Fatman’s IF Journey.

[fatman225]

Fatman’s IF Journey.


The handle name is not just a piece of self depreciating humor. Truth is a got a taste for fatty foods, animal fats, and I got to have a plan that somehow allows for them.

I wish I started a log earlier, but have only been here a couple days. Wanted to start my first AAS cycle, but the guys in the thread mentioned I should hold off until I get my BF% even lower, down to 15%.

Even once I start my first AAS cylce I will still be sticking with IF as it has been working for me great so far.

Always been a musclehead, my whole life loved being in the gym training with weights, but was basically a Perma-Bulker. One of those guys who obsessive compulsively eats, afraid of losing muscle. This is very bad for the Endo-Meso. I gain muscle easily, but fat too.

Have been using IF for a little over 60 days now, and dropped from an unknown BF% at around 250 pounds, down to 19% and currently in the 220’s.

Height: 5’8”

Weight: 224

Age:33

So far the bodyfat has been dropping like a bad habbit.

My version of IF is a method of NOT over complicating things, and understanding it is perfectly safe to feel hungry.

The biggest thing for me is Mental. I can mentally wait to eat, so long as I know I will get a satisfying meal, that actually makes me feel full. I can not stick to the traditional BBing style diet, as the small infrequent meals are failing to fill me. I don’t know what it is, but there has to be some chemical fix we get when we have eaten enough to feel good and Full. I don’t need that fix more than 1x per day, but I cannot go days on end without it, and so I used to constantly ruin diets.

IF just makes it far more simple. I read eat stop eat, and found out I will not lose muscle if I go all day without eating, and that I will not go hypoglycemic if I do 30 minutes of cardio after not eating for 16 hours, that I am still safe.

Speaking of cardio, this is also the first time in my life I have been able to lose significant fat without resorting to excessive cardio. The last time I was relatively lean was years ago in the army, running 5 miles a day, and I still was not “ripped”. I also now have 2 pinched discs in my lower back, and bad knees. So HIT cardio or marathon LIT is a no go. 30-60 minutes daily on a treadmil, walking at a decent speed has been working with the IF diet anyway.

Training with weights is nothing special, I do moderate rep ranges, and relatively light weight for squats and deadlifts (knee and back issues, gotta be careful with them). Other lifts and upper body are better. Sort of upside down strength. My legs look a lot stronger than they are however, as a shorter guy they hold muscle easy, so long as I at least work them at all, so I’m lucky in that respect. Even if they lose some size now that I’m on a diet and still using light weight, so be it. I’m not about to step on stage as a BBr anyway.

So, back to the diet. I do not go crazy with calorie count when I eat, I estimate it, and whenever I do look up cals for a food, I round up. The general rule I follow with IF is that I try to avoid heavily processed foods, but because I’m in a fasted state all day, I feel ok experimenting with what types of carb choices I eat.

I feel fine eating starchy carbs and fats together at the same time as the protein, and so if I feel like eating mashed potatoes with a fatty cut of steak, or something on those lines, then I do. I can consume 1600 calories all in one sitting, get that dopamine fix, or whatever it is, but when I do that I am not going to even feel any hunger at all until the next morning, and by then I am back into fasting mode with my black coffee making it easy to not feel hungry. As far as the mental part goes, its all good knowing I will be eating 900-1600 cal meal later in the day to look forward too. This also keeps me well below my maintenance cals of 3200 (est).

So anyway, no plateau in fat loss yet, my lifts are still good, and as I found out on this forum yesterday I can still train with weights on an empty stomach, and this may actually be somewhat anabolic . Although I may not make it a permanent thing. They way I will use fasted training vs. fed training, will simply be based on my schedule for the day, and what fits in better. I’m not convinced either way that one is significantly superior to the other, in terms of real world practical results, and so at this point I’d rather just keep things really simple.

Fast all day at work, hit gym around 4-6pm (getting out of work varies), go to gym, lift, then come home do cardio for 30 minutes, then shower and eat dinner with family, where I can just relax and eat what I want. Within the next 8 hours I may have a much smaller snack before sleeping, simply so I am not risking sleeping hungry, as that keeps me from sleeping. This based on what I ate earlier. If I ate 900 cals earlier, I can consume another decent meal, if I consumed the full 1600 or so, I do not have a snack later at all.

