Everyone says that they want to lose weight, but what they really want is to lose fat.
Right? No one would say, "I want to drop 20 lbs. ... of muscle." This is, of course, what they're doing when they go on those crash I lost 12 lbs in 12 days bullshit fad diet/cleanses that don't take exercise levels or nutritional macros into account - and, as we're about to be discussing here, nutritional timing.
The modifiers with this when we're talking about body recomposition are whether we want a net body weight loss, net gain, or to maintain body weight (read: don't really care about body weight and are focusing instead on either performance or aesthetics) - for simplicity, we'll refer to this third category as BW neutral.
Premise #2:
Just as those who train are in either an anabolic or catabolic state, those who eat are either in a fed or fasted state.
Building or destroying, adding or subtracting. Diametrically opposed. You have to be one or the other, can't be both simultaneously. If you're intentional, you'll schedule these phases for optimal effect. Obviously, if you seek a net BW gain, you'll remain in a fed state. BW loss, we're going to seek a fasted state as much as goals/schedule/sanity permit. BW neutral is the easiest to schedule, ironically, with a daily cycle of skipping breakfast or dinner as a way to experience a daily fed and fasted state, mitigate fat gain while still eating enough to make lean muscle gains, and (fodder for another article altogether) maintain cyclic insulin levels.
Note our chart. During a fasted state, from the 18 to 24 hour mark, a huge change occurs in the body's ability to release fat stores (lipolysis) and to convert fat to metabolic fuel (oxidation). Stay fasted and the body stays in this turbocharged fat-conversion-fat-eating mode, and hovers there (until another boost at the 4.5 day mark).
How does this play out on a daily basis? We want to burn fat, so we'll spend as much of the fasted portion of our lives in a state where our body is naturally consuming fat stores on its own.
BW loss:
The obvious and simple conclusion for those who can brave the implications: fast for at least 1 or 2 days a week. Eating zero calories on fasted days to convert fat stores, and, to speed up the process, doing some very low intensity exercise on those days. No dietary gimmicks or special thermogenic foods to buy - just cycling between fed and fasted, and making the fasted state count for as much as possible.
BW neutral:
The goal is to meet your daily nutritional macros while spending as much time as you can in a fasted state - optimally in that 18 hour + range. Fasted 20 hours/fed 4 hours is a narrow feeding window, but if you can schedule your daily exercise session at the 19 hour mark, and eat 60% of your carb grams/total cals/day in your post-workout break-fast meal, you can take advantage of a few daily hours of ramped up fat-consuming blood plasma. Additionally, depending on your goals or periodically, you can fast a day or two during the week and lose additional fat stores.
Let’s put this on the table: there is no one way to do IF.
The only real guideline is that, as always, the food you eat should be
healthy. It’s pretty clear how we choose to characterize that, but, again, if you don't really know, or only think you know, tracking your food intake in terms of macros will straighten out your thinking.
Mix it up beyond the use of one approach
by missing meals naturally or on an unplanned basis in addition to full
day fasts. Let your choice(s) fit with your personal/family schedule,
natural rhythms, and your personality (some of us are meticulous
planners and some are more spontaneous – “and that’s O.K.”). The point
of IF is this: episodic deprivation takes your body “out of the feedtrough” for a while and allows systems to reinvigorate and recalibrate (also known as up-regulating and/or down-regulating gene expression).Ways to IF (in unofficial terms):
Skipped Meal:
As Mark alludes to in his comment in the 1/3 meals post, he likes to miss meals naturally or on an unplanned basis. When we listen to our bodies rather than blindly follow routine we find we’re not always hungry when mealtime comes around. Let yourself skip a meal when this happens, or plan a meal skip during a convenient time.
Condensed Eating Window:
As shown in the comments from last week’s post, this is a popular option. The day’s food intake is condensed within a set number of hours, often somewhere between four and seven hours. The timing of this window varies depending on the individual’s schedule and preferences. The time since you prior meal or until you next day’s meal becomes the fasting period.
Early and Late:
For some, this option is more easily managed than the condensed eating window. The day’s food intake and nutrients are balanced between an early meal and later afternoon/early evening meal.
Single Twenty-Four Fast:
Most people choose to have a normal dinner and then fast until the following evening. Others choose to extend the fast until the following morning. For many people, this can be a weekly routine. Others may integrate it on a monthly basis or as an occasional event based on their sense of progress/plateau.
Alternating Day Fast for Week (or more):
This approach is often credited with a deeper “cleansing” character. Some people do it once or twice a year. Others make a seasonal commitment. You can choose to drink only water or include teas/small amounts of juices during fasting days. On the alternate days, some people choose to eat normally, and some opt for reduced caloric intakes.
One tip: During your “window of eating,” however long or brief it is, don’t feel that you should eat more than you might be hungry for. It’s a unique opportunity to listen to your body’s signals. It also serves as a way to “prove” to your conscious brain that you can survive quite nicely on smaller amounts of food and that you don’t need to “make up” for those temporarily lost calories. Of course, eating according to Paleo guidelines at all times whether fasting or not means that you are constantly refining your fat-burning skills. This, in turn, means that you are not so dependent upon regular meals to sustain normal blood sugar levels, physical energy and mental acuity.
Trying IF for the first time? Try the “condensed eating window” approach to get you started. This approach, particularly with a fairly extended 6 or 8 hour window, is very doable and can seem less daunting as you get started. Choose your own timing and length of window based on your schedule and preferences. If you can’t decide, you can consider condensing your eating between the hours of Noon and 5:00 p.m. say, ideally if you train at 11:00.
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