Fasting is not just for Ramadan anymore
Intermittent fasting is described as fasting for anywhere from upwards of 8 hrs. Now we know what you’re thinking, I do that every night, it’s called sleeping. Good one, but according to multiple studies this way of eating (or not eating) is no joke when it comes to making progress. It might sound counteractive, especially if you are trying to build muscle mass and add strength, but fasting actually has a lot of benefits. Intermittent fasting can help you live longer, repair muscle faster, burn that stubborn fat that keeps laughing at you in the mirror and improve those always elusive testosterone levels.
So we know we’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here, all these claims and no details – so let’s jump into how this could possibly benefit a bodybuilder.
Intermittent Fasting Burns Fat
Fasting burns fat. How? While you may think that it is because you are starving yourself, it is a bit more scientific than that! It actually burns fat because when you get hungry it’s a sign that your blood sugar’s low, when your blood sugar’s low your body snacks on fat instead of the already depleted sugar it gets from carbs. Also when your get hungry your stem cells produce cytokines. Cytokines are proteins that cause the production of rejuvenating hormones responsible for replenishing the body. Functions such as repairing muscle and cell replication. This means intermittent fasting not only helps you with your lift session but also to live longer.
But what about your workout? While we’re sure this is not the first time you’ve heard of this diet; it’s pretty much always accompanied by the warning that you will lose muscle and this is more for endurance runners not for someone who is trying to compete in bodybuilding and maybe be the next Mr. Olympia. Well, that is not true at all, you can still have massive gains while fasting. It’s been found that fasting is really more about the time and what exactly you eat as opposed to how much you eat, meaning it’s the state of being hungry that produces all this hormone goodness not so much the calories.
When to Eat While Fasting
Ideally you want to eat the majority of your calories post work out, as this will help greatly with recovery. However, you also do not want to hit the gym on an empty stomach, so you may want to get a meal in before. Since sleep is a natural form of fasting, the most natural way to incorporate this is to not eat right before or after bedtimes.
So this is what you’re day would look like: You get up, skip breakfast, and then eat a healthy lunch. Then you train hard and heavy, have a big dinner/post workout meal and consume nothing but things with minimal calories until around lunch time the next day. This sounds pretty crazy considering most bodybuilders make a living carrying around tupperware so they can fit in their 6-8 meals on the go at very specific times. But this can be an alternative.
According to a study, fasting non-obese single men showed a 67% increase in luteinizing hormone (precursor hormone of testosterone) and 2000% baseline increase in the highly anabolic human growth hormone after just 24 hrs. Another study found fasting induces autophagy which is the process the body uses to expel toxins and estrogenic chemicals which is definitely Pro testosterone levels!
What to Eat
Now, keep in mind that you still want to consume foods that are going to be helping you hitting your macros, as you need to recover and grow. You do not want to just eat a load of cheat meals during your window of food consumption. That being said, you should be aiming to consume a good amount of protein, fat, and carbohydrates during the time period that you will be breaking your fast to eat.
In order to help you hit your macros, you can also turn to supplements like protein powder and meal replacements.
Supplement for Intermittent Fasting
Now you may think that the only supplements to help you with your intermittent fasting are things that will help you hit your macros, Burn Lab Pro can help you with burning fat at an accelerated rate while you are fasting.
Burn Lab Pro is a great all-around fat burner with an innovative design and research-backed benefits. It is 100% natural, safe, and caffeine free giving you the best option on the market.
Burn Lab Pro is an all-around great fat burner on the market with an innovative design and research-backed benefits to really enhance your results as you seek to burn belly fat, which can be a great help while you are focusing on fasting. Instead of an unhealthy, stim-driven formula, Burn Lab Pro is 100% natural, safe, and caffeine free to give you an effective supplement without any fear of jitters or crashing. Burn Lab Pro allows you to shed more body fat from every workout, gain more lean muscle, see better results from diet and exercise, and give you a safe and natural fat burner supplement to tackle any issues, like muscle maintenance and a lack of an energy boost. With 5 powerful and research-backed ingredients, this advanced formula is designed to target all of your weight loss needs from one of the best fat burners. Let’s take a quick look at some of the top the ingredients!
Forslean Forskolin
Forslean is a highly potent, ultra-bioavailable form of Forskolin, which is an extract from Coleus Forskohlii. Forskolin is arguably the natural fat burning supplement with the strongest backing from clinical trials. Forskolin works mainly by helping your body create more of an enzyme called lipase. Lipase is the enzyme which breaks down your stored body fat into fatty acids and frees it for use as fuel, making it a great ingredient to include in a supplement for your intermittent fasting.
HMB
HMB, or ß-Hydroxyl ß-Methylbutyrate as it is otherwise known, is the real secret of Burn Lab Pro’s power. HMB is a bit of a miracle fat burning supplement, that being said intermittent fasting has never been easier. However, it doesn’t actually burn fat; rather, it prevents muscle loss during periods of fasted training (or training during severe calorie restriction)
Capsimax
Capsimax is an extremely pure chili pepper extract. Chili pepper extracts are common ingredients in fat burning supplements and intermittent fasting supplements, but Capsimax is the gold standard as it is standardized to be 2% active capsaicinoids and free of contaminants.
Chromium
Chromium is a really important ingredient for a top quality fat burner and for any supplement for intermittent fasting, and it is almost always overlooked by lower quality supplement manufacturers. This is because it works in a subtle, but no less effective, way than things like caffeine.
BioPerine
BioPerine is included in many top tier fat burning supplements on the market today because it helps with nutrient digestion and absorption, and that can make intermittent fasting so much easier and more effective. Basically, BioPerine helps you absorb more nutrients from the food that you eat (including the ingredients in Burn Lab Pro). Not only does this make the ingredients in Burn Lab Pro more potent, but BioPerine also makes it easier to eat a healthy diet, as the few calories you do eat will deliver many more nutrients.
Wrap Up
Ultimately this is just a guide to intermittent fasting to give you an idea of how it works and what to expect. However, if you want to try this you’ve got to make it your own, and find what works for you. Intermittent fasting may be great for you, but it may also not work for you at all. We’re just giving you another tool to your arsenal to make massive gains in a little time. If you’re interested in a more in-depth breakdown of intermittent fasting, check out our detailed guide here.
Try it out and tell us what you think by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter. Stay pumped.