Goal is to be down to around 8% bodyfat before the next year, to simply be able to "see" the muscle I have built for years, and feel and look good.

Ok, this is a long enough OP.

[AXx]

Welcome man, I too enjoy IF (now). Dont get to crazy and tear your pec like I did 2 days ago. I find IF to be pleasing to my crazy work schedule and life. These guys and gals are awesome here, they will be honest and not steer you in the wrong direction.

[fatman225]

Oh, and already have a question.

I seem to have a little bit of trouble staying hydrated during my fasts.

I need to consume huge amounts of water, and even more since I drink black coffee.

It just all pisses right through me.

So, my question is, if I would hurt my fast at all, or significantly impede fat loss, if I were to consume small amounts of basic table salt during my fasts?

[fatman225]

Welcome man, I too enjoy IF (now). Dont get to crazy and tear your pec like I did 2 days ago. I find IF to be pleasing to my crazy work schedule and life. These guys and gals are awesome here, they will be honest and not steer you in the wrong direction.

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry to hear about your pec. What kind of a rep range were you using? What exercise? (so I know what to avoid)

[AXx]

GB will answer this but Im almost positive hiss reply will be, sodium is ok. I drink tons of black coffee and also drink 1 1/2 gallons or more of water a day

[gbrice75]

We've already spoken, you know my thoughts. Glad you started a log. Subscribed!

Oh, and already have a question.

I seem to have a little bit of trouble staying hydrated during my fasts.

I need to consume huge amounts of water, and even more since I drink black coffee.

It just all pisses right through me.

So, my question is, if I would hurt my fast at all, or significantly impede fat loss, if I were to consume small amounts of basic table salt during my fasts?

I haven't looked into this but my initial response is - no, you'll be fine. Sodium is calorie free, and calories are what we're concerned with (avoiding) during a fast.

[SexySweetheart]

welcome to IF ...so happy for your success!

[AXx]

Thanks for the quick reply. Sorry to hear about your pec. What kind of a rep range were you using? What exercise? (so I know what to avoid)

I was doing weighted dips, 40# db added, IM AN IDIOT. 4th set of 10 sets

[fatman225]

Yesterday evening was interesting. Broke the fast at 6:00pm, and had a second meal late, almost midnight, as I was out late with friends.

This diet has been working well for me so far, but strangely enough even having a couple slices of pizza, even knowing that the diet is still working, and the whole POINT is that I don't have to avoid certain foods, I just need to stay under maitenence cals, as well as fast for a longer time period than I am fed still knowing all of this, none the less I feel the guilt right away after eating such foods.

Woke up this morning feeling much better about it however, was slightly hungry, had a couple cups of coffee and don't even think about it today.

The more I learn about IF the more I understand WHY it works.

We seem to be fat storage machines. Whenever we eat our body wants to store food as fat, certain macros obviously more than others, but none the less we are designed to be either burning, or storing fat. Really hard to do anything in between.

The traditional BBing diets seem designed to "trick" the body into buring fat by eating amounts of food too small to meet the calorie demands, and to use the macros that are hardest to store. This works for some people, but drove me mental.

So far IF has been working for me regardless of the specific macros I eat (so long as its not complete idiocy all the time), and so can eat the occasianal couple pieces of pizza.

Perhaps I will get to a point where I again need to watch the specific Macros, and make the meals I do eat much cleaner, but at the moment my bodyfat its still coming off.

I used to be very OCD about getting in enough protein, only to learn now that the high amounts normally suggested originated from Bro-Science. Obviously I still like to get good amounts of it in when I'm eating, but I found I can just as well eat something low in protein content and that the fat and carbs are then used as "protein sparing" - another new term for me I did not even know existed.

I was doing weighted dips, 40# db added, IM AN IDIOT. 4th set of 10 sets

Wow. Well, Godspeed on a quick recovery. I think I will avoid weighted dips. I've heard of this one being hi-risk for other injuries too, lots of torn triceps, and strangely collapsed sternums too.

[Tx89]

Yesterday evening was interesting. Broke the fast at 6:00pm, and had a second meal late, almost midnight, as I was out late with friends.

This diet has been working well for me so far, but strangely enough even having a couple slices of pizza, even knowing that the diet is still working, and the whole POINT is that I don't have to avoid certain foods, I just need to stay under maitenence cals, as well as fast for a longer time period than I am fed still knowing all of this, none the less I feel the guilt right away after eating such foods.

