Short fasts

Medilia

So I have been trying to slim down for a month now.

I do about even on weight training and cardio, I follow Max Workouts which is all HIIT. (High Intensity Interval Training). I have gained a kilo over the month (So I am hoping muscle) and have noticed an improvement to my arms and thighs (No belly fat has dropped off just yet)

I read on one of Shin's articles (Guy who founded Max workouts) that a 14-16 hour fast can help with losing fat.

Opinions? Advice?

I have being doing a 14 hour fast the last week and I have me weigh in Thursday morning. But I am thinking of increasing to 16 hours and cutting out of the last of my processed foods from my diet.

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Medilia

MrM27 wrote: »

Fasts aren't going to accelerate fat loss.

If you gained weight it's likely water retention. You're not going to be gaining muscle by mistake.

The muscle wouldn't be a mistake. I do intense weight lifting 3-4 times a week lol.

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psuLemon

Based on your food diary, i doubt it would be muscle unless you just started lifting and you got some noob gains, but that is really neither here nor there. I would probably question the accuracy of your diary first. Do you use a food scale? Also, do you have any medical conditions?

And fast don't increase fat loss. You have to be in a deficit to achieve fat loss. Without that variable all other techniques are moot.

TimothyFish

While it is likely that you are gaining muscle, it is highly unlikely that you gained that much muscle. Either you are retaining water, or you are eating too much. Which is why a fast can help you lose weight. As long as you don't feast after the fast, your calorie intact will be lower. I don't see much difference between a 14 hour and a 16 hour fast. When I fast (usually not for weight loss purposes), I measure it by the meal, not by the hour.

Liftng4Lis

psulemon wrote: »

Based on your food diary, i doubt it would be muscle unless you just started lifting and you got some noob gains, but that is really neither here nor there. I would probably question the accuracy of your diary first. Do you use a food scale? Also, do you have any medical conditions?

And fast don't increase fat loss. You have to be in a deficit to achieve fat loss. Without that variable all other techniques are moot.

+1

MrM27 wrote: »

But you're not in a caloric surplus. You also say you gained over a kilo in a month, most women who are in a surplus impecable nutrition and actually do proper weight training with progressive overload would be genetically gifted if they had gained over a kilo in a pound. So what I'm saying is the is a 99.99999% chance you didn't gain muscle.

+1

randomtai

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

psulemon wrote: »

Based on your food diary, i doubt it would be muscle unless you just started lifting and you got some noob gains, but that is really neither here nor there. I would probably question the accuracy of your diary first. Do you use a food scale? Also, do you have any medical conditions?

And fast don't increase fat loss. You have to be in a deficit to achieve fat loss. Without that variable all other techniques are moot.

+1

MrM27 wrote: »

But you're not in a caloric surplus. You also say you gained over a kilo in a month, most women who are in a surplus impecable nutrition and actually do proper weight training with progressive overload would be genetically gifted if they had gained over a kilo in a pound. So what I'm saying is the is a 99.99999% chance you didn't gain muscle.

+1

+1000 to all of that

LoraKay131

it looks to me, at first glance, that you are in a deficit...unless youre very short...i usually gain after lifting, as a result of muscle repair aka water. hang in there.

ndj1979

fasting does not equal fat loss …calorie deficit does….

hbrittingham

We aren't mice, but there was an article in our newspaper the other day regarding a study on mice that found that if the mice were fasted for 15-16 hours overnight, they lost weight while the mice who were fed around the clock actually gained weight. Even though they were fed the exact same foods in a 24 hour period. It was an interesting read.

hbrittingham

The article: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/07/fasting-15-hours-day-wards-obesity-study-finds

Sued0nim

fasting is simply a way to calorie defecit over the week

wouldn't work for me .. but if it floats your boat go for it .. as long as you're logging whatever you do eat accurately

as for muscle gain .. what they said ^^

Medilia

I am logging accurately I have a food scale and everything I eat is weighed (It helps prevent snacking at work because I convince myself I am not allowed to eat it if I haven't weighed it and I don't have scales at work.

I am 5" and 1200 calories is a 500 deficit for me.

psuLemon

Medilia wrote: »

I am logging accurately I have a food scale and everything I eat is weighed (It helps prevent snacking at work because I convince myself I am not allowed to eat it if I haven't weighed it and I don't have scales at work.

I am 5" and 1200 calories is a 500 deficit for me.

The reason I questioned your accuracy is Saturday only had 600 calories logged, and anything before Monday 1 December is not logged. you need a good month of logging to understand where you actually lose at.

GauchoMark

There is no question that fasting without an overall deficit will not result in weight loss.

However, I am sure that the intent is to set up an overall caloric deficit first then decide if you want to spread the calories throughout the day versus fasting all day then eating at night. Personally, I've never really done a strict fast, although I tend to naturally eat that way - I eat very little until dinner oftentimes skipping breakfast, then from dinner until bedtime I eat most of my calories. I have some friends that swear by mini-fasting.

I really think it boils down to eating preferences. For me, I like to eat big portions so it is a little easier for me to follow an "all or nothing" routine. For people that like to graze all day, I would guess spreading the calories out would work best. I think the key is finding something you can stick to over the long term and be happy with doing.

As for the muscle gain, it is a glycogen/water trick. A kilo in a month of muscle is hard to do even when you are eating for it.

sijomial

Increasing the fasting window from 14 to 16 is just micro managing things you don't need to worry about. The big ticket items are eating the correct number of calories to achieve your goals and that really boring thing - patience!

Fasted training will make you better at fasted training but highly unlikely to make a difference to overall fat loss unless it coincidentally makes you consume less calories.

BTW - I follow a different fasting regime so I'm not being snippy about fasting. Just hopefully realistic! To me fasting is primarily something that helps some people with adherence.
(FYI - you might be interested in reading the Leangains site if intraday fasting windows are something you want to look into.)

Processed food - again micro managing things, virtually all food is processed to a degree but demonising "processed food" without defining it seems to be the latest fashion.

Kalikel

Many people gain a couple pounds when they start new exercise, like weight lifting. Whether it's muscle or water or whatever, don't sweat it. Just keep going on the weighing, counting, lifting and exercise and you will see the pounds come off.

Many people swear by fasting for certain periods of time. It can't hurt you, so if you want to try it, go for it.

For those who have a lot to lose, it's fun to try new things that don't interfere with calorie or health goals. Weight loss gets boring, so what the hell.

Iwishyouwell

hbrittingham wrote: »

We aren't mice, but there was an article in our newspaper the other day regarding a study on mice that found that if the mice were fasted for 15-16 hours overnight, they lost weight while the mice who were fed around the clock actually gained weight. Even though they were fed the exact same foods in a 24 hour period. It was an interesting read.

That makes sense in the short term, but did the study look at weight loss beyond the short term? Wouldn't the weight loss be similar after the glycogen stores were exhausted and their bodies underwent ketosis for the remainder of their energy needs if they were indeed in a deficit?

obscuremusicreference

Medilia wrote: »

So I have been trying to slim down for a month now.

I do about even on weight training and cardio, I follow Max Workouts which is all HIIT. (High Intensity Interval Training). I have gained a kilo over the month (So I am hoping muscle) and have noticed an improvement to my arms and thighs (No belly fat has dropped off just yet)

I read on one of Shin's articles (Guy who founded Max workouts) that a 14-16 hour fast can help with losing fat.

Opinions? Advice?

I have being doing a 14 hour fast the last week and I have me weigh in Thursday morning. But I am thinking of increasing to 16 hours and cutting out of the last of my processed foods from my diet.

I gain a kilo over the course of a morning. Maybe you should weigh more often so you have a more complete picture.