Intermittent fasting for bodybuilders is a diet plan designed for bodybuilders to lose weight fast. It has been proven to help with fat loss, improve health, energy levels, and mental clarity among other things. The intermittent fasting diet for bodybuilders is designed to kick start your metabolism while giving you a chance to detox your body. Many bodybuilders use this type of diet when they need to quickly drop a few pounds to get ready for a show or competition, but it can also be used for losing weight and gaining muscle.
Intermittent fasting entails eating a certain amount of food over a long period of time. Usually this is a much longer time than the traditional diet, which involves eating one meal a day. Some intermittent plans call for eating six meals during the day, but this is not really considered to be fasting because you are allowed to eat a lot more food over a longer period of time.
Bodybuilders who wish to gain mass are often looking for ways to increase the amount of lean muscle that they have, while at the same time burn off excess fat and decrease their overall body fat percentage. There are many ways to do this, but one of the best ways is through intermittent fasting. This plan allows you to increase your calorie intake drastically, while at the same time giving you a chance to greatly reduce your calorie intake while at the same time working out and building muscle. It is truly the best way to build muscle.1
What Is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting refers to a group of dieting methods which involve deliberately extending the amount of time from which food is fed during the day and making up that time with exercise and other activities. It is a useful method for losing weight and keeping it off, as it allows you to consume certain foods more easily. Intermittent fasting may also help to boost your metabolism, allowing it to burn more fat and calories than normal.2
Intermittent fasting is the name given to a variety of dieting systems which are based on alternating one day of eating as opposed to a number of meals, usually four or five. It was first used by the Tibetan monks in the 1970s. In intermittent fasting you eat when you want, not just when the hunger signals are at their strongest. For this reason, it is often recommended for people going on diets to cut calories as much as possible. With the long periods of inactivity during which you are not eating, your body adjusts to its condition and releases chemicals such as serotonin, resulting in you feeling slightly fuller than usual, but still unsatisfied.
By going on a fast for only a few days you are tricking your body into thinking it needs to burn calories faster. The increased rate of metabolism results in you burning more calories throughout the day, allowing you to cut back on your calories drastically, sometimes up to 90%.3 This in turn will enable you to lose weight and keep it off. Some proponents also swear that this method will rejuvenate the liver and make you feel healthier than ever before.
Should Bodybuilders Intermittent Fast?
Bodybuilding experts argue that most bodybuilders would benefit from implementing intermittent fasting as part of their bodybuilding regimen. Bodybuilders have to be smart with their weight-loss plan, one that recognizes the need for physical activities as an important component of overall bodybuilding fitness. After all, physical activities like swimming, cycling, and running are great cardiovascular workouts and are great in preventing fat accumulation in the body. Fasting for bodybuilders is just another method to speed up the body’s natural recovery process, but bodybuilding experts warn that it should only be a supplementary program in a regular training routine.
The Many Benefits of Intermittent Fasting For Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting is often misunderstood by the people who have heard about it. It is true that intermittent fasting is a powerful method that can be a good weight loss tool. It works by not only decreasing your appetite but also by boosting your metabolism. You will lose weight just like any other person who chooses to fast on a regular basis, but since you don’t eat, you will have no energy and you won’t crave for food.
Many benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss are connected to the way the body burns food. Since you are consuming no food at all, your metabolism will work hard to burn the calories and fats stored in your body. At first, your metabolism may slow down slightly as it gets used to not having any food around. This means that you will probably need to exercise more to burn up all the calories you have consumed during the day. It is very important to increase your exercise by at least 20 minutes every other day to help you burn up all the excess calories that you have consumed during the day.4
Another one of the benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss is that it can help you clear your mind. When you have no food in your stomach, your mind will probably wonder if you are still alive. This is because you are starving yourself, reducing the amount of food you eat so that you won’t feel hungry. As a result, you will tend to think more clearly and you will have a better memory than before. The memory improves because you won’t be worrying about starvation and eating the wrong foods while you are thinking about the next meal.5
Intermittent fasting also helps your body to release some of the toxins that it accumulates throughout the day. These toxins accumulate because your body doesn’t get enough water and nutrients. If you do intermittent fasting on a regular basis, your body will get adequate amounts of water and nutrients and the toxins will be released. The release of the toxins may result in higher energy levels, clearer thinking, and better overall health.
