What is Intermittent
Fasting
IF is a pattern of eating which alternates between periods of fasting and periods of food consumption. The periods vary according to the individual’s goals. For example, a good place to start is at a 12:12 ratio meaning 12 hours of fasting followed by a 12 hour feeding window. The fasting period can certainly be lengthened in time and the feeding window shortened, and starts as soon as you finish eating your last meal. The fasting period also counts when you are sleeping!
IF is a pattern of eating which alternates between periods of fasting and periods of food consumption. The periods vary according to the individual’s goals. For example, a good place to start is at a 12:12 ratio meaning 12 hours of fasting followed by a 12 hour feeding window. The fasting period can certainly be lengthened in time and the feeding window shortened, and starts as soon as you finish eating your last meal. The fasting period also counts when you are sleeping!
How Fasting Benefits Your Body
Science acknowledges the following fasting benefits for the human body, as it extends lifespan and protects against disease:
- lack of hunger while dieting
- reduced oxidative stress
- increased insulin sensitivity
- increased ability to resist stress, disease and aging
- increase in mental focus and concentration from more of the stimulant hormone catecholamine being released during a "fast" period
- more stable energy and improved mood
- fat loss :)
My First Week of IF
Today marks 1 week that I have been fasting and as promised, I am sharing my feedback with you! The following is what my fasting/feeding schedule has looked like for the last week:
Day of the Week
|
Fasting Period
|
Feeding Window
|
M o
n d a y
|
21 hours
|
3 hours
|
T u
e s d a y
|
24 hours
|
2 hours
|
W e
d n e s d a y
|
22 hours
|
4 hours
|
T h
u r s d a y
|
21 hours
|
4 hours
|
F r
I d a y
|
20 hours
|
4 hours
|
S a
t u r d a y
|
18 hours
|
6 hours
|
S u
n d a y
|
n/a
|
24 hours
|
Diet Followed
As some of you already know, I have been adhering to the KETO DIET for the last 6 weeks. It has certainly been an interesting experience to see how much my body DOESN’T need carbs
As I started
following the intermittent fasting protocol, I adhered to the KETO diet for
Monday and Tuesday. What a very interesting for me was that I was BACK in
ketosis on Monday afternoon after having fasted for 21 hours from the night
before, which was when I ate carbs LAST. It usually takes me up until Wednesday
afternoon to jump back into keto. How do I know this? I pee on keto-sticks
every morning and evening to see where my body is at. You can purchase these for less than $10 at
any local pharmacy.
On Wednesday, I
enjoyed an early CARB-UP meal in the evening with my other half, who has
voluntarily decided to undertake this intermittent fasting regime as well. We
fasted close to the same amounts each day and have found that doing it together is so motivating and fun at the same time!
During my fasting periods, I followed proper food ratios: high protein, no carbs, and high fiber for the NON-CARB days. For my carb-ups, I had a few indulgent moments which may or may not have included pasta and tiramisu. I ate my entire day’s worth of calories in 1 or 2 meals, depending on the day, and on the duration of my feeding period. I ate until I felt satisfied and full.
EVERY MORNING, I woke up feeling very good, with a FLAT tummy and abs. Interesting? I would certainly say so. The idea behind intermittent fasting is that our ancestors rarely had access to food 24/7, which makes sense why our genes are optimized for to this type of feeding schedule. There have been so many studies published on why it is optimal for fat loss, and overall health!
Gym Schedule
I worked out every single day on an EMPTY stomach, sometimes in the morning sometimes in the late afternoon/evening. I found that there was absolutely no lack in energy for me. In fact, I felt really good working out on an empty stomach. This just goes to show, again, how you DON’T need carbs to “fuel your workouts”. Everything you need is already within you.
When you train on an empty stomach with BCAAs in your system, you tap into your FAT stores as there is no glycogen for your body to use up for energy. You are what they call "depleted".
My training these days is quite intense: I do extremely high reps, and very low weight paired up with nutty plyometrics. There are tons of supersets, dropsets and giant sets involved as well as circuit training. The routine changes on a weekly basis, and I follow everything I set out for myself to a tee. I am currently not doing much cardio at all.
During my fasting periods, I followed proper food ratios: high protein, no carbs, and high fiber for the NON-CARB days. For my carb-ups, I had a few indulgent moments which may or may not have included pasta and tiramisu. I ate my entire day’s worth of calories in 1 or 2 meals, depending on the day, and on the duration of my feeding period. I ate until I felt satisfied and full.
EVERY MORNING, I woke up feeling very good, with a FLAT tummy and abs. Interesting? I would certainly say so. The idea behind intermittent fasting is that our ancestors rarely had access to food 24/7, which makes sense why our genes are optimized for to this type of feeding schedule. There have been so many studies published on why it is optimal for fat loss, and overall health!
Gym Schedule
I worked out every single day on an EMPTY stomach, sometimes in the morning sometimes in the late afternoon/evening. I found that there was absolutely no lack in energy for me. In fact, I felt really good working out on an empty stomach. This just goes to show, again, how you DON’T need carbs to “fuel your workouts”. Everything you need is already within you.
When you train on an empty stomach with BCAAs in your system, you tap into your FAT stores as there is no glycogen for your body to use up for energy. You are what they call "depleted".
My training these days is quite intense: I do extremely high reps, and very low weight paired up with nutty plyometrics. There are tons of supersets, dropsets and giant sets involved as well as circuit training. The routine changes on a weekly basis, and I follow everything I set out for myself to a tee. I am currently not doing much cardio at all.