Woke up this morning feeling much better about it however, was slightly hungry, had a couple cups of coffee and don't even think about it today.

The more I learn about IF the more I understand WHY it works.

We seem to be fat storage machines. Whenever we eat our body wants to store food as fat, certain macros obviously more than others, but none the less we are designed to be either burning, or storing fat. Really hard to do anything in between.

The traditional BBing diets seem designed to "trick" the body into buring fat by eating amounts of food too small to meet the calorie demands, and to use the macros that are hardest to store. This works for some people, but drove me mental.

So far IF has been working for me regardless of the specific macros I eat (so long as its not complete idiocy all the time), and so can eat the occasianal couple pieces of pizza.

Perhaps I will get to a point where I again need to watch the specific Macros, and make the meals I do eat much cleaner, but at the moment my bodyfat its still coming off.

I used to be very OCD about getting in enough protein, only to learn now that the high amounts normally suggested originated from Bro-Science. Obviously I still like to get good amounts of it in when I'm eating, but I found I can just as well eat something low in protein content and that the fat and carbs are then used as "protein sparing" - another new term for me I did not even know existed.

Wow. Well, Godspeed on a quick recovery. I think I will avoid weighted dips. I've heard of this one being hi-risk for other injuries too, lots of torn triceps, and strangely collapsed sternums too.

Man weighed dips are a staple exercise in Building a nice pair of tris, shoulders and
Pecs!! Dont skip em, they helped me Tons! I do them with 50kg added and am perefectly fine just make sure to keep forearms stable, core flexed and dont overdo the ROM

[fatman225]

Today went easy. Typical day of not really even feeling hungry at all, not wowrkout day, and I was at a wedding. The reception was my plan to break the fast, and some issue with pictures and just the delay of wedding to reception was an extra two hours.

Ate my one meal for the day, mostly protein but with carbs and fats too, did have a piece of sheet wedding cake, like 250-300 calories, even though today is not a workout day. I think my total was WAY below maitenence.

Funny watching everyone around me complain, while I just very comfortably waited for the Bride and Groom, perfectly content to entertain myself. They were all talking about "staaaarving". lulz

[SlimmerMe]

Welcome! and remember;

Consistency is key
Slow wins the race
Keeping a log is the ticket to success

GOOD LUCK!

[fatman225]

Welcome! and remember;

Consistency is key
Slow wins the race
Keeping a log is the ticket to success

GOOD LUCK!

Thanks Slimmer,

So far the best thing I have found about IF is that it is easier to be consistent with, semi-flexible, which allows for me to stick with it!

Yeah, this log helps. The first 10-20 days of IF were the hardest, simply because I found I had too much time on my hands!

These days, huge improvement.

Weighed in today, 220. Another 5 pounds gone, not noticed muscle loss. My key lifts are actually slightly UP.

Broke my fast a bit early, but already went right back into fasting as soon as it was over. Had a grad party this afternoon, so I figured I would eat my fill of free food, then fast until tomorrow at around 4:00 to 6:00pm, for my plan. So it looks like I will be going over 24 hours, not something I typically do, and I am trying to work in the ability to sleep during fasting time.

[GirlyGymRat]

I am interested in this IF approach but don't know that much about it. I've read that other members are trying it and seemingly having success. I am wondering if it is a fad or I could use to shock my system on a short term basis. I don't do well on any fast...since my caloric intake is low, I get hungry especially more so now that I have changed my body composition by losing fat and gaining muscle. I don't like being crabby

Good luck to ya!!!

[SexySweetheart]

I am interested in this IF approach but don't know that much about it. I've read that other members are trying it and seemingly having success. I am wondering if it is a fad or I could use to shock my system on a short term basis. I don't do well on any fast...since my caloric intake is low, I get hungry especially more so now that I have changed my body composition by losing fat and gaining muscle. I don't like being crabby

Good luck to ya!!!

you could always start low/slow with just a 6 hour fast than grad increase to 8 than 10 than 12 hours+ over time

[fatman225]

Honestly I just jumped right in after reading about how all the things I was worried about are myths. My biggest issue was being worried I would lose muscle. Yeah I had way too much fat, but I had a lot of muscle too. It was a conundrum being so worried about losing the muscle I would hang onto the bodyfat thus preventing me from SEEING any of the muscle, making it useless for cosmetic reasons.

