Originally Posted by
Smedroc
Originally Posted by nealraj006
I've done 2 low calorie fasts in a row. It's so draining, both physically and mentally. But they're working, so it's alright. Atleast I'm done for the week and can enjoy myself a little more starting tomorrow.
I just decided to forget about all the science and cut down on the calories to get to where I want to be(7% body fat). Still a few weeks to go, then I'll just do one fast per week once I reach my goal.
You gonna put it back on when you up your calories again though...unless you keep it up and continue to feel like $*++
you doing it for a comp or something??
No, no. I just finally decided to suck it up for a few weeks and finally get to my ideal body fat. The weather's warming up and I live in Florida, so it'd be nice to finally be as lean as I'd like. I just want to get under 10% for a short-term goal. My long term goal is maintaining single digit body fat around 6-8%. It is ambitious, but it's certainly not impossible and it doesn't have to be hard either.
I only feel bad because I put the two fasts directly after each other. If I did a day of normal eating in between, I'd feel fine. But I wanted to give it a shot and now I know how it is. One day of fasting for me isn't hard. But it's a mental struggle after the first day because you begin to think about food alot. You just have to keep yourself busy.
I won't put the weight back on. That's the point of the fasting. It can cut weekly calories by 10-20% easily. For maintenance, you can eat as you'd like and fast. For losing fat, just eat less on the non-fasting days as well. You basically skip all meals for 20-24 hours and eat as normal otherwise. No elaborate foods or macronutrient ratios. Plus, fasting helps the body detoxify.
intermittent fasts of maximum 24 hours have several benefits:
1. Decreased Insulin Levels & Increased Insulin Sensitivity
-> Role of insulin is storage of nutrients. When you eat insulin raises. When insulin is elevated you aren't able to release fat from your fat stores.
70% of the reduction of insulin levels happens in the first 24 hours of a fast.
2. Increased Lypolisis and Fat Burning
-> To burn fat, your fat has first to be released into the bloodstream. That's called lypolisis. After a series of steps these fatty acids get to the mitochondria (the furnace of every cell) and go through oxidation. That's the final step of fat burning - your fat has now been used for energy and is gone. When we fast our muscles start to switch over and start oxidizing fatty acids for fuel. In other words our muscles turn into fat-burning machines. Another thing that happens is the uncoupling of Protein-3, a protein that is associated with fat burning. Simply put, when fat-burning increases so does the amount of Uncoupling Protein-3 in our muscles. It is proven that after 15 hours into a fast the expression of Uncoupling Protein-3 is increased 5 fold.
Also after only 24 hours of fasting the amount of fat released from fat stores (lypolisis) and the amount being burnt for fuel (oxidation) is increased by over 50%
3. Increased Glucagon Levels
-> Insulin: stores fat; Glucagon: burns fat. Another role of Glucagon is the to maintain your blood sugar levels while you fast. Some other effects on us are: Increased fat burning, decreased cholesterol production, increase of the release of extra fluids from the body.
4. Increased Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels
-> Often called adrenaline and noradrenalin. When they are released into the bloodstream they cause the release of glucose from energy stores and increase fat burning. They also make you feel awake and alert. Fasting increases the amount of both these hormones in your blood.
5. Increased Growth Hormone Levels
-> Short-term fasting can increase your Growth Hormone levels 6 fold. Growth hormone helps burn fat, build muscle and increases metabolism. Fasting triggers the "growth hormone response" and this response keeps you from losing muscle while you fast. It also plays a large part in keeping your metabolism elevated while you are fasting.
It also plays a major role in the release of fatty acids from your fat stores to help fat burning.
6. Increased Weight Loss and Increased Fat Loss
-> You will lose 2-3 pounds every TIME you fast. THIS IS NOT ALL FAT! Much of this is extra body water being lost (insulin causes you to store water so when insulin levels are low you tend to lose water). Of course you are also burning fat, about 1-2 pounds per week (if you do two 24-hour fasts per week).
ALSO: You never have to go a day without eating even when it's a 24 hour fast, you start your fast when you want (I usually start around 1pm and finish it at 1pm the next day) but I never go a day without eating.
Look up Eat Stop Eat. Great eating frequency plan imo.