Supplementation
As a competitor and sponsored athlete, my goals are certainly very different than the ones of a sedentary person wishing to lose fat on this type of diet. I am also looking for fat-burning effects, but more so muscle-building ones primarily. Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to build LEAN GAINS, which means put on muscle while losing the fat. It’s all about the times when you feed your body and replenish your stores.
I supplemented with a clean form of BCAAs in my water as well as in pill format every 2 hours. I also took 10mg PRE and 10mg POST training. I found that this has significantly help retain my muscle and feed me sufficiently through the fasting period.
My Thoughts
At first, I was extremely apprehensive about the whole idea of fasting. It is contrary to popular recommendations and breaks all the rules I had been following for years! I have never been afraid to step out of my comfort zone and try new things, so I did.
I found that I had absolutely NO sugar cravings throughout the day and no mood swings what so ever, and my boyfriend can confirm this phenomenon! I was SO happy all week, buzzing around with an abundance of energy all day long. The only time I found my energy levels weren’t as high was when I was bad with my water intake and became dehydrated. 4L is my usual daily water intake, and sometimes I didn’t have the time or the brain to remember to fill up and bring my water bottle with me. Energy lacked BIG time when I didn’t hydrate properly.
Today
I have been in a 23 hour fast since 6:00 pm last night and am still going strong. I worked out this morning at the gym, and did 1 hour of weight training and plyometrics which spiked my heart rate like crazy. Sunday was a non-fasting day. I did carb-up as well, which is why I decided to start my fast at 6:00 pm that evening. I am scheduled to break my fast at 8:30 pm this evening, making it my longest fast to date: 26.5 hours.
How am I feeling? Wonderful! I woke up early this morning, trained my morning clients, then worked out myself. Came home, had my BCAA pills for lunch and have been sipping on my BCAA-powdered water throughout the whole day.
Everyone I talk to is so fascinated with this "controversial" analogy and quite frankly, so am I. It baffles me how I had uncontrollable sugar cravings (to the point of dementia) on a calorie-restricted diet and now I don’t even want to eat any chocolate, PERIOD. I would sneak chocolates in between my low-cal NO-CARB NO-FAT contest prep diets, making them a HUGE failure. I am happy to say that with furthering my knowledge, stepping out of my comfort zone and venturing out into unknown territories, I figured out the perfect diets routines and regimes that work best for MY body. Again, everyone is different! What works for me may be a complete disaster for you! You don’t know until you try!
A few interesting articles for you to read:
As a competitor and sponsored athlete, my goals are certainly very different than the ones of a sedentary person wishing to lose fat on this type of diet. I am also looking for fat-burning effects, but more so muscle-building ones primarily. Intermittent fasting is an excellent way to build LEAN GAINS, which means put on muscle while losing the fat. It’s all about the times when you feed your body and replenish your stores.
I supplemented with a clean form of BCAAs in my water as well as in pill format every 2 hours. I also took 10mg PRE and 10mg POST training. I found that this has significantly help retain my muscle and feed me sufficiently through the fasting period.
My Thoughts
At first, I was extremely apprehensive about the whole idea of fasting. It is contrary to popular recommendations and breaks all the rules I had been following for years! I have never been afraid to step out of my comfort zone and try new things, so I did.
I found that I had absolutely NO sugar cravings throughout the day and no mood swings what so ever, and my boyfriend can confirm this phenomenon! I was SO happy all week, buzzing around with an abundance of energy all day long. The only time I found my energy levels weren’t as high was when I was bad with my water intake and became dehydrated. 4L is my usual daily water intake, and sometimes I didn’t have the time or the brain to remember to fill up and bring my water bottle with me. Energy lacked BIG time when I didn’t hydrate properly.
Today
I have been in a 23 hour fast since 6:00 pm last night and am still going strong. I worked out this morning at the gym, and did 1 hour of weight training and plyometrics which spiked my heart rate like crazy. Sunday was a non-fasting day. I did carb-up as well, which is why I decided to start my fast at 6:00 pm that evening. I am scheduled to break my fast at 8:30 pm this evening, making it my longest fast to date: 26.5 hours.
How am I feeling? Wonderful! I woke up early this morning, trained my morning clients, then worked out myself. Came home, had my BCAA pills for lunch and have been sipping on my BCAA-powdered water throughout the whole day.
Everyone I talk to is so fascinated with this "controversial" analogy and quite frankly, so am I. It baffles me how I had uncontrollable sugar cravings (to the point of dementia) on a calorie-restricted diet and now I don’t even want to eat any chocolate, PERIOD. I would sneak chocolates in between my low-cal NO-CARB NO-FAT contest prep diets, making them a HUGE failure. I am happy to say that with furthering my knowledge, stepping out of my comfort zone and venturing out into unknown territories, I figured out the perfect diets routines and regimes that work best for MY body. Again, everyone is different! What works for me may be a complete disaster for you! You don’t know until you try!
A few interesting articles for you to read:
Mercola
Better Blood Glucose
Intermittent Fasting Explained
Ripped Body
If you have absolutely any further questions about INTERMITTENT FASTING, KETO or anything wellness related, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a quick email at info@ellefitness.ca. I will do my best to reply in a timely fashion!
Better Blood Glucose
Intermittent Fasting Explained
Ripped Body
If you have absolutely any further questions about INTERMITTENT FASTING, KETO or anything wellness related, please don’t hesitate to shoot me a quick email at info@ellefitness.ca. I will do my best to reply in a timely fashion!
Such a nice blog..I appreciate your effort..Thank You for sharing this...I always want to read this type of articles..
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