I always had this idea in my head that if I ever felt really hungry I was losing muscle. By learning this was not true, and that fasting does not result in any significant muscle loss, I was essentially liberated. So I read up on leangains, read up on eat stop eat, and the warrior diet, picked a version which is simple, and easy for me to stick to, that works for me, and dove right into it.

Unlike other diets that can take a lot of adjustment, this one is ALL IN YOUR HEAD, and is easy to switch over to, as it requires LESS prep work than normal USA eating patterns.

Guess what I have to worry about for breakfast? - Nothing.

Ohh crap I forgot to pack a lunch for work – Cool less to worry about.

Did not bring a pre-workout can of slop to work so I will have to work out without a pre-workout-meal? – all the better.

Oh no, my wife forgot to thaw out the meat this morning in the fridge so I now have to run to the store and buy something already thawed to take home and cook, thus delaying my PWO by two hours – no worries at all.

Seriously the biggest benefit of IF I have found is that it makes life FAR LESS complicated. So it was easy for me to jump right in. Yeah I felt hungry for a few days. After the first 3 days I got used to it.

The one major key is too keep in mind to NOT overcompensate with calories when you do eat. You still got to be under maintenance caloric intake for your 24 hour period. Trust me however, if you maintenance caloric intake is 3200, and you can eat a 1000-1500 cal meal, you will get that satisfied feeling.

Just don’t get retarded and eat a whole large pizza or anything like that.

Yeah sure there are lots of scientific reasons IF works, but for me it works because it is easy, and therefor easy to stick with.

[AXx]

it works because it is easy, and therefor easy to stick with.

This is true man.

You going to post pics? Look at 405's thread (if you havent already) his before and after are EXTREMELY motivating.

Our goals are about the same. Good luck man.

[BigBadWolf]

Honestly I just jumped right in after reading about how all the things I was worried about are myths. My biggest issue was being worried I would lose muscle. Yeah I had way too much fat, but I had a lot of muscle too. It was a conundrum being so worried about losing the muscle I would hang onto the bodyfat thus preventing me from SEEING any of the muscle, making it useless for cosmetic reasons.

I always had this idea in my head that if I ever felt really hungry I was losing muscle. By learning this was not true, and that fasting does not result in any significant muscle loss, I was essentially liberated. So I read up on leangains, read up on eat stop eat, and the warrior diet, picked a version which is simple, and easy for me to stick to, that works for me, and dove right into it.

Unlike other diets that can take a lot of adjustment, this one is ALL IN YOUR HEAD, and is easy to switch over to, as it requires LESS prep work than normal USA eating patterns.

Guess what I have to worry about for breakfast? - Nothing.

Ohh crap I forgot to pack a lunch for work - Cool less to worry about.

Did not bring a pre-workout can of slop to work so I will have to work out without a pre-workout-meal? - all the better.

Oh no, my wife forgot to thaw out the meat this morning in the fridge so I now have to run to the store and buy something already thawed to take home and cook, thus delaying my PWO by two hours - no worries at all.

Seriously the biggest benefit of IF I have found is that it makes life FAR LESS complicated. So it was easy for me to jump right in. Yeah I felt hungry for a few days. After the first 3 days I got used to it.

The one major key is too keep in mind to NOT overcompensate with calories when you do eat. You still got to be under maintenance caloric intake for your 24 hour period. Trust me however, if you maintenance caloric intake is 3200, and you can eat a 1000-1500 cal meal, you will get that satisfied feeling.

Just don't get retarded and eat a whole large pizza or anything like that.

Yeah sure there are lots of scientific reasons IF works, but for me it works because it is easy, and therefor easy to stick with.

Goddamn Fatman your about to get me onboard!!

[fatman225]

If I get pictures I will have to soon.

Today I'm considering having my one meal eating out, possibly olive garden steak with gogonzolla cheese and alfredo. 1310 calories.

Which puts me well lunder maintenence for the day.

Then again I may save my money and go with my home made spegetti, similar in calories.

I used to get all hung up on my macros, and I know there are those here who still swear by them.

I simply do not argue with my own results however.

I find that so long as I get in enough protein, which is far less than I previously thought I needed, that the ratio of carbs to fats is less relevant with the 1600 cal limit often as one daily feed.

