Intermittent Fasting

This subject has been getting more and more press lately..and for good reason.

How many times have you heard that you have to eat 6-8 small meals throughout the day to keep your metabolism high?

“If you want to lose fat you have to get at least 6 small meals per day..preferably with some snacks in-between meals..”

“The breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Simply start eating breakfast again and your metabolism will kick into high gear again”

“Fasting puts the body into survival mode. It is the worst thing you can do for fat loss!”

“Skipping meals is a good way to lose plenty of that hard earned muscle you have been putting on..”

And so on..

First off, let`s start with what the hell intermittent fasting is

Intermittent fasting means that you go for prolonged periods without consuming calories.

I guess an example would help. Here is a typical day of eating in the life of Bjorn Granum:

• Get up at 06:30

• Make breakfast and lunch for the kids (lunch for me)

• Go to work, get my trusted cup of black coffee (I usually gobble down at least 4 cups before lunch)

• Eat lunch at 11:00

• Pick up the wife and kids around 16:00

• Eat dinner around 16:30

• Depending on if I have group training in the evening I either eat my evening meal around 19:00 or 22:00

This means that I fast for between 13 and 16 hours every day. It is not something I “try” to do anymore, it is a part of my life. The last thing I want when I get up in the morning, is food. I just want to wake up and get the day started.

I have been doing intermittent fasting since September in 2007 and I have tried two different methods; Martin Berkhans Leangains protocol – 16 hour fast, 8 hour eating window every day. Eat stop Eat, from Brad Pilons book – 24 hour fast, 1-2 times per week.

Both methods work very well and is very easy to adapt. I would go so far as to say that doing intermittent fasting is the easiest way for most people to improve their body composition.

Ok, so what the fark is so great about starving your self?

First of all, you are not starving your self. As much as I hate drawing the “cave man”-comparison; Do you think we humans went for long periods without food back in the cave-man days?

So, if it was true that we go lethargic and lose all of our muscle mass within minutes if we do not get our 6 meals per day, how the bloody hellz do you think we survived as a spices? How bad would it suck if we fainted during hunting, due to “low blood sugar”?

Guess what!? Not a damn thing will happen if you skip a meal or two! Do not believe me? Try going without breakfast the next 7 days. Like nike, just do it! Wait until lunch time to eat your first meal of the day. And do not eat a god damn thing after 20:00 in the evening. Come on, I dare you! In fact, I double dare you!

Get your cave-man groove on and imagine that food is scarse. You can not access meat, fruits, roots, nuts etc. before 11-12:00.

Here are my predictions for you: The first day or two, you will feel a little hungry 1-2 hours before lunch time. After day 3 or so, you will enjoy having more time in the morning and you will be amazed of how easy this is. You might even find that you are much more productive at work in the hours before lunch.

How I Lost Fat and Built Muscle, Eating Two Big Meals per Day

Like I mentioned before, I have been fasting since 2007 and have experimented with different protocols. My most recent project was to eat only two big meals per day. I wanted to make a point in regards to meal frequency, and show that when it comes to fat loss, calories is king.

I set out to eat only two big meals per day, not focusing very much on eating “clean” and not working out like a cat with musterd in her behind..

After 42 days I stopped the project and did some final measurements.

The results? I gained fat free mass AND lost fat-mass WHILE eating TWO meals per day (meals such as: doughnuts and beer, frozen pizza etc.)! My exact results were:

• From 9% to 7% body fat
• Lost 1,4kg fat
• Gained 1,6kg fat free mass

Losing 1,4kg fat in 42 days might not sound like a big deal (it isn`t), but add to the fact that I added 1,6kg fat free mass, all the while eating just two meals per day, that is some myth busting shiznits if you ask me!

Some of you might be thinking:

“You are a genetic freak, any normal person would blow up, add tons of fat and get sick from those horrid meals!”..

Maybe I am blessed with some kind of anti-fat genes.. but maybe, just maybe, intermittent fasting improves insulin sensitivity, making your body a much more effective machine, driving glycogen to your muscles and using more body fat as fuel..?

Check out Martin Berkhans site; www.leangains.com , for some insanely great posts and references on intermittent fasting. He has a big pile of before/after pictures of his clients that will make you want to try IF (intermittent fasting). Also, buy Brad Pilons book; Eat stop Eat. It is jam-packed with science studies, references and is probably the best book on IF that you can find today.

Listen, IF is free! It is not like I am telling you about a miracle cure that will cost you a fortune from buying shakes, bars, cleansing cures etc.

All I am telling you to do is not to fu#$ing EAT all the time! Of course, it will help even more if you stop stuffing your face with chocolate bars between every meal, but the basis of what I am talking about involves NOT eating every freggin hour! Food is fuel, it is not life it self! We eat to live, not the other way around!