Bodybuilding Cutting How To: Intermittent Fasting
There are many tried and tested
tricks and tips in bodybuilding for cutting unwanted body fat to look
shredded. Here we’re going to highlight
the benefits of Intermittent Fasting; how you can use this dieting and training
technique to get in perfect shape and look awesome.
What
is Intermittent Fasting?
The first thing to clarify is
Intermittent Fasting isn’t a diet, it’s merely a way of planning or scheduling
your meals to make sure they’re fuelling your body as and when needed. Put simply, Intermittent Fasting is changing
when you eat, not what you eat.
This is the ideal way to continue
growing muscle and increasing mass whilst getting lean and shredding body fat
without going on a ridiculous diet.
When you first start out it advisable to keep up the same daily calorie
intake as you would have before. Only
this time you’ll need to eat larger meals in a smaller window.
What
You Need To Do
If you think about it, you’ve been
doing a fasting “diet” all your life, in fact everyone has. When we sleep, our body’s go into a fasting
state where we’re burning calories without replacing them until the next day
when you have breakfast.
All you’re looking to do with
Intermittent Fasting is to increase the period of which your body is fasting
therefore burning unwanted body fat and retaining the “good fat and good
weight” aka pure lean muscle mass.
How
Intermittent Fasting Works
Your body is generally in one of
two states; the fed state and the fasting state. The fed states typically starts from the point you start eating
and will last for between 3 – 5 hours whilst your body is absorbing and
digesting fuel. When you eat or feed
your body, your insulin levels are naturally increased and this is what
prevents you from burning and using up fat stores. In theory in a fed state you’re merely replenishing your existing
fat stores.
The fasting state is a fat burning
phase that follows the fed state. Your
body enters the fasting state between 8 – 12 hours after your last meal as this
is when your body is no longer absorbing or digesting food. Your insulin levels are much lower at this
point also which makes it much easier for your body to burn difficult fat
stores as energy.
During a normal daily eating
schedule it’s very rare to put your body in a fat burning state as normally
there isn’t a gap of 8 – 12 hours between meals.
Simply by increasing the time
between meals is where many people who first start intermittent fasting will
lose weight and burn fat without having to change the amount or the type of
food they eat. Giving your body the
opportunity to burn fat before eating again is the art of intermittent fasting.
How
Intermittent Fasting Worked For Me
The first time I used the
Intermittent Fasting method to burn fat, I started the process weighing 80k,
and to give a rough idea of my strength, I was bench pressing approx.
115kg. I only completed 8 days of
Intermittent Fasting to a) see if I could add the method to my daily schedule
and lifestyle and b) to see how quick I could see and feel the results. This is what happened;
·
I reduced my body weight by 5kg in
8 days! I went from weighing 80kg to
75kg and importantly I was pretty much eating the same volume
of calories.
·
My strength stayed exactly the
same. I was training before meals and
wasn’t feeling weak or tired. In fact,
if being completely truthful, I was feeling more energised – maybe that was
because my body was more alert??
·
My skin felt tighter around my abs
and even in only 8 days I was able to see small changes in how my clothes were
fitting.
Am I going to use Intermittent
Fasting again or more regularly? …… 100% YES!
About the Author
I’m a sports, fitness and health
fanatic. Whether it’s watching,
playing, coaching or reading, if it’s something to do with fitness I’m
hooked. Having competed in a number of
events over the years I know what it takes to win and hunger and desire to be
better only grows!
Training and improving is one thing but
staying fit and healthy is another hurdle we all strive to overcome and
improve. With bodybuilding the natural
desire is to be bigger, better, faster and stronger. There are number of supplements available to us that offer
remarkable results but how do we know if they’re fit with our lifestyles? This is why I promote supplements from Crazy Bulk as they’re made with natural ingredients and
are safe. These supplements are natural
steroid alternatives and are designed to enhance your training ability thus
helping you push yourself further rather than just making your body grow
unnaturally.