If I eat the majority of my calories in carbs, it turns to fat and gets stored as fat to be burned. If I eat that as fat calories then the same thing happens.

Yes obviously it varies, but in terms of real world results I have not seen much difference. If I hit a plateau I will obviously be changing things up.

I consider fats and carbs to be protein sparing, and yes they both do get stored as fat. I accept that, but my solution is to burn more than I put away.

Yes, I will sometimes eat half a large pizza, with 330 cals a piece, adding up to 1320 cals. Now on a 3200 maintenence, that STILL is a huge deficit.

Those sacred cows are ready for the meat market.

[fatman225]

Well, I did eat out, but changed my mind as to what and where.

At roughly 7:00pm, ate.

Had a 16 oz New York strip. 800 calories, mashed potatoes 500, steamed vegatables 90. Ate about a cup worth of fresh rasberries that grow around my house, like 50 calories.

Sitting at under 1500 cals for the day. I feel fine, very full actually. That's it for me today.

Did not have to work today, so did my cardio at 2:00, 45 minutes treadmill, and weights at 4:00, chest day, went fine and did not feel very hungry at all. I think I'm addapted to fasted training now.

[fatman225]

Attachment 124060Attachment 124061

Ok, pictures.

Not where I want to be yet, clearly, but you don't even want me to post where I was 30 pounds ago.

Strangely I also look much smaller in photos than I do in person. Likely an illusion to do all the fat covering everything, that and thick joints.

But since there was a request, it will be good to look back on when I have after pictures ready.

[fatman225]

Going to experiment today, since I got out of work early, (pictures just took at home a few minutes ago), will head to gym for weights in a few minutes, then do cardio around 4:00pm then will eat when I get done with that and showever, which will be around 5:00pm.

[fatman225]

Wow do I feel good!

Not a lifting day, just cardio, but a full hours worth.

Broke fast at 6:00pm today, ate:

Two Rotisserie chicken thighs and drumstick = est calories 700. Estimated that high as I did not pull all the skin off (I love the taste of fatty foods), about half of it, est is on high end, may have been only 600.

Ate a bunch Broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus. Probably a full cup serving of each. I am not going to count the calories I eat in vegetables like that, simply too low. Although the 4 tablespoons of butter added 400 calories, they DO count.

Was still hungry, so had some carbs, still had potato salad left over, 1 cup = 480 calories.

Had about 4 cups worth of watermellon after as a desert. Roughly 200 calories.

Todays total = 1781. Well, I may have gone over the target of 1600 a little. However I feel I am still way under maintenence for my BMR, and certainly my TDEE between cardio and sex.

[GirlyGymRat]

you could always start low/slow with just a 6 hour fast than grad increase to 8 than 10 than 12 hours+ over time

a voice of reason see there ya go, taking away my excuse

[GirlyGymRat]

Goddamn Fatman your about to get me onboard!!

I was thinking the same thing : )

[fatman225]

I was thinking the same thing : )

Do IT!

Its not hard to make the switch, besides a bit of mental. Just remember to keep in mind that you are not losing muscle, that hungry feeling IS you burning fat for fuel. You can work yourway up to it, as has been suggested to start with a 6 hou fast, then 8, 10 and so forth until you can do it all day.

The part you get back is not having to worry about spending half your day preparing small meals or having to worry about taking them with you, or any of that.

The method I use and suggest is simple. The only thing that varies either way is the calories weather maintenence, gaining muscle, or cutting.

The schedule is the same for me each day, and I've addapted to it easily.

I figure out the amount of calories I best "cut" on, and then I attempt to eat that amount in one meal. The only times I will have a second smaller meal, it is still within the 4 hour time frame from 6:00pm until 10:00pm (it can vary from 4:00 to 8:00, or occasionally if I have a family event, then skip the later meal), and the purpose is if I need to for staying mentally sane and it still fits the daily calorie limit.

So, for example, if I ate a 1200 cal meal at 6:00pm, than I can have a 400 calories snack anytime before 10:00pm. My daily goal is 1600, but I will not lose sleep if I only got in 1400 or as much as 1800. The daily average I keep at 1600, that is for me. No idea what your TDEE vs. maintenence is, but I work it on a 60% vs. 40% format.

This is also only 60% of my TDEE, meaning the other 40% has to come from body fat. At the moment I am losing about 2 to 3 pounds of fat a week, so it clearly is working, and crazy well.