As you can see, there are many benefits of intermittent fasting for weight loss. The benefits don’t end there. Intermittent fasting will help you achieve permanent weight loss. You will also live a healthier life because you will be consuming nutritious foods and you won’t have to worry about overeating because you won’t be eating during the day.
3 Benefits of Intermittent Fasting For Muscle Gain
When you read the benefits of intermittent fasting for muscle gain, you are likely thinking that there is no way you could possibly add more muscle to your frame without adding fat as well. That is why so many people who practice intermittent fasting are absolutely killing it with their diets. They are crushing their protein and calories while making their bodies leaner and meaner. In fact, most muscle builders consider it necessary to add some intermittent fasting into their routines if they want to get the best results possible. However, there is a major flaw with this approach. It has been found that intermittent fasting does not directly contribute to muscle growth, but it does indirectly lead to muscle gain.
Intermittent fasting has one major flaw that almost every weightlifter knows about. When you fast, your body is tiring. It’s hard enough to eat an hour-long bulking meal when you’re eating 3 or more meals a day. The body will begin to use muscle for energy expenditure when it is tired from constant calorie burning. This means that even if you are only eating small amounts of calories, your body will be using muscle for energy expenditure.
This can mean two major things for weight lifters. One, that bulking will happen slower. Most experienced weight lifters know that intermittent fasting has a tendency to make one’s body tired very quickly. This leads to bulk being forced to continue with lesser weights or to extend workouts for longer periods of time. For most people, this would mean that bulking will take longer and might never happen at all.
The second thing intermittent fasting does is give you extra calories. Since you are eating during the day and not eating all day long, your body will have more calories than it normally would have, leading to muscle gain. Even if your workouts are the same, you are likely to be eating more calories because you’re not eating. The best way to trick your body to store more calories is to eat something every three hours or so.6
There is a third major benefit of fasting that many people don’t think of, but it has to do with your weight training. Intermittent fasting forces you to eat often enough during the day that you will be burning calories at a much higher rate than you would be if you were eating normal meals. This is because you’re forced to eat frequently enough in order to support your body’s natural fat burning processes.
This is why eating your main meal after about three hours of fasting is the recommended way to go when it comes to building muscle mass. Also, remember that you shouldn’t eat every three hours; you should divide your intake between two meals. It’s important to keep your caloric intake constant so that your body’s natural processes can keep up, leading to better weight training results. When done correctly, intermittent fasting can help you reach your fitness goals and increase your muscle mass without having to sacrifice your diet or drinking an excessive amount of calories.
Image Credits
Nutrition News / May 12, 2021
BodyFast / March 11, 2018
Austin Mobile Trainer / August 14, 2014
1 “How to gain weight quickly and safely – Medical News Today.” https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321982 Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.
2 “Intermittent Fasting 101 — The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide – Healthline.” 20 Apr. 2020, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-guide Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.
3 “Intermittent Fasting: What is it, and how does it work? | Johns ….” https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/intermittent-fasting-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-work Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.
4 “Intermittent fasting: Surprising update – Harvard Health.” 29 Jun. 2018, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/intermittent-fasting-surprising-update-2018062914156 Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.
5 “10 Intermittent Fasting Benefits: Weight Loss, Cell Repair & More.” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/10-health-benefits-of-intermittent-fasting Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.
6 “How Intermittent Fasting Can Help You Lose Weight – Healthline.” https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/intermittent-fasting-and-weight-loss Accessed 28 Jun. 2021.