing what works.