If I wanted to maintain, I would still keep the 4 hour window, but I would eat my maintenence cals in that time.

If I wanted to gain I would not go much over maintenence, perhaps only 5-10% is all it would take, and I would stop the bulk as soon as too much bodyfat was noticed, and go back to cutting calorie amount.

The schedule remains the same, which is simple and EASY.

Macros ratios should be sensible, but not to the point you feel you are depriving yourself.

Another selling point (and I'm not making a nickle from saying this either) is that it just simplifys your life.

Cutting is no longer hard. Its EASIER than normal every day USA type eating.

What are you waiting for girl?

[fatman225]

Todays wiegh in, 217 pounds. That's a serious drop from 224 on the 22nd. I doubt I have lost a full 7 pounds of fat however, I think a 3rd of that was water. None the less, everything is still moving in the right direction. Had a back workout today, weights are actually up.

Todays meal, 12 oz. chicken. 80- grams protein. 400 calories. 7 pieces asperigus, not even going to worry about the cals in that, maybe 50 from a tiny bit of butter so they would not burn onto the pan, the salt I won't count.

So 450, and the will be eating a 7/8 of a whole frozen pizza = 1120. Been eyeing it all day, its sort of a cheat, but still fits into calories count.

Total for the entire day = 1570. My under maintenence and I will go to be tonight with a FULL stomach anyway.

[slimpickings]

Is intermittent fasting a good choice for every body type? Never tried it seems like you would loose to much muscle to me I don't know?

[Tx89]

Basically yes, you can either bulk or Cut or maintain on it, all depends on diet.
But i'd say it might work better for endo/mesos trying to Cut than for an ecto trying to bulk up.

[fatman225]

Well, I'm definately closer to the endomorph end of the specrtum. I put on both muscle and fat easily so if this does turn out to be the ideal way for an endomorph to eat, then I no surprise here.

As far as gaining muscle there are some folks who swear by IF for that too. The more I read about it the more I'm finding there are other benefits besides the rapid fat loss.

One big myth is that we need a steady amount of calories through the day, and a steady amount of protein to be eaten all through the day. I used to think the body could only digest 30 grams of protein in one sitting. From what I now understand this is a myth. If I eat 8oz. of steak, for example, I am still getting protein from that after 24 hours.

The other thing is that when we are the fasted state our body produces a lot more growth hormone . It could be our bodys way of trying to preserve muscle. So, if I wanted to bulk I would still fast for part of the day, perhaps 18 hours, then have a 6 hour feeding window. Figure out the amount I need to eat in order to gain muscle, and then eat that amount within that 6 hour time frame. Getting both the cals and protein needed, as well as the increase in growth hormone, which never hurts muscle gains either. The fasted state also works to reduce Inflammation and has other major health benefits too - stuff I would NOT have believed 6 months ago.

Not throwing away the eating frequently thing all together however. Many people get great results doing that. I just question; WHY those diets work? Is it that the steady stream of cals really helps with cutting or bulking, OR is it rather the total amount of macros & calories & protein over time is in the right range? - I'm thinking the latter at this point.

[fatman225]

Is intermittent fasting a good choice for every body type? Never tried it seems like you would loose to much muscle to me I don't know?

http://www.leangains.com/2010/10/top...-debunked.html

Better off I link you to the puzzle box, vs. just trying to hand you a pile of puzzle pieces.

[GirlyGymRat]

Do IT!

.

The schedule remains the same, which is simple and EASY.

Macros ratios should be sensible, but not to the point you feel you are depriving yourself.

Another selling point (and I'm not making a nickle from saying this either) is that it just simplifys your life.

Cutting is no longer hard. Its EASIER than normal every day USA type eating.

What are you waiting for girl?

someone to explain this in layman's terms. thank you!

Not throwing away the eating frequently thing all together however. Many people get great results doing that. I just question; WHY those diets work? Is it that the steady stream of cals really helps with cutting or bulking, OR is it rather the total amount of macros & calories & protein over time is in the right range? - I'm thinking the latter at this point.

so it's not all or nothing. intersting!

[fatman225]

Well, yesterday was another wedding. They were serving prime rib, and I used it as a cheat day, while sticking to IF.

How does my form of a 1 time weekly cheat work?

I stay on schedule, but I consume more calories. I did not measure out how much I ate in terms of cals, but carbs were relatively low for the meal.

