Proposed IF plan

[Damienm05]

During my long period of inactivity here, IF seems to have really taken off. After doing some reading, including the experiences of some members and even our very own diet guru, I feel that not only is the science/methodology very solid, but also that it meets my schedule and mentality very well.

Here's my proposed plan for running it, including my goals. Let me know if anything is off.

TDEE: 3400 (lower than it's always been with a new sedentary job)
BF%: 11
Goal: rapidly achieve 6-8%

IF diet plan:

8:00 AM -- wake up, 5g BCAA, fat burner
8:15 AM -- CARDIO --
9:00 AM -- 5g L-arginine, 1g L-carnitine
9:30 AM -- WORKOUT -- 15g BCAA intra
12:00 PM -- Meal 1 -- 100g protein, 150g carbs , 2g CLA, 10g other fats, 5g beta alanine, 3g PH corrected creatine mono-- example meal: 2 scoops whey, 8 oz. chicken breast, 1.5 cup oats, 1 cup homemade fat free hummus (roasted veggies pureed with chickpeas and lemon), banana, 1 tbs natty PB
4:00 PM -- Meal 2 -- 100g protein, 75g carbs, (60/40 starch/fruit), fat burner -- example meal: 12 oz. tilapia, 1 cup basmati brown rice, 1.5 cups chopped pineapple/kiwi/watermelon
7:30 PM -- Meal 3 -- 50g protein, minimal carb, 2g CLA, 25g other fat -- example meal: 1 scoop casein, 4 oz. tilapia, 1 tbs coconut oil, 1 tbs natty PB, 1 tbs chia seeds, 2 cups green veg
8:00 PM -- begin FAST

SO forgive the quickly thrown together post above, but I'm really just looking to see if my IF approach is on point, not so much looking for guidance on my food choices and total intake (which will be adjusted based on energy levels and daily energy expended). In that vein, I plan on running only ~50g carbs on my off-days and eating substantially more nuts, veggies, coconut oil, EVOO, etc. Thanks guys. This type of dieting is very new to me.

[Sgt. Hartman]

I'm no IF expert so hopefully others will chime in but nice to see you back around and best of luck.

[krugerr]

Your protocol looks good buddy. 12-8 was my preferred eating window. Fasted cardio is great and the use of BCAAs will help to reduce any LBM losses.

Good luck! You keeping a log for this?

[Damienm05]

Your protocol looks good buddy. 12-8 was my preferred eating window. Fasted cardio is great and the use of BCAAs will help to reduce any LBM losses.

Good luck! You keeping a log for this?

Thanks for the feedback, man.

While it's nice to finally have SOME free time again, I'm still pretty swamped with work and travel, so I don't think I can commit to a real log. I will definitely keep this thread updated with my immediate results though. I'm really excited to start this. I'm probably going to do a liquid-only protein diet throughout the day tomorrow (rest day) before kicking things off with back/triceps Friday morning!

[Damienm05]

I'm no IF expert so hopefully others will chime in but nice to see you back around and best of luck.

Thanks, it's great to be back around. Just through some light reading on the boards and I feel like I'm already absorbing a whole world of new knowledge via osmosis.

[RaginCajun]

glad to see you back around man!

when did IF back at the beginning of last year, I did the 1230-830. I found it hard to get my last meal in before 8 sometimes because I like to train in the evening as well as the morning. one thing that I noticed when breaking my fast was that I had this surge of energy, instead of the usual 2pm crash! it is also fun to eat over 1200 cals at once! somedays I would just eat 2 meals, lunch and dinner. it sucks at first if your body is use to (hormonally speaking also) but it gets easier as your body gets accustomed to it. you will have to adjust meals and such as you listen to your body. I know you have a good sense of that and are disciplined, so looking forward to where you will take this!

[gbrice75]

I'll comment in detail tomorrow when I can get in front of a PC. I know I still owe you a reply in my GB thread as well.

[Damienm05]

glad to see you back around man!

when did IF back at the beginning of last year, I did the 1230-830. I found it hard to get my last meal in before 8 sometimes because I like to train in the evening as well as the morning. one thing that I noticed when breaking my fast was that I had this surge of energy, instead of the usual 2pm crash! it is also fun to eat over 1200 cals at once! somedays I would just eat 2 meals, lunch and dinner. it sucks at first if your body is use to (hormonally speaking also) but it gets easier as your body gets accustomed to it. you will have to adjust meals and such as you listen to your body. I know you have a good sense of that and are disciplined, so looking forward to where you will take this!

Appreciate the feedback, dude! Even if there are no added fat loss benefits to this method, it's actually what you mentioned above (eating a lot of food at once) that has me set on giving it a go. When doing the typical BB diet for most of the last 3-4 years, even when eating over TDEE, I never really felt satiated. I'm a bottomless pit and a big piece of meat/fish and a sweet potato every three hours may satisfy some people, but I'm easily capable of downing a box of cereal, a whole pizza, or a carton of ice cream in a matter of minutes! So while I don't intend on using this diet as an excuse to binge eat, I really do love the idea of getting to feel full. It's especially appealing for me since I work from home and already wake up early, field a ton of calls/emails, during which time making breakfast has always been a hassle/necessary evil, and generally get the free time to go train and run errands mid-morning before having my PWO meal and getting back to work until around 6 or 7. Basically it's like the whole 12-8 feeding window was designed specifically for me, both in terms of when I want to eat and how much I want to eat. Even more compelling, I've always hated how going on late night dates or bar/club excursions always felt like I was cheating my gains by not getting in any quality meals during that ~ 9PM - 2AM window when I'd normally be having meals 4-6, for example.

