Intermittent fasting, opinions?

MyssPhytt

I'm considering giving IF a try but I don't really know where to begin and want to research a bit further before I jump into it. A cousin of mine (male) does it fairly regularly and has had great results and highly recommends it, but I've heard a wide variety of mixed opinions about it. I've read it can wreck your metabolism, mess up hormone levels in women, can actually cause muscle burn instead of fat burn, and can also cause binge eating. I'm currently only about 5 pounds away from my long-term weight loss goal, so I have already lost pretty much all the weight that I want to and am currently working on muscle building/strengthening with weight training doing Stronglifts 5x5 3x a week with a balance of cardio on other days (kickboxing, running, zumba, etc) and I am staying within a 1430 cal deficit everyday with 3 meals a day with snacks, but admittedly my macros aren't always where they need to be and my diet isn't always "clean" but I do almost always stay within my deficit calorie-wise. I'm not really worried about losing pounds per se, but I do want to continue to lose fat and build lean muscle. I workout almost daily burning anywhere between 200-500 cals a day (my cal burns are much lower now that I have lost the majority of my weight and also HR is a bit on the lower side now since I started running) but the remainder of my day is pretty sedentary (desk job). So, is fasting something that is intended for someone wanting to lose a lot of weight/pounds only or is it also for someone who is working toward lowering body fat and building lean muscle? I know that I can fast for 12 hours (usually stopping in the late afternoon and then not eat until breakfast the next day)....most people do this anyway without realizing it. But, I've found that if I go much over 12 hours of not eating, I feel weak and shaky, and even feel somewhat nauseated until I finally eat something. This makes me worry that doing anything more than that would be pure torture. I gotta say....I love food. Lol. Would this be something that my body will get used to and get better the more I continue to fast? I've heard people say fasting makes them feel amazing, but I typically feel miserable if I go too long without eating. I usually don't do my workout until my lunch break (around 12:00-1:30 p.m.) and I will eat a mid morning snack before my workout and then eat lunch after my workout and I typically do kickboxing/zumba type classes late in the afternoon (6 p.m.) and do the same method of having a small snack just before the workout and then my evening meal afterwards. I've been told that with fasting, you should not eat anything before your workouts and should still be fasting until after it, but with the type of workouts that I do, I feel that I have to have something to fuel me and give me energy in order to be able to do them efficiently. Right now it seems that my energy is very sufficient for my level of exercising and I feel really good during my workouts, so I don't want to do anything that might hinder or change that but I would like to get the best of my workouts and be able to burn more fat if possible. I just hate feeling weak during a workout and barely making it through it. Will that also be something that my body just has to get used to or will I always feel starved and weak while working out/fasting and just have to mentally push myself in order to get through it? Also, if I just continue with what I am doing; staying within my deficit, burning the cals that I already do, but work on making my diet better by eating more clean and stay within my suggested macros, could I get the same results doing this without having to fast? Both cleaning eating and fasting are hard for me, but I think in order to get the results I want, I need to do one or the other......preferably both, but I know that would be a huge challenge for me. I just feel right now that I eat to workout and workout to eat. My scales don't move much in either direction and I barely weigh myself anyway since I started weight lifting and am not concentrating on pounds to lose right now. I do notice that my body is seeing a slow transformation of definition in muscle and I suspect that I'm gradually losing more fat by getting more muscle, but at the same time I know that I still probably have plenty of fat percentage that I could lose. I'm a baby steps kind of person. I don't want super-fast results overnight. I want something that is going to benefit me in the long run and be an everyday part of my lifestyle to help me stay healthy and fit and I don't want to be "skinny fat" and don't want to do anything to hinder or cause muscle loss also. That's why I am trying to keep a decent balance of cardio/strength training. I'm just curious if fasting intermittently could help me to achieve a lower fat percentage and higher lean muscle which ultimately is my biggest goal even over losing weight or being a certain size, but without putting myself through torture or hindering my energy or muscle building. Sorry I rambled a bit! I appreciate any info, opinions, suggestions, and/or testimonies. Thanks in advance!

TeaBea

There are some groups here.....you should be able to get some info there.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/8005-5-2-fasting

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/groups/home/49-intermittent-fasting

WalkingAlong

MyssPhytt- I only got about halfway through your wall of text then my eyes rebelled but I think if you google the research of Krista Varady or JUDDD or read any book on alternate day or intermittent fasting (they're short), you'll get your questions answered with authoritative info.

But in short, it's not going to cause metabolic damage or torch your lean body mass and leave your fat. Though if you have issues with bingeing, it might not work well for you. A week of it as a test definitely wouldn't hurt you. I'm using it with not much weight to lose and I'm happy with it.

Good luck!

KarenJanine

To the OP: in terms of intermittent fasting, you're doing it wrong. Read this article for further guidance:

http://www.niashanks.com/intermittent-fasting-doing-it-wrong/

J72FIT

Does anyone else do this?

Yep, whenever I go on a cut. Easiest way I have found to manage calories...

MyssPhytt

Haha...sorry about that! I have a hard time explaining or asking things in a short-version. Drives my hubby crazy! But thank you for the info and you really answered the majority of my questions right off the bat. I'll look into those articles as well. As for putting myself into a binge, I'm not sure that I would or not. I dont think I've ever let myself get to that point, perhaps overeating a little bit but never eating till I'm sick or anything like that, so I can't really say for sure. I think I may do a test drive of it for a few days and just see for myself. Can't hurt, right? Thanks again!