3 ms·

I read a lot of good things about intermittent fasting. Is there a good canonical resource if I want to try it? Note that I am lifting weighs 3 times per week.

by sedeki 4y ago

I read a lot of good things about intermittent fasting. Is there a good canonical resource if I want to try it? Note that I am lifting weighs 3 times per week. Is IF still a good idea...? I don't feel confident that this is something that I can lift with my GP, as it is not part of their standard set of guidelines (?)

polishdude20 4y ago
IF seems to be one of many techniques to restrict your overall calorie consumption. Each technique is suited to a different person's schedule, personality, vices etc. It's less about the chemistry happening in the body and more about the matching of diet to personality choices. As for IF while lifting? Depends on your goals.
- sedeki 4y ago
  OK! I was under the impression that it had tangible health benefits like better cardio-vascular health regardless of diet, better well-being/mood. In other words, I assumed that IF is not just good for weight-loss or weight maintenance.
  - xctr94 4y ago
    The evangelists will sell IF/TRE has having every benefit under the sun. I do 16:8 for weight maintenance, but I also appreciate the morning work that I do on ketones. It's a simple regiment that has made me more aware of what I eat; but I don't think it's a panacea. When you look at sources of compiled research such as Examine [1] or meta-analysis [2], the science on IF/TRE isn't yet solid enough to back more than the weight-loss aspect. [1]: https://examine.com/diets/16-8-intermittent-fasting/ https://examine.com/diets/16-8-intermittent-fasting/ [2]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/
edanm 4y ago
I'm not an expert at all. But I do try to keep up with some nutritional/exercise science as a complete layman. I highly highly recommend watching some videos on YouTube by Dr Mike Israetel (search Renaissance Periodization, and search for specific topics like "weight less", "healthy eating", etc.) So here's my current summary of the evidence: 1. Obviously, everything depends on what your goals are. 2. Since you're lifting weights, I assume your goal is better body composition, which in most cases means losing fat and gaining muscle. 3. The main thing you need to do to lose fat is be on a caloric deficit. In order to lose mostly fat and not much muscle, you should be on the smallest caloric deficit you can reasonably manage, -300 calories per day is perfect. (Less than that and you can't really measure it accurately enough to see that you're actually losing fat.) 4. The other thing you need to do to not lose muscle is eat enough protein. Around 0.8 grams for each pound of body weight is probably good enough, though going up to 1 gram per pound is totally safe and makes sure you aren't getting too little protein. 5. How to achieve a caloric deficit mostly depends on what's easiest/funnest/best for you. Intermittent Fasting is very popular, because it makes it easy for many people to get a caloric deficit. 6. I personally don't love IF because it doesn't fit in with my life schedule, and personally prefer counting calories explicitly cause it's the most accurate and gives me the feeling of the most control, which I like. That said, it's a lot of work and isn't for everyone. 7. IF is not a panacea by any means. If you are doing IF but not actually getting a caloric deficit, it won't help you lose weight. 8. As far as I can tell, there are no known benefits to IF, health-wise. There's a lot of claimed benefits, but nothing actually proven. (And people claim health benefits for a lot of other things as well.) The only thing it's known to be good for is that a lot of people really like it as a way of managing calories/hunger. And there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that it actually helps for that - a lot of people really do find it easier to be on IF when they're dieting. If you're curious, totally worth just giving it a shot. 9. In terms of IF and weightlifting - technically speaking, a lot of studies have shown that it's best to get 4-5 protein feedings in a day, relatively spread out. So it's better to have 4 meals a day of protein than 2. As far as I can tell, this is a real effect, but it's not an enormous one. You're "leaving some gains on the table" if you do IF, but if it helps you reach a desired bodyweight, that's probably worth it. Especially since, after dieting down, you can start a bulking round of having a caloric surplus in order to actually gain weight and muscle.

by sedeki 4y ago

polishdude20 4y ago

IF seems to be one of many techniques to restrict your overall calorie consumption. Each technique is suited to a different person's schedule, personality, vices etc. It's less about the chemistry happening in the body and more about the matching of diet to personality choices. As for IF while lifting? Depends on your goals.

sedeki 4y ago
OK! I was under the impression that it had tangible health benefits like better cardio-vascular health regardless of diet, better well-being/mood. In other words, I assumed that IF is not just good for weight-loss or weight maintenance.
- xctr94 4y ago
  The evangelists will sell IF/TRE has having every benefit under the sun. I do 16:8 for weight maintenance, but I also appreciate the morning work that I do on ketones. It's a simple regiment that has made me more aware of what I eat; but I don't think it's a panacea. When you look at sources of compiled research such as Examine [1] or meta-analysis [2], the science on IF/TRE isn't yet solid enough to back more than the weight-loss aspect. [1]: https://examine.com/diets/16-8-intermittent-fasting/ https://examine.com/diets/16-8-intermittent-fasting/ [2]: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4516560/

edanm 4y ago

I'm not an expert at all. But I do try to keep up with some nutritional/exercise science as a complete layman. I highly highly recommend watching some videos on YouTube by Dr Mike Israetel (search Renaissance Periodization, and search for specific topics like "weight less", "healthy eating", etc.) So here's my current summary of the evidence: 1. Obviously, everything depends on what your goals are. 2. Since you're lifting weights, I assume your goal is better body composition, which in most cases means losing fat and gaining muscle. 3. The main thing you need to do to lose fat is be on a caloric deficit. In order to lose mostly fat and not much muscle, you should be on the smallest caloric deficit you can reasonably manage, -300 calories per day is perfect. (Less than that and you can't really measure it accurately enough to see that you're actually losing fat.) 4. The other thing you need to do to not lose muscle is eat enough protein. Around 0.8 grams for each pound of body weight is probably good enough, though going up to 1 gram per pound is totally safe and makes sure you aren't getting too little protein. 5. How to achieve a caloric deficit mostly depends on what's easiest/funnest/best for you. Intermittent Fasting is very popular, because it makes it easy for many people to get a caloric deficit. 6. I personally don't love IF because it doesn't fit in with my life schedule, and personally prefer counting calories explicitly cause it's the most accurate and gives me the feeling of the most control, which I like. That said, it's a lot of work and isn't for everyone. 7. IF is not a panacea by any means. If you are doing IF but not actually getting a caloric deficit, it won't help you lose weight. 8. As far as I can tell, there are no known benefits to IF, health-wise. There's a lot of claimed benefits, but nothing actually proven. (And people claim health benefits for a lot of other things as well.) The only thing it's known to be good for is that a lot of people really like it as a way of managing calories/hunger. And there's plenty of anecdotal evidence that it actually helps for that - a lot of people really do find it easier to be on IF when they're dieting. If you're curious, totally worth just giving it a shot. 9. In terms of IF and weightlifting - technically speaking, a lot of studies have shown that it's best to get 4-5 protein feedings in a day, relatively spread out. So it's better to have 4 meals a day of protein than 2. As far as I can tell, this is a real effect, but it's not an enormous one. You're "leaving some gains on the table" if you do IF, but if it helps you reach a desired bodyweight, that's probably worth it. Especially since, after dieting down, you can start a bulking round of having a caloric surplus in order to actually gain weight and muscle.