Where I cheated was on the fats. They were serving Prime rib. Perfectly done. Rare, fatty as all ****, and Buffet style. I was encouraged to eat as much as possible, as the groom (my best friend) was paying for it. I probably ate almost 2 pounds of it. No I did not measure that out, its a guess, may have been less, and I doubt more due to physics. Prime varies in calorie content, anywhere from 1200 to 1800 calories in 16. oz, to give an idea.

Today back on normal meal plan, which is breaking the fast late, around 8pm if possible, plan to have my home made chili. Est calories per serving is 300 per cup, super high in Protein. I use Dark red Kidney beans, not normal chili ones. I make very spicey with fresh Jalapenos, Onion, Garlic, and I put in a lot of my own home grown heirloom tomatoes. Likely super high nutrient profile. I bet you could survive on it alone.

5 cups will be VERY filling, and meets my cal limit for the day, at 1500.

Good news I fit into my old dress pants at the wedding yesterday. They were not 100% comfortable, but it was not like I could not wear them tight. Another few weeks and I am sure they would fit perfectly comfortable again.

Nothing I have ever done has stripped fat like this.

My speed of fat loss is likely accerated in that I am keep calories way under maintenence, and I am doing cardio, and lift on most days. My TDEE might be close to 4000, maybe higher with my activity level.

This will not be able to continue such lower calorie intake as I actually get closer to my goal of lean. Right now I actually have so much fat stored to burn, so I'm really just burning stored fat for energy.

One thing I have been reading about, and not quite ready for (still too much fat), is the reverse taper, where the leaner you get, the closer to maintenence you eat, slowly increasing food intake in total calories at meal time, as the last of the excess fat comes off, so you end up in a balance where you are eating the correct amount to maintain the low bodyfat%.

This contrasts a lot of tempory diets, that lose fat fast, but lack the plan needed to maintain the results. The reverse taper is designed exactly to maintain it.

I mean isn't that the ULTIMATE goal? Get bodyfat low, using a method you can maintain long term, and still keep your sanity and stay healthy?

[AXx]

Checking in buddy!!! Hope all is well. Keep it up.

Yes to the bold in your last post!!!!!

[fatman225]

Gotta say I'm so used to this that I hardley even start to feel any hunger until close to my eating time, which I aim for to start around 6:00pm each day.

BTW I am doing this without the use of BCAA's pre and post workouts. I have not noticed any muscle loss due to the lack of supplementing with BCAA.

Instead of going into long detail, I would rather just link to Scott Abel's article on BCAA: http://scottabel.blogspot.com/2010/1...caas-save.html

I'm all about seeing the sacred cows get slain.

[SexySweetheart]

Is intermittent fasting a good choice for every body type? Never tried it seems like you would loose to much muscle to me I don't know?

depends on your BF%...
This is what I know of it ~
1st thing your bod burns is from your daily intake
2nd than is burned is from fat reserves
than its mucsel, and tissue AFTER several consecutive days of being in starvation mode (when all fatty reserves are used up)

[SexySweetheart]

love reading your thread FATMAN!

looks like your doing AWESOME! CONGRATS

[fatman225]

Well, my wife thinks my love handles are still shrinking, which is good.

Todays meals:

1. 320 cal est bowl of chilli

2. Spaghetti, 1 cup noodles + 1 cup meat sauce. Total kcal 700

3. 6 oz. piece of lean steak. Total kcal 300 est

4. One more 1 cup bowl of chilli 320 est

Total for the day 1640 or so. Still way under maintenence.

My TDEE is still around 3000 to 3200, but I am not worried about losing muscle or not having enough energy to get through the day, as I clearly still have enough fat for that.

Taking in only 50% to 60% of my maintenence may seem extreme reduction, but I really only think that is an issue when the stored calories (bodyfat) just is not there anymore.

Being that all that food is consumed within a 5 hour window of time, mentally I FEEL like I am eating like a king.

[bobjack]

yeah it was a non factor for me too till i got down to about 195
i think i was eating 1.2k cals at most? lol

[fatman225]

yeah it was a non factor for me too till i got down to about 195
i think i was eating 1.2k cals at most? lol

Yep, exactly.

That's the reverse taper, as you get lean the cals need to be closer to maintenence.

For now, my fat cells can ****ing starve!