Anyway, I'm going to stop praising this diet as the holy grail of my nutritional quest before I even try it, but it's certainly promising.

[gbrice75]

During my long period of inactivity here, IF seems to have really taken off. After doing some reading, including the experiences of some members and even our very own diet guru, I feel that not only is the science/methodology very solid, but also that it meets my schedule and mentality very well.

Here's my proposed plan for running it, including my goals. Let me know if anything is off.

TDEE: 3400 (lower than it's always been with a new sedentary job)
BF%: 11
Goal: rapidly achieve 6-8%

IF diet plan:

8:00 AM -- wake up, 5g BCAA, fat burner
8:15 AM -- CARDIO --
9:00 AM -- 5g L-arginine, 1g L-carnitine
9:30 AM -- WORKOUT -- 15g BCAA intra
12:00 PM -- Meal 1 -- 100g protein, 150g carbs , 2g CLA, 10g other fats, 5g beta alanine, 3g PH corrected creatine mono-- example meal: 2 scoops whey, 8 oz. chicken breast, 1.5 cup oats, 1 cup homemade fat free hummus (roasted veggies pureed with chickpeas and lemon), banana, 1 tbs natty PB
4:00 PM -- Meal 2 -- 100g protein, 75g carbs, (60/40 starch/fruit), fat burner -- example meal: 12 oz. tilapia, 1 cup basmati brown rice, 1.5 cups chopped pineapple/kiwi/watermelon
7:30 PM -- Meal 3 -- 50g protein, minimal carb, 2g CLA, 25g other fat -- example meal: 1 scoop casein, 4 oz. tilapia, 1 tbs coconut oil, 1 tbs natty PB, 1 tbs chia seeds, 2 cups green veg
8:00 PM -- begin FAST

SO forgive the quickly thrown together post above, but I'm really just looking to see if my IF approach is on point, not so much looking for guidance on my food choices and total intake (which will be adjusted based on energy levels and daily energy expended). In that vein, I plan on running only ~50g carbs on my off-days and eating substantially more nuts, veggies, coconut oil, EVOO, etc. Thanks guys. This type of dieting is very new to me.

I think your diet plan looks great, but that comes as no surprise from you.

What I personally don't like is the cardio before working out... especially after ~12 hours of fasting. Why? Do you hate PWO cardio that much, or is there another reason?

[Damienm05]

I think your diet plan looks great, but that comes as no surprise from you.

What I personally don't like is the cardio before working out... especially after ~12 hours of fasting. Why? Do you hate PWO cardio that much, or is there another reason?

I actually prefer anything to fasted am cardio when I'm still 1/2 asleep, even stupid PWO cardio. Honestly, I just thought it was the lesser evil, with the other option being PWO to take advantage of the fasted state. I mean with PWO cardio I'm not taking away from any potential workout intensity/energy, but then I'd be looking at around an hour after my last lifting set before I get home and start refeeding. Maybe I need to get rid of that whole "window of opportunity" mentality though, seeing as it seems more and more baseless every year.

What do you think about cutting cardio altogether? I usually don't blindly subscribe to anyone's plan without some trial and error of my own, but this Martin leangains dude really seems to have mastered this type of dieting from both a science and lifestyle standpoint and he seems to think that any energy expended beyond heavy sets is counter productive. Also, what were your results through IF? I read the bulk of your threads but it would be great to not have to delineate and just now what exactly was achieved and in what time frame.

[Damienm05]

I will say that I'm two days in to this and I love it. Even if the fat loss isn't comparable to keto or some other seemingly extreme diet and I don't get to 8% before August, I'm happy as a clam getting to eat 2-3 big ass meals at normal meal times. I'm also leveraging my knowledge as best I can to improvise and make it even more lifestyle friendly. For example, last night I went out with a lady friend and had some vodka/club soda during my fast -- at first I was upset/discouraged that I did it, but then I realized I could simply take further advantage of the slip-up and ate about 1500 cals (whole thing of organic rice cakes, baked tortilla chips, bag of grapes, 2 shakes) when I got home at 2 AM. No, I'm not an idiot who just got hungry and cheated; I did this on the premise that I'd done back/chest HARD earlier in the day and today is a planned off-day wherein I've decided to do a protein-only eating window between 8-12PM before doing delts/legs tomorrow and refeeding hard again. I know this type of improvisation may not be ideal for my body's rhythm and adjustment period and I do plan on sticking to the 12-8 window as much as possible. My point was only that I don't see this type of dieting as rigid or extreme -- I view it as having the most flexibility of all.

And holy shit, did I look good when I woke up this morning! Talk about glycogen supercompensation! Kind of pained me not to go lift something with natural pumps and veins popping out in my stomach and traps and just about everywhere. You guys know I'm usually all about the gradual progress, the tried and true, the wait and see before getting one's hopes up, etc... but I dunno, I really feel like this may be the way to do things assuming it meets one's schedule and eating habits.

[RaginCajun]

Hey D, consult with 405 about the way he fasts. I think he fasts EOD and on workout days, eats around 3500-4400 cals(just guessing here). Check out his thread.